 | Home > Technical > Rear diff free play - hot running?? |
 
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| ickle Member Since: 22 Jul 2010 Location: South Vendee Posts: 1776   
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On our last rip down into France, towing a big Ifor trailer at at just over 6.4 tonnes all up, nice steady 50mph, the front pinion seal started to leak a bit - fine dots of oil on the trailer.
Running around down there, no further leaks laden or unladen, came back up with a couple of tonnes of firewood on, no leaks again, dry ever since. Checked breather, it was clear, but there appears to be a lot of free play in the diff. Would this free play cause the diff to heat up & leak when worked very hard?? Can I adjust the pinion / crown wheel to remove this play (time for an ashcroft or detroit locker then....) Cheers Keith |
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13th May 2012 8:42pm |
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| tatra805 Member Since: 16 Aug 2011 Location: Dolany Posts: 436  
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Keith, i'm going through a diff overhaul at the moment. Not an expert in the field but saw and learned a bit during the last weeks.
Going from your info. Are you sure the play is in the diff and not the drive flanges? I am also trailering a lot and mine were halfway in the front and ready to go in the back at 70 000 km. You should have some amount of play in the diff, i would say 5 to 10 minutes if you look at the pinion seems normal. If the diff is not making sound on deceleration there should be no excess play on the ring and pinion. You can check the preload with a torque ratchet but dont be tempted to over tighten. You'll regret it later when the teeth start making sounds. If a pinion bearing fails you could create free play but this does not go unnoticed. Oil seals fail by themselves also but are easy to replace. As a last; also check the oil is not coming from your steering house or the reservoir connection tube; which is a typical failure and can result in dripping on the diff. (as mine was doing) So it looks as the diff is leaking while it is not. If you have no sounds i would just do the oil seal and leave the diff as is. Although it is never too early to put a locker in 
Just dont put a detroit (which is an unlocker) in the front or you'll get some interesting driving. Guess you meant the Truetrac or Ashcroft ATB. Putting 2 Ashcroft ATB's in mine at the moment. Had the truetracs before in my disco and i think the newer ashcrofts are superior build and better value. Keep us posted on how you progress  |
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15th May 2012 8:04pm |
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| ickle Member Since: 22 Jul 2010 Location: South Vendee Posts: 1776
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Thanks Tatra,
Having re read my post it is misleading! It was the pinion seal in the rear diff (front of the rear diff,......) that started to leak. I put new OE drive flanges on the rear about 30k km ago but I will check this weekend. The leak has now stopped, even with local towing. I renewed the rear pinion seal at the same time as the rear drive flanges. There is no noise at all from the diffs, g/box or transfer box so perhaps your idea of the drive flanges is correct. I have a Detroit locker in the rear and a True track in the front of my 100" bitsa series 2 and they are superb, but I am tempted with the Ashcroft version, especially as I don't have TC / ABS. Thanks for your help I'll let you know after the weekend. Keith |
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15th May 2012 8:50pm |
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| ickle Member Since: 22 Jul 2010 Location: South Vendee Posts: 1776
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Hi Tatra,
Just pulled a rear wheel off and yes you are correct there is play in the rear drive flanges - enough to amplify the other slack and make a noise. They were new genuine parts less than 2 years 18k miles ago, I didn't replace driveshafts as there was no sign of wear on them, are these flanges now seen as replaceable service items or are they made from such sh** metal now they have to be replaced? I've seen Heavy Duty flanges advertised - anybody got experience of these and recommendations? Keith |
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27th May 2012 5:32pm |
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| tatra805 Member Since: 16 Aug 2011 Location: Dolany Posts: 436
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Keith,
as far as i know, and this might differ between suppliers and their individual designs so better check, the HD parts are not compatible with original alu wheels. eg boost discs. I opted to put back the original spec (even though i can fit the HD ones as i have wheel spacers) Yes i see them as consumables, they are also the cheapest part to wear out and the easiest part to replace. I guess it comes down again to realizing where to put the weak link in your drivetrain (taking in consideration your type of usage). Is it poor design or build in weak-point? No idea, but i kind of like the fact that the flanges are wearing out and not something else. If you are only driving on-road and not shock loading your axles on terrain i dont see a problem putting in the HD flanges with the original drivetrain. But once you have lockers and start putting heavy strains on the drivetrain i would not put them if the rest of the drivetrain is not reinforced. I rather replace them when doing a service than running the risk of having a half shaft broken and debris eating my diff. TC will accelerate the wear on the flanges dramatically (hammer drill effect) so guess putting in ATB's would prolong their life also a bit. The HD versions look as a cheap logical and good reinforcement but i also saw them ripping half shaft teeth on earlier models. just my 2 cents |
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28th May 2012 9:38am |
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| tatra805 Member Since: 16 Aug 2011 Location: Dolany Posts: 436
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LR dealer direct pricing i suppose I know that OEM is OEM. But as an example they charge 98 euro for a timken bearing (P38 inside pinion bearing) which i buy for 9 euro at a timken dealer. They even offered to order it in from an alternative supplier for 20 euro, as they rather kept their customer in-house than loosing him to another workshop. There prices are pure policy and not quality related. As with almost all car brands. I only know of 1 brand which is selling its original parts cheaper than aftermarket (apples to apples) and that is Mercedes-Benz. Paddocks has OEM spec (not OEM) and alternative flanges RUC105200G roughly 16£ RUC105200 Alternative aftermarket around 10£ HD flange 25£ This just as an example, they are not my preferred supplier as a lot of stuff is blue-box cr*p. even if their OEM spec is not up to standard i can change them 5 times for 1 set of LR-ordered ones. My OEM flanges almost gone at 70 000km, i would be really surprised if these OEM specs would only last for 14 000km. Time will tell |
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28th May 2012 12:13pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17328  
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What I really didn't understand at the time was why the Puma flanges were c. £90 but the TD5 ones were a fraction of this (both being genuine parts and notionally identical).
I tend to agree with you about non-OE parts, and in many cases there are reasons for not buying Genuine Parts. Brake disks, for example, if AP make them for Landrover, why not buy AP parts? Steering boxes, for another example, if Adwest make them for Landrover, why buy a pathetically badly reconditioned piece of refuse from Landrover when you can buy an original quality parts from Adwest at a lower price sorry if I sound bitter on this, but I still haven't got over the appalling state of the two Disco 2 boxes that Genuine Parts supplied me). However I would never, ever now buy anything which came in a blue box bearing an anagram of the word Brat Trip. After all if I am going to throw money away there are more enjoyable ways to do it. |
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28th May 2012 2:26pm |
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| tatra805 Member Since: 16 Aug 2011 Location: Dolany Posts: 436
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There is as far as i know no difference in part number between the flanges... (correct me if i am wrong) RUC105200 300tdi / TD5 onwards, replaces the earlier FTC895 code 200TDI had the FRC5806 which is thicker flange with a different bolt pattern. No idea what LR is asking for them, would not be surprised it is 90£ but there should be no price difference with the TD5 ones. |
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28th May 2012 3:41pm |
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