 | Home > Technical > How do I diagnosis where the diff has been welded |
 
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| Dinnu Member Since: 24 Dec 2019 Location: Lija Posts: 3421   
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I understand that you are referring to the center diff. That would be strange, because driving on tarmac with the center diff engaged will stress it out and feel awkward especially if turning left or right.
But how about you make a simple test. With wheels chocked, main gearbox in neutral, handbreak off lift one wheel at a time... are you able to rotate the wheel which is off the ground? 1988 90 Hard Top, 19J Diesel Turbo, Shire Blue - Restoration ongoing 2012 90 CSW, 2.2TDCI, Santorini Black |
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29th Aug 2021 9:37pm |
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| Tim2809 Member Since: 15 Aug 2021 Location: Dorset Posts: 21 
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Firstly with main gearbox in neutral jack up a front wheel with handbrake on and see if you can rotate the wheel to prove its actually in diff lock. If it wont rotate then it suggests its locked.
Next thing to do same on the other front and then chock front wheels and let handbrake off and repeat on the rear 1 off the ground at a time. If any of them rotate then it suggests either a diff or half shaft issue on the wheel that turns. He may have locked the diff because hes blown part of the drive train |
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29th Aug 2021 9:46pm |
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| Co1 Member Since: 19 Aug 2018 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 3678 
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What Tim said. The only reason for welding it locked would be because he has snapped a drive shaft somewhere or another part of the transmission. It’s quite an extreme solution as a half shaft isn’t all that expensive! Interested to know what you find.
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30th Aug 2021 5:03am |
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| dcraig123 Member Since: 29 Aug 2021 Location: Wokingham Posts: 2 
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Ok so the guy had welded the rear diff. The rest of the drivetrain seems fine. He had put 4" lift on the vehicle so maybe that was why he welded it??
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12th Sep 2021 3:51pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17443 
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I think it more likely that he welded it because he was stupid. The fact that he put a 4" lift on tends to support this theory!
Incidentally the rear diff being welded would have no effect whatsoever on the high/low change nor the centre diff lock, and is inconsistent with your opening post. How have you established that he welded the rear diff? |
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12th Sep 2021 5:13pm |
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| Gasket Member Since: 30 May 2020 Location: Manchester Posts: 629 |
As above - there seems to be a bit of confusion here. Welding the rear diff wouldn’t affect the diff lock disengagement.
My theory would be that the diff lock lever is gummed up and jammed over to the right. Not beyond the realms of possibility as the mechanism can certainly get bunged up stopping you changing from high to low. Think the “welded rear diff” is a red herring that is unrelated: how knowledgable is the seller? (by the sounds of things a trader?). If they’re clueless, they could think this is a perfectly plausible explanation. The only “acceptable” reason for welding a rear diff (actually just the casing) that I know of in LR circles is when pegging a diff to add a slip bush to prevent the crownwheel from wobbling about. Outside of LR circles, some hooligans weld up the rear diff (literally, welded gears) to lock the rear shafts so that they can drift it into an early grave. Could the previous owner have done this to make it have a permanently locked rear diff? Possibly, but you wouldn’t use it on the roads, it’d be something a farmer’s kid might do to a farmyard hack if it’s only being used in the fields or permanently off road. It does sound like a silly previous owner and an uninformed seller. If you’ve bought it from a trader the. I’d argue that the vehicle isn’t fit for the road if you can’t disengage difflock nor would it be fit for the road if the rear diff has indeed been welded and in either case they should pay to put it right. If a private seller then you’re on your own but either fix should be relatively easy. If the linkage: remove, clean, grease and refit. If the rear diff: slide out the halfshafts, remove diff and fit a second hand one off eBay. Both jobs can be completed on the driveway in a day or by any specialist in a few hours. Last edited by Gasket on 12th Sep 2021 7:57pm. Edited 2 times in total |
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12th Sep 2021 6:11pm |
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| Gasket Member Since: 30 May 2020 Location: Manchester Posts: 629 |
Hang on… daftquestion - but how do you know that difflock won’t disengage? Is it that the lever is stuck to the left or is just that the light still illuminated after you think you’ve disengaged it with the lever?
If it’s just the light then after moving the lever back to disengage the diff lock it can take a short drive (100 yards or so) before the light comes back off - have you tried to drive it at all, it hasn’t just been sitting still has it? |
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12th Sep 2021 6:13pm |
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| Dinnu Member Since: 24 Dec 2019 Location: Lija Posts: 3421
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The good news is that the diff pin will not fail.
1988 90 Hard Top, 19J Diesel Turbo, Shire Blue - Restoration ongoing
2012 90 CSW, 2.2TDCI, Santorini Black |
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13th Sep 2021 5:11am |
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