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jst

Member Since: 14 Jan 2008
Location: Taunton
Posts: 8097

2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Stornoway Grey

Is it the diff pan? Gwyn lewis does replacement weld on items.

If you want easiest spanner8ng solution replace whole axle.

If you want cheapest most reliable solution, rebuild own casing and add ashcroft diff and cvs, shafts.

If want reliability and like new axle idea fit ashcroft items to new casing. . Cheers

James
110 2012 XS Utility
130 2011 M57 bespoke Camper
90 2010 Hardtop
90 M57 1988 Hardtop

24th Oct 2022 5:42pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17477

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey

RobKeay wrote:
... Would I have done further damage removing the propshaft and driving home??

Impossible to say really, it is likely that you won't have made it any worse. Ideally you would have pulled the halfshafts but that is not really practicable on the front axle. In an emergency with a locked front axle you can remove the drive flanges and lock the centre diff to drive, but it will allow grot in and oil out. Really only for emergencies.

RobKeay wrote:
Winchester isn’t a bad price really. I will give them a call.

I priced up an equivalent to my (non-ABS) front axle out of interest, and it was about £2500 including the ATB and HD shafts etc, which isn't too bad. That is exchange, and if you have a smashed diff and gaping hole they may not accept it as an exchange, worth checking. Also make it absolutely clear that you wont accept a MIG-welded case even if it is the latest type (the kind that looks as though an incompetent child welded it).

RobKeay wrote:
... I’ll take this as a lesson it’s time to look after the 110 better. I’ve had it from new, have no intention of selling.

If it is a keeper then spending a bit more to get a really good axle may make sense, but you will get a better axle with a controlled rebuild than buying either a second-hand unknown one (or even a replacement from LR if they still supply them). It would definitely be worth upgrading the diff to either a four-gear or an ATB as an absolute minimum, you don't want this to happen again.

JST has summed the situation up very well in the post immediately before this one.

24th Oct 2022 6:01pm

RobKeay

Member Since: 19 Jul 2009
Location: Stafford
Posts: 1585

2014 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 USW Corris Grey

Thanks for your responses really appreciate it

24th Oct 2022 7:32pm

RobKeay

Member Since: 19 Jul 2009
Location: Stafford
Posts: 1585

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

This is my poor old axle

25th Oct 2022 12:18pm

jst

Member Since: 14 Jan 2008
Location: Taunton
Posts: 8097

New swivels, gwny diff pan, ashcroft diff, shafts and cvs. Wheel bearings whilst in there. Other than oil changes no need for future worries Cheers

James
110 2012 XS Utility
130 2011 M57 bespoke Camper
90 2010 Hardtop
90 M57 1988 Hardtop

25th Oct 2022 2:03pm

geobloke

Member Since: 06 Nov 2012
Location: Nottinghamshire
Posts: 4410

Quote:
New swivels, gwny diff pan, ashcroft diff, shafts and cvs. Wheel bearings whilst in there. Other than oil changes no need for future worries

Al in all a fun weekend really

25th Oct 2022 2:21pm

custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20487

As JST said, that’s a good area for it to be damaged when it comes to repairability though a pain and bad luck that it happened at all.
And an additional pain that it’s the front and not the rear which is much easier to deal with.

Taking off the DM’s or props on highways in the case of a breakdown, can be done but isn’t ideal when it comes to safety.
But when having breakdown cover, it’d be far better to use that as you have the additional safety of their van and or they may recover it for you as well but depends upon the situation.

Reminds me to check my diff oil, and give it a change soon as it’s about due.

No Guts, No Glory.
🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪🇺🇸⛽️🛢️⚙️🧰💪

25th Oct 2022 9:23pm

RobKeay

Member Since: 19 Jul 2009
Location: Stafford
Posts: 1585

Thanks for the concern but I managed to limp to site and took the prop off there.

Yes to be honest I knew that diff was leaking. I didn’t fix or check it. So it might have run low and overheated. Routine maintenance is key, I am normally good hence getting to 156k with only a few items going.

25th Oct 2022 9:52pm

Shroppy

Member Since: 25 Feb 2016
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 866

1986 Defender 130 V8 Petrol HCPU Aintree Green

I have to agree with the others, if you can spare the vehicle for a few weeks:

- Remove the axle in it's entirety.
- Strip/Clean/repair/Paint (lots of good options out there) the casing, hubs etc.
- Rebuild with new bearings, seals and bolts plus any upgrades (4pin or ATB would get my vote).

Rebuilding the axle doesn't require any specialist tools (other than a hub nut spanner) and is pretty straightforward with plenty of guides available. I should think that you could achieve the above for significantly less than your quote from Winchester gears.

It's also a great opportunity to renew bushes, refurbish calipers and generally give everything a tidy up. Make sure you buy quality parts, I'd be more than happy to share the list of parts, makes and suppliers that I used for mine to give you an idea. 1985 127 V8 Build Thread
Series 2 109"
Series 1 80"

28th Oct 2022 6:59am

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