How hard is it to change a rear diff on a disco????

[les baty]

Hi all,

had a great night on the Solihull chip run on Friday, but appear to have scrapped my rear diff!!!!

Any handy hints and tips on replacing it??

many thanks
Jase

[ChrisW70]

Oops  :oops: how on earth did you manage to do that  :-k :lol:
Replacement's not too bad, half shafts out, prop off and diff out. Some RTV sealant for the diff and halfshafts.

Have you got a replacement diff? If you can get hold of a 24 spline disco front diff and a 200 rear prop you can get rid of that useless rubber donut coupler, failing that you can put an older 10 spline diff in but will need to change the half shafts to suit.

[turbonutter]

its a very easy job to do the rear diff , iv done a few rear diffs in the last few months on mine , im on 37's and i dont even need to jack it up or take the wheels off  :D

as criss said put a disco front diff in and get rid of the donut

[les baty]

Hi Chris,
i think it was on its way out before last night, but it got creamed!!!

It is a 24 spline diff, but there isnt a donut in there, but aparently its a RRC axle, but i cant see any obvious differences between the disco axle and the RRC one.

Today i have replaced both rear discs and pads, when i pulled the half shaft out, it followed with a hell of a lot of water, caught me off guard and soaked my nether regions!!!  Not very impressed as i then spotted where it was coming from.  The water was very similar in colour to what we went through last night!!!

I think i took a sample from every puddle!!!

Have been offered a replacement unit for £70 service exchange.  Just wondering once the half shafts are out, will the diff unit just unbolt and drop out?

cheers
Jase

[ChrisW70]

Yes it'll drop out - get a trolley jack under it ready as it's not light, but yes, just remove all the nuts and out it comes - leave a couple of nuts on a couple of turns near the top of the diff so it doesn't 'fall' out.
Price doesn't sound too bad considering it's a 24 spline, not heard of them being service exchange before tho, would expect that price to be outright purchase unless they're offering some sort of warranty.
Check your axle breather's not blocked as well - could be why it's pulled so much water in.

There were one or two puddles along the way wasn't there 

[Range Rover Blues]

24 spline RRC would have the doughnut too, unless it came from the front or was a very rare hard dash 24 spline axle.

Diffs are heavy so you need a trolley jack with a big pan to balance it on.  Don't trust silicone sealant either, get a proper gasket and grease it before use.

Make sure you get all the bits of old diff outm of the axle casing too, otherwise you'll have problems, go on, ask me how I know

[Chris Putt]

30 mins if you are quick!

[les baty]

Well, i have stripped out the old diff and this is what i found.....









Shocking really!!!

its all cleaned out now, awaiting the replacement.

I got a feeling this has been going on for quite a while.....  hopefully it might be a little quiter when we are driving from now on!

Thanks for your suggestions and comments
cheers
Jase

[Xtremeteam]

i had a diff go like that once, was due to me adding a oil addative to make the oil "stickyer" since then just used normal Ep90 & havent had any issues as yet

tip 1- change the oil regularly & make sure ur breather is clear
tip 2- if it takes anymore than an hour to change a rear diff you are drinking to much tea  :lol:

[les baty]

cheers very much.

I have had to take this one a bit slower than would have liked, as i am just recovering from a bad back (3rd time in 2 years!!)  the bone cruncher has luckily managed to sort it out, so i didnt want to harm it too much.  The tea, was flowing, but most of the time went cold!!!  The blood was also flowing quite well, it doesnt really matter what i do, i always manage to gouge a hole in my hands!!!

By the way, we only just purchased this disco, so this error is not due to my lack of maintenance, my other discos dont whine at all! 

[hobbit]

By the look of the colour there I'd say you have been getting muddy water in it, possibly through the breather?

Do you have a kit fitted?

[les baty]

Hi,
the diff was noisy and in not good shape when we bought it 3 weeks ago, and i hoped it would last a bit longer than it has, so i could have a bit of a play in it.

the reason the water had got in was due to the bearing being worn, thus knackering the seal!

Put it all down to experience!!  I am just going to add this to my Landrover learning curve  :), and found it heavy, but easy to do!

[Range Rover Blues]

found it heavy, but easy to do!

I know where to come and get mine donw then :lol:

[les baty]

yeh, im a brummy, i'll do anything for money! ha ha ha.

When i say easy, it was very easy compared with the one i put on a Granada, about 10 years ago, only i forgot to fill it up with oil, got half a mile down the road doing 50 mph down the bypass, when i suddenly whipped a 360, due to it ceasing up!!  You live and learn, very quickly when i was younger!!!

[marmite monster]

good work jase! i woke up today to 2 flat tyres i give up!!!!

[les baty]

Well, at least they are easier to change than the diff.  and to top it all off, the red disco has now got a clutch problem!

It cant get much better than that!!!!

[Steve ray]

i had a diff go like that once, was due to me adding a oil addative to make the oil "stickyer" since then just used normal Ep90 & havent had any issues as yet

tip 1- change the oil regularly & make sure ur breather is clear
tip 2- if it takes anymore than an hour to change a rear diff you are drinking to much tea  :lol:

As for the trolley jack ............ only required if you're a 8st weakling  ;)

[bigedyant]

As for the trolley jack ............ only required if you're a 8st weakling  ;)

Or if your belly isn't big enough to support the diff as it comes out!!  :shock: :-$

[Disco Matt]

As for the trolley jack ............ only required if you're a 8st weakling  ;)

Or if your belly isn't big enough to support the diff as it comes out!!  :shock: :-$

Or if big lumps of metal hitting the ground near your limbs worry you!  :shock:

[bigwood]

Used to do half shafts on Series 2,s in the army on a regular basis, duff driving being the usual cause. You cant do wheel spins in a series 2 petrol ask the fitters :doh:. Shafts out, diff out, move truck to a clean bit of muck, bash out broken half shaft bits, dig out the bits of metal from the diff casing, chuck the diff and half shafts in and refill the axle with OEP90 all done in 20/30minits. :roll:

[andygod]

I've just put a 24 spline front diff in the rear axle of my 200 disco. I found that the casting on the 300 diff is different to the earlier one. The two short studs on either side of the diff casing on a 200 are too short for the 24 spline diff from the 300. Fingers crossed that it doesn't leak or let water in.

[solihull-mick]

There are stud length issues , but they can be replaced with correct length ones, just wack them out, i dont bother with gaskets never have, use a good sealer, i use wurth bond and seal, no way the diff going to leak  :dance:

[sleepmonster]

nice work jase this mean u ready to come out n play??
si still hasnt sorted his flat tyres out haha been over a week now!

ste (si's little bro)