Jaroslav

It's not the idle revs because the battery light persists until I rev it up quite significantly, probably to 2000-2500 RPM (can't say exactly). Thanks for all the replies - huge help!

I have a somewhat strange behavior of battery indicator (110, 1987, diesel). When I turn the ignition on, the battery indicator starts glowing and stays like that even after the ending start running. It keeps glowing until I rev the engine up. After that the indicator stays off even if the engine goes idling. Is it a problem? I also noticed some white stuff on the battery contacts.

The book says that the correct torque is set by tightening the nut and checking "drive pinion resistance to rotation", which means I'd have to open the diff to be able to set it correctly. I'm screwed!

Previously, I claimed that the pinion bearings are gone, but after reviewing the pictures and rereading the workshop manual's section that describes the axle rebuilding procedure, it occurs to me that what I observed (loose pinion) was expected because after you remove the flange, the outer bearing cone falls out. So, maybe the pinion bearings are fine after all. Now, your response makes a lot of sense. Will do the test you're describing tomorrow. I hope the clunking noise is caused by the halfshaft splines on the inner side (the hub sides seemed to be OK). Since I just bought the truck, I'd like to run a complete set of maintenance first: replace fluids, grease whatever needed, timing belt etc. This is not the right time for dicking around with such a serious job as diff rebuilding. BTW, why do you have to spread the axle? What's the point? Is it done to remove slack?

I didn't get it: you replaced the hubs and the slack was gone? And then it reappeared after a month? Where, in the hubs again? I did check the splines at the hubs (just removed the rubber cups). It seems that the splines there are tight. I did notice however, that one of the halfshafts moves freely along its axis, probably a 1/4 inch, while the other is not. Is it normal?

Here is an excerpt from this page: http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/rimmer/land-ro...tial%20-%20Rear

Well, I don't remember if my pinion moves back and forth. It wobbles in the opening - that's for sure. I suspect I should be ordering the pinion and crownwheel in addition to the pinion bearings.

Well, if it just moved along the axis of the pinion I would agree with you, but it moves sideways. You can rock the external part of the pinion up and down and it seems like what holds the pinion in place is the crownwheel's teeth. Is this normal? I would expect it to be held in place by the bearings and the only movement allowed should be lateral along the pinion axis.

Yes, it's a Salisbury. So, you're saying Dicso diffs won't fit. Thanks, saved me a lot of trouble (and money). By the way, the guy who sold me this truck (an ex-British military, LHD, diesel) claimed that the rear differential is heavy duty. But my workshop manual seems to be implying that if the serial number number starts from 21S (mine is 21S28345B), then it's standard. How standard would be different from heavy-duty? Is the difference only by the number of pinions inside (4 instead of 2)? Thanks, Jaroslav

Hi all, The rear diff on my 1987 Defender is busted. Somebody offered me a pair of Disco 1 axles, which, I've been told, have a slightly higher gear ratio, but I am not sure if they would be suitable for a diesel-powered unit. On the plus side, I'd get all 4 wheel disc brakes and probably better mileage. Could somebody please comment on the wisdom of such an upgrade? Would it even fit? I've tried to google the topic and found somebody saying that the propellor shaft is shorter on the Discovery? Is it true? Thanks, /Jaroslav

Well, yes, big clunk! I just bought a truck, which has the clunk every time you switch gears, unless you're really careful. I removed the propellor, and the flange that sits on the drive pinion. The pinion just dropped inside the casing - you can wobble it with two fingers, half inch, up-and-down. I haven't opened the whole thing, but it seems that the pinion bearings are gone. I have no idea how the poor thing could even drive as it did. I would imagine that broken bearings would produce a lot of crushed metal that would inevitably jam the pinion/crownwheel and get the whole thing stuck. But it didn't happen. I am wondering if the pinion & the crownwheel will have to be replaced now? Another silly question: can you pull the diff from the casing while it's on the truck? It looks like it could be possible to remove the cover from the diff's back, pull the shafts from the hubs and take the diff out. /Jaroslav