Filbee

And look out for the steel inner panel cracking near the lock button, hidden under the door card... My 06 TD5 has this issue. One day I'll get round to welding a new section in! I've never driven a Puma, but it had to be a TD5 when I was looking for a Defender. The last proper Landrover diesel engine fitted to a Defender, and I love that 5 cylinder sound 👌😎 I retrofitted a headed windscreen, and the heater in mine actually works really well once it's had about 5 miles to warm up 😁. Keeps the cab super toasty.

I think this is a good first step. EP90 stinks. Dab a bit of that fluid on your finger and sniff it 👍 Brake fluid also has quite a different texture to oil

I'd be interested to see what other people's shafts look like from the same era ( no sniggering at the back 😁) as a comparison.

Yes, I couldn't have left it as it was because I would have had that nagging doubt I'd not done it right 👍

Well folks, I've had a fun evening after work! After ordering the spacer rings and some new CV circlips, plus another stub axle gasket I was able to reassemble my CV joint and half shaft and put the axle and hub back together. It turns out I didn't need the spacer ring after all, despite what the parts listing and manual suggested 😵 All that effort pulling everything to bits and getting covered in grey moly grease, only to find that if I put the spacer ring on the half shaft, the CV joint wouldn't be able to slide on far enough to clear the circlip. I measured the length of the half shaft from the circlip groove to the end of the spacer ring and it was about 19mm. I then did my best to measure the length of the splined section on the inside of the CV joint, and I reckon it was about 24mm. So no way was that going to work! So I've put it all back together exactly as it was before I took everything to bits, with no spacer ring. There's very little movement of the CV joint on the halfshaft. Maybe a mm or two in and out, but that seems ok. Lesson learned! Maybe this will be of use to anyone else working on a late TD5... Pic of the end of the halfshaft And one of the spacer ring to show how far it covers the splined. I forgot to take a picture of it before I removed it and put the circlip on, but you get the idea.

It's the first time I've delved into the front axle and the previous owner was Severn Trent Water. I don't have any history and I don't know how fastidious these utility companies generally are at "doing it by the book", or just doing the minimum they can get away with. Seems a bit odd to miss out that spacer as I don't imagine it's something that needs to be changed due to wear and tear. Do they have a tendency to fall off and disappear under the nearest cupboard, or do they generally stay stuck on the halfshaft once you knock the CV joint off?

The numbers didn't include 29M. They only went up as far as 23L, so I'll be going by the XA onwards chassis number. So with that in mind I've ordered a couple of TYF000010 spacer rings, and I'll pull the driveshaft and CV joint out when I can summon up the enthusiasm and fit the spacer. I can't see that it's going to cause any major issues pottering about locally without the spacer ring for a week or two, given that it didn't have one for goodness knows how long! Thanks for taking me through the chassis codes Western 👍

And what about the 29M axle code? Can I find out anything useful from that?

Excellent. So the ones that say "XA onwards" would be 1999 onwards?

Ah, that makes sense! Mine is indeed 6Axxxxxx So when looking at parts, and it says "upto KAxxxxxx" or "from LAxxxxxx", how does that fit with the date codes in the link above? Apologies if this is basic stuff that most people understand already. I'm keen to learn so I can make sure I order the right bits when I need to!

While I think about it, with regard to chassis numbers... I see lots of references to things like "up to LAxxxxxx" "from XAxxxxxx" and so on... Mine only has one letter before the last 6 digits, as in: SALLDHAxxxAxxxxxx Where does that fit into the number sequence when trying to work out which bits to order?

Found the axle code without too much trouble 👍 It was a dot-punched code as expected for a 2006 and was below the weld on the longer side facing the front. And it was punched upside down 🤔 29M if that means anything!

Thanks Western. I'll have a scratch around tomorrow and see if I can find the axle code 👍

I've just rebuilt my swivels, which involved replacing the stub axle and CV joint on one side due to the stub axle needle roller bearing having collapsed and wrecking the bearing surface on the CV joint. When I separated the CV joint from the driveshaft, it popped off with a couple of smacks from my dead-blow hammer, but there was no spacer evident between the CV joint and the driveshaft. I only realised that maybe there should have been one after I'd refitted everything and the truck is back on it's wheels... My truck is a 2006 110 TD5 hardtop. My question is: Should there have been a spacer fitted, and is ok to drive without one in place? There's a square shoulder on the driveshaft behind the CV joint, and room for a small spacer to fit. The CV joint seems to fit quite nicely on the driveshaft without it 🤔 What do you reckon folks?

After me thinking I'd ordered a Britpart CV joint, what arrived this morning came in an AllMakes box... Looks about right anyway, next to the one I took off... I wonder if they're all made by the same manufacturer anyway?

Oooh, that's encouraging! Maybe I'll see how it goes before spending more money 🤞

Apologies if this has already been covered. I did a search but couldn't find anything... I've been busy fitting new swivels and wheel bearings to my 110 hardtop TD5 (non ABS). The driver's side went pretty smoothly really, considering this is my first foray into a Defender front axle! However, the near side wasn't so good. When I pulled the stub axle off, it was as dry as a chip inside and the needle roller that the CV joint runs in had failed. The the needles that were left in the race were at some very jaunty angles and the CV joint bearing face is groved as a result. I hurriedly ordered a stub axle kit and a CV joint. I'm not sure what make the stub axle kit is (I'll assume blue box), and the CV joint is definitely blue box. They seem to be the only ones available this side of spending north of £300 for a pair. My question is, how good are Britpart CVs, given it cost less than £40? And is there a better alternative for less than £150 a side? I see that Terrafirma do some HD ones for about that sort of money. I looked for GKN but they now only seem to be available with driveshafts as well, and are more like £200 a side. Any advice will be gratefully received!

I lived opposite the Cornish Choughs pub for 12 months many moons ago 😁

It's all rather disappointing! To be honest I've a mind to get a local independent fitter to try and sort it out. There's one who seems to do a lot of plant and machinery with traditional rubber seals so he will hopefully have a better idea of what to do! I've got a decent second hand seal so not too worried about that one being distorted. I just can't work out how they got it wrong 3 times now!

It's fitted the correct way round, and it's a genuine, brand new LR seal and a genuine Pilkington screen. It's almost as if the seal is too long and it's ended up being bunched up in the last corner. Does anyone know if we're any differences in the seals over the years? Did they change when the Puma was introduced with it's vent-less bulkhead? Mine is a late Td5 if it makes any difference 🤔

It's like the seal is too big. You can see it's kinked in the top corner on the inside and the seal isn't pulled in properly on the outside. I'd have asked him to take it out and have another go but this is the third screen they have tried to fit. They broke the other two... At least I can drive it over the weekend so I asked him to leave it for now. Any ideas what's caused this?

I wonder if anyone has come across this issue before? I've just had a well known national windscreen fitting company out to fit my windscreen and rubber. Brand new Pilkington screen, brand new Landrover rubber seal. This is what I'm left with

I'm afraid I can't help with your door, but your post did make me chuckle 😁 Good luck with getting it sorted 👍

Good shout, thank you Gav. They're only about 20 miles away and have had some recent(ish) 5 star reviews so they are favourite at the moment 👍 Now I've just got to wait for National Windscreens to have their third attempt at fitting a heated screen before I contemplate getting any other work done on the truck. It's a bit drafty at the moment...

There are a few not too far from me, I was just hoping to get some personal recommendations before deciding which one to use! I guess I'll just have to take a punt and report back in case anyone else in my area needs anything doing 👍