Cluaran

Yes, that's why I would love to avoid this if at all possible... not least because I'd be doing it on my back on very cold gravel! 😱 I'm hoping that repeatedly welding nuts or stubby bolts onto the sheared ends plus somehow belting heat into them will break the corrosion and let me waggle them out. So far, however, I keep tearing these off with no movement from the stuck bolts. But as landroversforever commented above, I may need to longer bursts of weld to get both heat and penetration... which is my next move when the danger of frostbite or electrocution passes! Also, I'm going to try welding plain steel rather than zinc plated nuts on in the hope of better adhesion. If, with great reluctance, I do try drilling, I saw a useful video on youtube where a combination of self-centering hinge drills, a centre-drill, and cobalt drills were used to get to the point suggested by Pete above where the remains of the bolt threads might be removed with a tap. Careful stuff but unless I throw in the towel and opt for recovery my options seem very limited. But thank your for suggesting a Bridgeport... that really would be the Rolls Royce route!

Hi Vulcan Bomber, In theory the component - which is a kind of plate beneath the engine - could be removed, but realistically not unless the vehicle was high up on ramps in a workshop (luxury!) rather than on axle stands on gravel. Recovery to a workshop will be the very last option, I hope. I don't know if there is any kind of portable drilling jig to ensure accurate drilling out in tight spots. So I suppose if hand drilling is the only option, cobalt drill bits and even more patience will be needed. 🤞

Thanks to both Bowie and landroversforever. The youtube video you've shared Bowie is the one I mentioned I hadn't tried - attaching a good battery via jump leads to the bolt (positive) and body. In the video the bolts appear to get red hot and break the corrosion. I wonder if you or anyone else had actually tried that method: a hell of a lot cheaper than an induction heater gun! And yes, landroversforever, I think you must have a point. I've been a bit wary about welding directly upwards. I've got the welder running pretty hot and the wire feed quite fast to try and push the wire up to where it needs to go to adhere to the bolt and fill the nut. But I've tried to avoid gravity causing my blobs to sag or drip and distort the sides of the nut - hence the quick bursts! But I think you're right - I'm not sure I've struck the right balance - perhaps I'm trying to make it too neat rather than give it real welly. I think I'll have to wrap myself in welding leathers and try again. Really useful pointers lads - much appreciated.

Thank you Pete. Yes, I think it's time I invested in some decent cobalt drills for sure... and probably a helicoil set too... if only to prepare for a possible endgame. I'd like to try to avoid that if at all possible though, but the options do appear to be narrowing greatly. This is such a common problem it's an infuriating design issue I fail to understand, just as I fail to understand why induction heater guns should be so ridiculously expensive when by all accounts they do seem to offer a pretty good way out. Thanks for your thoughts.

Thank you for that idea David which is worth considering. The problem I envisage is that the actual bolts are below surface (currently with welding blobs suspended like stalactites) and just 10mm diameter; I've used a 4mm drill so far (not always perfectly centred) so any new screws would seem rather flimsy. As it is, when using bolt extractors (a bit like smaller screws) there is no movement and I reach a point where I'm concerned that they might snap. Although the idea of using the new screws to get deeper heat penetration might offer a window. I did see one youtuber weld on a bolt in preference to a nute - which might allow a similar approach - especially if an induction heater was available. I'm up in the wild (currently snowy) North West Highlands, but I'll ask around to see if anyone has an induction heater. (What a cost though!!). Thank you so much for pitching in.

Hello Gents, And merry lockdown season's greetings! This is a long shot - and I apologise to admins if out of place - but probably relevant to tackling similar tasks on our Defenders and a challenge I'm sure others have faced. Whilst in the process of rebuilding my 1999 TD5, a regular vehicle check on the family 2011 Passat required the replacement of its front suspension lower arm bushes which VW call 'console bushes'. It seemed a simple enough task (for which VW wanted to charge nearly £400!) - three bolts each side (1 x 18mm head and 2 x 16mm head) through an aluminium bush bracket into an aluminium underbody beneath the engine - so I jacked up and hit the gravel. Using my air impact wrench the two 18mm's came out quite easily, as did one of the 16mms (10mm body). Despite plenty of a well-known penetrating oil, heat from my plumber's butane torch and gentle to-ing and fro- ing with a hand socket wrench, the remaining three bolts sheared! Removing the brackets over the remaining studs themselves proved another challenge: they certainly couldn't be slipped off their retaining arms and I had to drill rubber and cut and pry them off in the end. It's clear that whoever fitted these components on that unhappy Friday in Germany had decided to use no grease or anti seize on either bolts or brackets. %^$$£*%! My dilemma now is that until I can remove the sheared bolts I can't slip on the replacement brackets/bushes and the car is unusable. Ridiculous. I've tried various methods learned on my Defender to free the sheared bolts but to no avail and I'm hoping someone might be able to point me to the trick I've missed. So far I've tried the following: welded nuts onto the stubs - nuts torn off; drilled into bolts (as centred as possible, but imperfect) , then welded on nuts hoping for greater grip - nuts torn off; built up 'blobs' on the stubs and tried grabbers for rounded nuts - blobs torn off; bolt extractors - seemed to expand remaining stub and tighten against thread with no bolt movement; left-handed drill-bits - after biting, they simply go on removing metal, so I stopped before damaging threads... So I'm now getting lost for swear words. I've yet to try one idea seen on youtube - applying jump leads from a good battery to built-up blobs to seriously heat up the bolts to release any corrosion - but I had hoped welding might do that! And I watched one jolly American cousin applying induction heat to seized bolts using an induction gun which costs a mere £600!! I should add that the sheared bolts (all now sheared to the surface of the plate in which they are seized) point directly downwards so I have to weld blobs and nuts directly upwards; using first 0.6mm and now using 0.8mm wire - my welder is turned up to just below maximum amps and fairly fast wire speed. I use quick bursts to tack or fill nuts or make blobs but still wonder if I am getting good penetration or how else this might be ensured. I imagine that completely drilling out the sheared bolts would be a nightmare and would almost certainly lead to damaged threads and helicoils... but am I missing something? Once again, apologies if this appears off-piste but any suggestions or new swear words gratefully received.

Many thanks for the tip good sir!

Wow! Absolutely fantastically quick response Bowie. Brilliant. Thanks very much! The gravel awaits!...

Hello Gents! I'm poised to hit the gravel and hoist my Salisbury axle back into position on my 1999 TD5 110 hard top, but have a nagging doubt about the brackets which retain the shock absorbers. During refurbishment, these brackets contained small metal 'cups' which were so corroded I chiselled them off. I'm sure I've seen replacement brackets without such cups; couldn't seem to find anywhere selling them for welding on to the bracket, and so believe them to be basiccally unnecessary. Before I go through the agonies of the gravel, can anyone reassure me that I'm right... or tell me if I need to get hold of a couple (from where?) and weld them on...? Many thanks! :)

Thank you gents! That all sounds reassuring so I'll go with that. All I have to do now is lie down on the cold wet gravel of my drive with my trolley jack and hoist and jiggle the axle into position..

Hello Gentlemen! Whilst rebuilding my Salisbury axle on my TD5 110 hard top, the upper link old ball joint looked worse for wear with its split gaiter. So - never having done this before - I decided to replace it and have now pressed a new one into its bracket using the (very solid and helpful) tool I got off ebay. It is properly aligned with the bolt holes and I've since pumped it with grease. Having done so, however, I am not sure how much - if any - articulation/swivelling movement there is supposed to be. It is rigid and I can't move it by hand. Trouble is I can't remember if I could do so before pressing it in, and I'm not sure if its current rigidity is simply because it's not subjected to the forces that an axle in use would face. It's clearly a tight press fit, and I wonder if I somehow damaged it whilst pressing it in - though I'm not sure how and I can't see any obvious problem? I want to reattach the axle before winter but I'd really like to be confident that the new ball-joint is fit for purpose. Has anyone else done this and could advise? Thanks!

'Evening Gents! Just a quick update to give hope to anyone else who may have come a cropper with their pinion threads and nut. Here are the steps I took: 1. Ordered a new pinion nut from the ex Mod supplier suggested by Western. Brilliant! Ordered one afternoon, arrived next morning... and I live a long way away! 2. Wire wheel on my grinder to remove as much (knackered nut thread) debris from the pinion threads as possible. This made a noticeable difference to the thread but I was still unable to wind on the new nut which would still not 'catch' because of the state of the thread, so I ordered a small re-threading die kit online - arrived three days later. 3. I then used a grinding wheel to put a 45 -ish degree chamfer on the end of the pinion, which made a starter thread or two accessible to the M22, 1.50 die, which I was JUST able to wind on straight by hand. I then used a 32mm socket and some WD40 to SLOWLY wind it on further until it really 'caught'. 4. At first I tried all this in a vice but as it grew tougher to turn the nut, I finally put the pinion back in the axle casing with the pinion flange - which I immobilised with a home-made bracket. I then unwound and removed the die, cleaned up the thread, added more WD40 and wound the die on again. I did this several times, winding on, winding off, cleaning, applying more WD40 until I'd reached good threads and wound right to the end. Liberal application of the oil really helped. This die - which doesn't cut - straightens out and removes debris from the damaged threads. They are not perfect, but I can now wind on the new nut a good way by hand before having to use a socket. And the nut is perfectly secure. All of this now means that I have been able to preload the pinion and progress to the pinion-diff hokey-cokey routine... which of course is much more straightforward. Some pictures of the straightened threads and tool used attached for info!

Thanks Vulcan Bomber. All that makes a lot of sense. I felt the nut was of poor quality so the idea that the pinion thread tore off some of the nut's threads sounds spot on. Looks like an attempt to clean up the pinion thread is my first option... and then a decent pinion nut. The ex-Mod source suggested by Western looks sound. Without wanting to bore anyone, I'll let you know how I get on when I can get back to this job. Thanks for your help.

Hello Gentlemen, A belated 'Thank You' to Western and Snagger for your suggestions and advice. Cannibalising a second-hand axle for its diff and pinion to slip into the original axle is a definite option and would save time barring the wait for it to be delivered to my remote location. I think I would first still like to try to salvage the existing setup if possible before going down that route: has anyone alse tried this before? Thank you also to Vulcan Bomber (great but loud plane btw!). I'm attaching some pix of the pinion and nut threads as suggested. What do you think?

Hello Gents, I foolishly knackered my Salisbury axle rear diff pinion by forgetting to replenish the oil after a big service. I finally bit the bullet to remove the axle and strip out and clean the diff and have made slow but sure progress, learning on the way and fabricating tools. At the point of reassembly to set pinion preload etc, I wanted a new 32mm pinion nut and discovered that LR have now made it obsolete. OK, so I got one from a non-OEM source. Seemed poor-ish quality and very tight, but with much persuasion it went on. However, after removing it again as part of the on-off shim-adjustment hokey-cokey (!!) both the nut and pinion threads are not looking at all good and the nut can no longer be reliably and securely wound on to the pinion. In fact I feel both threads are probably U/S, so the whole reassembly process has ground to a halt and I'm not sure how best to proceed. Questions: I'm not entirely sure what size the pinion thread is (?M20, 1.5 pitch... anyone know?) but could I clean it up with a suitable hand die and wrench, and then get another, undamaged, pinion nut? Or do I need a new pinion and crownwheel combo...? Thanks for any knowledge from those who've 'been there'. :)

Thanks gentlemen! I'll give that a go. You know how it is when you kinda run out of ideas...? But on the subject of pullers - having browsed the net a bit, I'm not sure what kind would be best for this kind of job. Would the two- or three-legged types be able to hold on to a thinnish bearing race lip? Or have the reach from the end of the shaft? What about the hydraulic types... do they have the reach? Lastly - at some point I'm going to have to re-install the bearings. I don't have a press. What do you reckon - heat the new one up (I've heard boiling suggested!!) and drop it on? Thanks again.

A few weeks ago, the rear (Salisbury) diff on my TD5 made horrible noises after I had forgotten to top it up with oil!! On the advice of dangerous doug and Western I brutalised the upper link nut and was finally able to remove the whole axle to carry out a full inspection. On my own, on a gravel track, with midges up my nose! In the rain! I was able to open up the casing, and, after some persuasion with a rubber mallet, removed the differential and pinion. I discovered that the seal and the outer pinion bearing had been completely chewed up - the latter literally falling off the shaft. I am now trying to remove the inner bearing. I removed the bearing cage and have tried two different sets of bearing pullers and separators (the shell-like 'knife' types) placed under the upper lip of the bearing race which remains on the shaft. I've used only a hand ratchet, and in each case, the %%%$$££@ pillar bolts of the puller have sheared across their threads during the pulling!! I'm surprised that the two puller-separators used so far have failed. See pix. Can anyone suggest a better puller, or what else to try? Thanks.

Cheers Western. I'll give it a go. I suppose I'll have to tie up/clamp the shoe while this is going on... I find this an awkward little job at the end of a brake overhaul... Strikes me it's either a slightly silly design feature or I'm lacking the right method. I wonder if there are any other ways of doing this.

Thanks Mark. Yes, I'd normally use pliers too, but the problem I've got is that whereas I can reach the back of the pin for the left hand shoe with my fingers (to make sure the pin stays put), I can't get behind the backplate for the right-hand shoe - hence my efforts to shove bits of wood down the back of it to try and stop the pin retreating or falling out.

I'm almost too embarrassed to post this. It should be soooo simple to push on the shoe retaining spring and cup, but I can't seem to figure out a way to stabilise and stop the retaining pin falling out the back of the handbrake backplate on the right hand side. I'm working on my back underneath (using stands and trolley under rear axle). I've tried shoving bits of wood behind but can't seem to get one of the right profile to make sure the pin stands proud enough to put the spring on. There's obviously a knack (or maybe some kind of bent tool...) for this. Any advice, gents?

Epilogue: the discs I had been supplied with were thicker and the depth of the hub flange was indeed about 10mm greater than the originals. I literally put an old disc on to the counter of a local supplier and have established that they are indeed the only discs listed for my chassis number. Looks like th folks in Matlock made an honest mistake in handing me the wrong boxes. Lessons learned: 1. If collecting or ordering goods: double-double check 2. If possible, physically compare the items 3. If you do get in a pickle and can't figure it out - use this forum, because this is where the good guys are! Thanks everyone

Thanks to Aragorn and Three Sheds and John. The balance is definitely tipping towards me having been given the wrong size discs. (The quality is fine by the way - no complaints there ). The boxes and plastic bags don't carry any part numbers and the receipt has, of course, gone AWOL. I'm going to plonk an old disc on someone's counter and say 'I want two of them!'. Thanks for the brakeworld links. I'm off to put my thermals on now...

Hello John. Thanks for the query. I'm not sure. They are solid (i.e. non-vented). Do they still do solid discs for the front...?

Hello Folks! I went mad recently and decided to replace the rear discs and calipers on my TD5 110 T-reg just after the snow cleared but before the first swallow of summer had appeared. After disassembling and re-assembling the hubs with the new discs, I now find that the discs rub against the caliper retaining brackets; I can barely tighten the hub nuts before the whole shebang ceases to turn; and the clearances in the calipers are so tight that even after making sure the pistons are out of the way, I can only insert one pad (e.g. the left one in the case of the left rear hub). I got the discs from a well known supplier near Matlock having provided the chassis details, but I'm now wondering whether they are just a bit too big and whether there are variant sizes for what I understood was a standard. I gave up last night with frost-bite ;-) so haven't measured the depth of the hub flange on the disc but in the frosty twilight the new ones seemed slightly bigger. I'm using the existing bearings and spacer but I wonder whether I need a different (larger or smaller) spacer. Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks bogmonster. I'll have a shufty.