white90 Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Whilst stripping the front axle today for a full rebuild I noticed a crack propagating from the corner of the axle mounting for the Radius arm only about 3-4mm long on the top behind the bottom spring mount. No idea where or how this started or if it was fatigue I think it was as no impact damage. I have repaired it today but it may be worth havinga check of yours to see if a similar crack has started. My 90 is 12years old this year and covered 146k miles the last 50k in my tender care I didn't take any pics as Time was pressing to get other bits ordered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Shouldn't drive so mental then should you? Les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 mine was fine when I swapped the bushes yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted February 16, 2009 Author Share Posted February 16, 2009 Ralph mine wasn't obvious at all I recently fitted new radius arms and never saw it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 might have to go for a closer lok, but then your 90 see's a lot more offroad use than my 110. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Tony, your 90 has done a few miles and I think it would be fair to say you'd be classed as a 'heavy user' Certainly something to look out for but I think most of the mounts are susceptible to fatigue given the (ab)use your car's had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciderman Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 One other aspect to consider is a std length panhard rod on a lifted vehicle is always going to be under more stress on the mountings and bushes as its fighting against the radius arms for a happy geometry . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 One other aspect to consider is a std length panhard rod on a lifted vehicle is always going to be under more stress on the mountings and bushes as its fighting against the radius arms for a happy geometry . This depends upon the lift and the 'tolerances' of the original vehicle build. I did the math once and if all equal then a 2 inch lift makes about (IIRC) 1mm difference in sideways axle location. In any case the difference is very small and not really enough to consider an extreme adjustable panhard rod Either way, good call Tony (in light of recent events). I guess there are a number of people on this forum who push their LR a fair way beyond original intended usage and such fatigue cracking is bound to occur eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 The repair, but on close inspection of this pic there appears to be a further crack I'll look and report back incase it is a trick of the camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Upon further inspection the line that looks like a crack is infact just a mark on the surface that I have just wiped away. The corner where the crack started from can be accessed form below if I remove the radius arm. I may do this when my new axle stands arrive and the rain stops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discovan300tdi Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 since last june Ive changed 2 front axles one on my 1994 300tdi disco where the mounting brackets had sheared off on both sides on the o/s and another axle on my mates 1990 200tdi disco where it had sheared off on the n/s both times when fitting the replacement axles I ve given them a good wire brushing to get to bare metal to check for cracks and the welded a 4mm bit of steel with holes the same size as the radius arm, bolts on top of the brackets and used slightly longer bolts touchwood, theyve been ok on both motors since even with some over enthusisatic offroading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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