110 Front Diff - Paddock Rebuilt Replacement

[Troll Hunter]

Hi, I've just opened my replacement diff - Paddock rebuilt unit - which was packed superbly and arrived with zero damage. However, when I got it out of the packing, I had several surprises:

- about half the crown wheel diameter is covered with light rust on the teeth, also the pinion teeth, as if they had been standing partly submerged in water, perhaps in the diff case - see attached pdf New diff.pdffile;

- the prop shaft flange also has light surface rust, again, as if left out in the weather for some time.

- there was not a trace of any protective oil film on any of the components, internally or externally.

None of this would be particularly worrying, except that I can only just turn the prop shaft flange by hand. It is very, very stiff, and it feels as if the bearings are a bag of old bolts!

Please can somebody give me some guidance?

- Is this the condition that I should expect?

- Should this unit have been rebuilt and set up to original tolerances and torques?

- Will a good dose of oil free up the shaft and smooth the currently rough bearings?

- Should I consider a strip and rebuild of this unit, to ensure that bearings and tolerances, etc., are all good?

Since I'm in the middle of BC, Canada, I can't just pop down the road to my local LR specialist. The nearest one is about 12 hours drive away, so any advice and opinions will be very much appreciated. Many thanks.

Mike

[white90]

I would send pics to Paddocks or link to this and ask them for a replacement quick sharp!

[ThreeSheds]

I would send pics to Paddocks or link to this and ask them for a replacement quick sharp!

As above. There is no way they should have sent it out in that condition. The bearings are probably rusty too. You should not strip it down - just send them the pics and ask for a replacement - and the return postage for the rusty unit if they want it back.

Do you have photos of the packaging? I am thinking that they may well suspect water damage in transit - which could slow things down as it introduces third parties blaming each other. If you can show that the packaging was good when it arrived and showed no sign of water damage then I think it would increase your chance of a speedy solution to the problem.

I wonder is a 'rebuilt replacement' the same as a 'reconditioned unit'? Personally I would expect so and for any 'rebuilt' or 'reconditioned' diff I would expect (in my humble opinion) it to look like new: Everything should be set and adjusted as per the factory. All machined surfaces should look freshly skimmed and clean and lightly coated with either lanolin, oil or grease as suits and it should be wrapped in that anti-rust paper.

I think that customer service from Paddocks has been improving of late - I hope that they sort this out quick-snap for you

Roger

[zoltan]

I'd expect to receive it dripping in oil and certainly reasonably well protected in transit. That has the look of a breakers yard special that has been in the parts washer, lain on the shelf for a while then gone in the box. That light dusty rusty looks just like it has been parts washed, dried and then absorbed every bit of atmospheric moisture on each machined face

[ashtrans]

Hi Mike,

I wouldn't be overly concerned just yet,

1) the drive flange does have surface rust which is not ideal but it looks superficial and would probably have this after a week under the truck anyway, you could maybe give it a quick wire brush and squirt with waxoyl,

2) the yellow marking on the ring and pinion gears is not rust, this is 'orca' marking paste used to check the contact pattern when setting up the ring and pinion, totally normal, a good sign if anything, shows it has been built correctly.

3) the ring gear looks like it has packaging debris on the teeth which would make it turn rough, maybe get some white spirit or similar on a rag, put it in a vice, flange down, and wipe the teeth to clean them, once clean, give the bearings and crown wheel a squirt of oil and roll it a few times by turning the crown wheel with clean gloves on.

the diff looks like a new part to me rather than recon and the factory do set them quite tight, if you cannot turn it by rolling the crown wheel you can put a drill on the drive flange nut to spin it a few revs to get the oil circulated, it will then hopefully be quite a bit smoother.

[Troll Hunter]

Hi, Many thanks to you all for such quick replies. I've spoken to Paddocks and sent them photos, and am awaiting their verdict before doing anything. Your comments, Dave, about the "orca" paste could be spot-on. I've very carefully explored the rust on the crown wheel, and it doesn't appear to be dry powder, as I'd expect rust to be, so it may well be the remnants of their set-up paste. I'll see what Paddock say on Monday, and proceed from there. I don't want to invalidate any warranty, and returning it would be a right PITA!

Mike

[Ex Member]

As stated, that is not rust. The pinion bearing preload can be quite tight.

[Mr Bean]

Any news?

[Troll Hunter]

Hi, All, and a very merry Christmas to you. At last, I've completed installation of my new front diff. Installation out in the snow, at -10 degrees isn't a totally irresistible attraction, which is why it's taken me so long to complete. As suggested by ashtrans, and supported by Paddocks, who had been monitoring the thread, I gave it a very good internal cleaning with kerosene, and I mean very good, and then drained and dried it all before soaking all bearings in oil. I'm amazed at how much apparent bad bearing signs were caused by very small fibres of packing material. I'm talking about fibres of paper and of corrugated cardboard, not of wood or metal. Before installation the unit would rotate smoothly, but the preload meant it still required significant force. However, it's now in, and although I haven't done significant mileage, all appears to be well. So, many thanks to all who provided input, and particularly to Les Hensen for his excellent threads on both front diff replacement and stub axle rebuild.

Now, I'm off to my Chrisie dinner!

Mike