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Stripped Salisbury drive flange/shaft


green110

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So there I was cuising along, topping up the right elbow tan, towing a 3t diesel bowser, when we got to a hill. Dropped a gear, and a nasty grinding noise started at about the same time as forward motion stopped. For some time now I have known that the rear axle is past its best; a horrible clonking together with 3 feet of slack gave a clue. So I thought I had blown the diff. I should say that this is a 300 Tdi 110 that has just turned over 100 000 miles, many of them towing. Engage diff lock, CAREFULLY onto the verge. Out with the tools, expecting to pull the half shafts and drop the prop. Pull the first halfshaft, splines well worn (now I know why the long half shaft is on the left; when working on the verge, you don't have to go into the middle of the road to pull it out. Excellent design feature. Clearly not so good on the Continent). Out with the second, and sure enough it has stripped the splines. About 50:50 between the shaft and the flange. So VERY carefully continued with the bowser, driving like Granny and freewheeling round corners, and managed to get back to the yard without busting a CV joint. Interestingly the poor state of the back axle is demonstrated by the fact that in two wheel drive there is actually less clonking!

The question is, what to do next. First task is to try and assess the diff for freeplay and wear. The least I could do would be to put two new shafts and two new flanges in. Or I could get a secondhand complete axle and fit that. Any opinions? What shafts and flanges would be best? I want long term reliability (I'd like to clock another hundred thousand) but I don't do any recreational off roading - just real off roading towing bowser or trailer usually on tip sites - I've got Mud Terrains on. Any views on how best to check the diff? Anything I could do if it is worn? Are the front shafts likely to be better or worse?

Thanks in advance.

G110

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Guest diesel_jim

On my Td5 110, last week i had a rear halfshaft, front CV and 2 drive flanged changed coz i had heaps of backlash.

it made the world of difference!

I don't think that the splines in the differential ever wear out, because a) the steel is migh higher grade and quality than the tin drive flanges, and B) the diff is full of oil, which lubricates it.

I'd just go for a pair of shafts and 2 flanges. also i'd pop the rubber caps off the front flanges too, and have a look-seem could be worth changing those too as they woiuld have done the same milage as the back (hopefully! :blink: )

my 110 has 121,000 and needed them.

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Salisbury flanges are the weakest link in the axle and tend to strip eventually. I used to carry one spare flange just in case. Even though the shafts end up fairly worn, with a new flange there is a bit more life left in them.

I'd just change the flanges & shafts and see how it goes. You could even just buy an axle (probably cheaper too) and swap the bits. If more fixing is needed, swap the rest of the bits.

Si

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So there I was cuising along, topping up the right elbow tan, towing a 3t diesel bowser, when we got to a hill. Dropped a gear, and a nasty grinding noise started at about the same time as forward motion stopped. For some time now I have known that the rear axle is past its best; a horrible clonking together with 3 feet of slack gave a clue. So I thought I had blown the diff. I should say that this is a 300 Tdi 110 that has just turned over 100 000 miles, many of them towing. Engage diff lock, CAREFULLY onto the verge. Out with the tools, expecting to pull the half shafts and drop the prop. Pull the first halfshaft, splines well worn (now I know why the long half shaft is on the left; when working on the verge, you don't have to go into the middle of the road to pull it out. Excellent design feature. Clearly not so good on the Continent). Out with the second, and sure enough it has stripped the splines. About 50:50 between the shaft and the flange. So VERY carefully continued with the bowser, driving like Granny and freewheeling round corners, and managed to get back to the yard without busting a CV joint. Interestingly the poor state of the back axle is demonstrated by the fact that in two wheel drive there is actually less clonking!

The question is, what to do next. First task is to try and assess the diff for freeplay and wear. The least I could do would be to put two new shafts and two new flanges in. Or I could get a secondhand complete axle and fit that. Any opinions? What shafts and flanges would be best? I want long term reliability (I'd like to clock another hundred thousand) but I don't do any recreational off roading - just real off roading towing bowser or trailer usually on tip sites - I've got Mud Terrains on. Any views on how best to check the diff? Anything I could do if it is worn? Are the front shafts likely to be better or worse?

Thanks in advance.

G110

They fail because they run with the hub dry,

put in new flanges, new shafts and bin the hub oil seals so the spline runs 'wet', you won't have the problem again,

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Thanks for all this. Having discovered that aftermarket shafts are around £20, I think a pair of shafts and a pair of flanges is the answer. At this price It doesn't matter if they only last say 30 000 miles - the trick will be to replace them before they strip!

G110

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Guest diesel_jim

If you want a really bomb-proof axle, get some of the decent Ashcrofts drive flanges, with the screw on caps.

much better quality than the tin ones from LR

s'what i'll be saving my pennies for!

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Whatever axles you buy, factory or aftermarket, first dig out the axle shaft oil seals in the stub axles to allow the hubs and halfshaft splines to be lubricated by oil from the diff. then replace the carp grease seals on both hubs with double lip double spring oil seals from earlier R/Rovers and 110's. Someone here will know the Rover part number.Oil lubricated 110 Landeys would regularly clock up 250 to 350 thousand K's before requiring driveflange and/ or halfshaft replacement due to spline wear. The splines on Defender halfshafts and flanges are about 50% shorter, so probably won't last quite as long but should in any event last twice as long as standard if they are lubricated in lovely oil instead of dry, cruddy rusty grease.

Bill.

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