camokev64 Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Went for a spin in old Betsy today and suffered the indignity of losing rear wheel drive at the traffic lights,in my moment of panic i selected 4wd and found that gave me drive to the front wheels.Upon getting back home i put her back in 2wd drive and found again she would not move !!!!! Any ideas where to start ? regards Kevin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Check for any busted half shafts at the rear wheels.. Strange for both to go at once though if that was the case. Otherwise it could a failure in the diff, or propshaft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8CAMEL Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 You only need one half shaft to break Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4X4byV8 Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 As above most likely a half shaft... even if its diff you will need to remove the shafts to get it out, so you may aswel pull them out and have a look. I would recommend buying second hand original stuff. 20 quid on a genuine original shaft or 30quid on a new one thats made from cheese string! no comparison! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Having never done the procedure myself, I think you need to unbolt the hub assembly, and the shaft slides out... I think haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camokev64 Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share Posted February 10, 2013 To all contributors thanks very much for your great advice ! From that advice and doing a bit more research myself i am going to start with the near side rear half shaft ( i`ve read that this side is the most common to fail ). Regards using second hand original parts is another very interesting point to consider " thanks 4X4 BY V8 " it appears the usual new part suppliers parts have greater failure rate. Don`t know whether there are different types of half shafts ? Old Betsy is a 1981,88", series 111 with overdrive,could anybody enlighten me. Kind Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondjeremy Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 81 probably has multisplines at the outer end. I think the diff end is still the old 10 spline pattern. You may be able to determine which side by simply jacking up each back wheel in turn and trying to spin it. One wheel raised, handbrake on - wheel shouldn't turn - so if one does turn that shaft is broken. Its probably the off side one (short) Its possible that the drive flange has stripped. (Bit held on with 6 BSF bolts under the galvanised 'Hub Cap') Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 We have one of these CW&P sets where the teeth have been torn off the baseplate, the customer had a V* + 35" Simex and it was only his 2nd challenge outing, when he spoke to me I suggested strongly to Peg, he in the end went elsewhere and got it all built up, As I said 2 weeks later and he was near tears when he phoned back and explained Another HD Crownwheel was bought, and repairs also to the new ARB as bits had damaged that too, and he took a shaft out as well, as he said an expense lesson NOTHING is unbreakable, but that was over a year ago and he is still OK with it <gulp> Fingers crossed !The CW will be at donnington for those mordid enough to wnat to see some hoorendous broken diff bits in the dispaly of s****e Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 If you jack the back end wheels up, make sure you chock the front wheels and engage 4wd, otherwise the vehicle could roll off the jack. Quality of shafts is down to source, not age. A genuine new shaft should be as strong as the original, but a Britpart one will probably be made of pasta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean f Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 As others have said probable a half shaft. Bear in mind the hand brake works on the rear drive shaft so if you have no drive you have no hand brake either, where exactly is it parked at the moment..... As others have said chock the wheels and leave it in 4 wheel drive. A quick check is to jack up ONE rear wheel if you can turn that with out the prop turning something is wrong in the rear axle, you can't normally tell which shaft as if you turn the side with the intact side, the wheel will turn as the planet gears in the diff will just turn the broken stub on the other side. Best bet is to undo the 6 bolts holding the drive flang to the hub and pull each halfshaft out in turn, it will be pretty obvious if something is wrong, they will both probable have to come out anyway as they normally break at the diff end and to get the stub out you need to remove the diff. Sometimes it can be difficult to get the broken shaft out as whilst you were driving the ends will have rubbed together and can mushroom over. I normally do everything with the vehcile sat on the ground as there is no need for the wheel to come off and it is more stable that way. Give the diff and axle case a clean before rebuilding as fragments of the shaft can find there way into bearings. Also not a bad idea to have a look at the wheel bearings as you will be able to see the outer side with the drive flange off, if it is red and crusty then it has had a lack of oil and could do with being looked at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 You don't say if it's 88 or 109, if it's 109 it will have a Salisbury back axle, these you can get to the diff just by unbolting the cover. Also, the Sals diffs don't break, so it will be a half-shaft, dead easy to fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Hancock Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 On a Salisbury it would be stripped splines in a drive flange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camokev64 Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 I`m going to have a look at it when i get the chance so will keep you updated. Cheers again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Jim Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 To all contributors thanks very much for your great advice !From that advice and doing a bit more research myself i am going to start with the near side rear half shaft ( i`ve read that this side is the most common to fail ). Regards using second hand original parts is another very interesting point to consider " thanks 4X4 BY V8 " it appears the usual new part suppliers parts have greater failure rate. Don`t know whether there are different types of half shafts ? Old Betsy is a 1981,88", series 111 with overdrive,could anybody enlighten me. Kind Regards. As others have said probable a half shaft.Bear in mind the hand brake works on the rear drive shaft so if you have no drive you have no hand brake either, where exactly is it parked at the moment..... As others have said chock the wheels and leave it in 4 wheel drive. A quick check is to jack up ONE rear wheel if you can turn that with out the prop turning something is wrong in the rear axle, you can't normally tell which shaft as if you turn the side with the intact side, the wheel will turn as the planet gears in the diff will just turn the broken stub on the other side. Best bet is to undo the 6 bolts holding the drive flang to the hub and pull each halfshaft out in turn, it will be pretty obvious if something is wrong, they will both probable have to come out anyway as they normally break at the diff end and to get the stub out you need to remove the diff. Sometimes it can be difficult to get the broken shaft out as whilst you were driving the ends will have rubbed together and can mushroom over. I normally do everything with the vehcile sat on the ground as there is no need for the wheel to come off and it is more stable that way. Give the diff and axle case a clean before rebuilding as fragments of the shaft can find there way into bearings. Also not a bad idea to have a look at the wheel bearings as you will be able to see the outer side with the drive flange off, if it is red and crusty then it has had a lack of oil and could do with being looked at. As above. But make sure one wheel is on the floor though, as otherwise the planetary gears will rotate the opposite direction and with a broken shaft you'll be guessing. Another way is to undo the nuts on the outer part of the hub, and pull the shafts one by one. Atleast you will know which shaft is bust then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean f Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 As above.But make sure one wheel is on the floor though, as otherwise the planetary gears will rotate the opposite direction and with a broken shaft you'll be guessing. Another way is to undo the nuts on the outer part of the hub, and pull the shafts one by one. Atleast you will know which shaft is bust then. If I was sure it was a shaft this is now I would start but if you do the jack up one wheel test then you won't have broken and of the gaskets so it is clean and quick. I though I broke a shaft a few years back, big bang then loss of drive to the back. Pulled the shafts and diff and was confused to find nothing wrong, turned out I had broken the rear output shaft in the transfer box. Never seen it since or even heard of any one doing it, stripping down the tranfer box resulted in scrapping it, I knew it was noisy but the state in the insides were in with just wear was unbelievable, I was amazed it had lasted that long. The jack one wheel test would have saved me the time so it is now generally how I start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landybencharlie Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Hi, had the same problem but in a coastal road driving down through Croatia. Jumped out of rear wheel drive now only have front wheel drive in 4 WD. Question: Is can i continue to drive in only front wheel for 2 weeks and then fix the car when i get home?? Thanks Also, if I need to fix it, is it a major job?? Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 I'd investigate the failure - a broken shaft or bits of metal left in the axle can chew things up & create a lot of damage to the diff, hub, bearings, etc... But with a "clean" axle (EG remove the broken shaft & debris) yes you can drive FWD with no problem, it'll just handle weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin byrne Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 I am new to this I acquired a Discovery series 11, 2002, we went on a hill run to discover rear wheels not engaged , the hand brake is working which I think means the drive is not broken , any help would be grate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Try the discovery forum, I could guess, but I prefer to avoid coil sprung vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 7 hours ago, kevin byrne said: I am new to this I acquired a Discovery series 11, 2002, we went on a hill run to discover rear wheels not engaged , the hand brake is working which I think means the drive is not broken , any help would be grate It is probably best to post up a new thread in the Discovery forum area: https://forums.lr4x4.com/forum/11-discovery-forum/ and re-ask this with a little more detail This forum is for the traditional Series II 88 and 109 models built during the 1970s and 80s. The Discovery 2 uses traction control and for most of its production run was equipped with an open centre differential. If the traction control isn't working (warning lights on the dash), then this will make the vehicle 1wd or at best 2wd off road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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