Pinion bearing's gone on my rear diff.
Looking through bills, the car had a rebuilt 4 pin diff supplied and fitted 73 000 miles ago. Only problem is I don't know whether it was front or back. Workshop labour hours were 2.0 so I'm guessing rear, as I imagine front would be more of a pain/ take longer than that given hub removal etc and it was a 4 pin.
Anyone have experience of changing a diff, front or rear, and how long it took?
I don't think I'll be able to do a warranty claim (!) but I am curious about a diff that only lasted 73k.
Rears are a piece of piss. Take off wheel, undo the 6 bolts that hold the hub into the axle, pull it out a couple of inches and let it sit on the wheel you previously took off. No need to even remove the brake caliper or ABS sensor. Do the other side and once both are free, disconnect the prop and hang it out of the way somewhere, undo the ring of bolts that hold the diff to the axle and pull it out.
Oh yes, draining the oil from the axle is a good idea or you end up laying in a big puddle.......
As Gilbertd says - rear is a piece of cake and no issue at all. The front isn't much harder if the hubs have been apart before!
What are the UJ's like on the rear prop shaft? wonder if they have worn and caused excess vibration which has then meant it's worn the bearing prematurely... Either that or maybe it wasn't a recon diff that was fitted, but just something second hand....
It was time taken by a workshop that I was interested in. Never done a P38 diff before, but on the old hybrid I did a rear in a couple of hours, which was what made me think rear.
I was hoping that the front was the replacement, as it would then have only 73k on it rather than 280k making it the only high miles bit of the driveline left.
UJs look neglected but no obvious play in them. I've got 4 new ones on the shelf which I didn't get round to fitting the other day. Only noticed the play in the rear flange after I'd changed the oil. That came out pretty clean with no swarf on the magnet, so I had a brief warm glow of a well maintained problem free diff. Not the case.
And if it falls out, don't try to catch it. They are heavy.
If the front hubs come off reasonably easy, then it could be the front ,, I did mine in around that time and I don't have a ramp ! that's a dilemma for sure.
So, having got stuck into it, the longest bit is getting everything clean before removing. Spannering only takes 1hr (with tea breaks)!
And they're 'kin heavy when you're lying on your back. Heavier than I remember, or maybe I'm just getting old?
Orangebean wrote:
Heavier than I remember, or maybe I'm just getting old?
Both. Yes they are heavy, yes we're getting old.
Bob changed mine and he's 75!
Send him on down then!
Bob prepares to change another diff....
There is one similarity, he's grey too.
Back on the road with a replacement diff fitted and prop UJs replaced. Definitely could have done with Bob's help lifting it back in, but wussed out and used my transmission jack instead.
The pinion bolt on the old one was definitely loose, but tightening it to spec resulted in the diff feeling tight. I suspect the pinion bearing has started to fail. I'll investigate in more depth once I've sorted the water in oil problem on the blue one.