Well, my D3 goes into the shop Wed for a new rear differential. The noise was getting a little too bad to stand, and my diff plug was beginning to look like a chia pet when I changed fluids due to all the shavings it was collecting. I am not the original owner, but will most certainly be changing the diff fluids about every 15k miles or so from now on. The front diff looks good to go though, just some light metal paste on the plug. Picked up a rebuilt diff from Lucky8, so crossing my fingers that everything goes well. The shop is replacing rear sway bar bushings while they are back there, and a ride height sensor that has been acting up. Anyone have any experiences with rebuilt diffs? The dealer wanted about $2500 for the diff alone. Rebuilt unit was around $1500.
I guess there are not too many people who have rebuilt, or used a rebuilt diff?
9th Jul 2013 5:10 pm
RobV
Member Since: 13 Nov 2009
Location: Cape Town
Posts: 31
I had the differential on my 2006 V8 SE replaced after exactly the same happened. The dealer quoted $3000 compared to an independant Land Rover service centre which quoted $1700 for a rebuilt unit, labour included.
The rebuilt unit only uses the original casing, everything else is brand new. Crown/pinion gears, bearings, bushes, clutch pack and electronic stepper unit are all brand new (mine is the E-Diff).
After replacement, everything was quiet and back to normal but after the first trip of about 200km I did, I noticed a very slight whine when under light load. I took it back to the independant service centre and they diagnosed the same so ordered a second rebuilt unit. They mentioned that they have installed several rebuilt units and that this was the first come back. The second unit was installed and has been in for about a year and clocked up 15000 km (about 10,000 miles) without any problems.
The independant uses differentials supplied by the following company (the two different links are the same company):
The diff comes with an 18 month unlimited mile warranty, but hopefully I don't need it. The local LR dealer commented that they want to stay in touch as to how it's going, as they may source from the same place going forward as a less expensive alternative for customers.
Well, new differential is installed. I put in a locking unit, even though all the electronic bits haven't been installed yet. There is someone stateside working on an upgrade kit to enable the locking function, in a kit form with the ECU and wiring harness adapters. For the time being it will function just like an open diff. The rear diff is now so quiet that I can now hear the slight whine coming from the front one...
Many thanks to TTL on this board (Todd), and Justin from Lucky8.
Well, as I am a fairly OCD individual I decided to change out the new fluid that the LR Dealer put in my new differential. The family took a 300-400 mile trek this weekend, and I wanted to check the plug for shavings to see how much "breaking in" had happened with this rebuilt diff. When the fluid began to dump, it was like chocolate milk we drove through a lot of rain on our drive. I decided to see if see if it was related to the breather tube, and I found it had not been reconnected after reassembly by the dealer. I let it drain for an hour and refilled with a full synthetic AMSOIL 75-110 gear oil. I plan to flush it again in 14000 or 15000 miles, and let the dealer know about what happened. I hope I averted another diff failure with this lucky find. Water in the diff = Bad
I also checked the breather tube to ensure it wasn't blocked. To accomplish that I removed the wheel well trim, and back half of the wheel well plastic, and was able to reach up into the cavity behind the gas filler and remove the gas cap assembly and door, which allowed me to get my hands on the end of the breather tube, and blow down it while the diff was draining to check and make sure air was freely passing down the tube. I have heard so many stories about moisture in the diff causing premature failure, I wonder if this is happening with regularity and what may be causing premature diff failures? I checked the front as well, but that is much more securely attached to the differential and looks like it would be much more difficult for it to just come free, or be knocked out of the diff. I did install the updated breather cap a few months ago as a precaution.
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