Thread: HD drive flanges for puma 90

Originally Posted by jimr1

Hi Jack , yes you can load up the cap , plus a dob on the axle end , screw the cap on , some should go down the spline !!.. Jim

What about screwing a grease nipple into the end of the cap and giving it a squirt every now and then?
Anyone done that , and has it worked?

Alan

Hi any grease should be OK as long as you top it up regularly.

My preference is for moly coat of any molybdenum grease , they are more suitable for the low speed high load application of the drive splines and if they dry out there's still the lubricant from the Moly B there. It's part of my service routine to remove the little hub cap and put a level teaspoon of grease in there and screw/push the cap back on, usually at my occasional bearing adjustment time .

Its not necessary to change to oil filled hubs. My car has oil filled hubs but that was to make for reduced wheel bearing maintenance. My feeling is if you keep your splines and drive flanges cleaned and lubricated their lifespan is indefinite. It takes 30 minutes per wheel, say once a year to remove the drive flange and clean it in petrol , apply grease and refit.
The front drive flanges/axles/CVs on my car have done 200,000 kms and look like they have another 200K in them. I only went to HD flanges and axles on that back because they were recommended with the maxidrive to cope with the increased torque.
The OEM rear axles and drive flanges looked in mint condition when they were removed at about 120,000 kms. ( They will be up for sale one day when find them in the shed )
Land rovers copped a lot of unjustified criticism (IMV) over drive shafts and flanges failure, that was mostly related to poor maintenance. ( Something Land rover Australia must accept some blame for )

The heavy duty aftermarket flanges are fitted because of their higher torque rating , the higher wear resistance is a bonus you get, but if you neglect them they'll be wrecked just like the OEM ones. Many times I saw land rovers driven with missing or no rubber hubcaps, the axles and drive flanges bone dry and red from fretting corrosion. I 'm thinking that guy is either rich or crazy. He's probably wondering later how come he needs to replace a few hundred dollars worth of flanges and axles shafts. The rubber hub/axle caps can come off, but they cost 5 bucks each, I always have a couple of spares in the car. The screw on metal ones seem never to give any problem, but i recommend you remove them regularly they can get hard to remove the thread is very fine.

I disagree about the axle/flange interference fit idea, and the integrated drive flange, the downside of both those if you have any clearance in you wheel bearing the axle is subject to bending moment at the drive flange. Also it makes changing/adjusting your wheel bearing difficult.

The fully floating axle as fitted to the defender is the best axle system available, its tried and proven for decades of use the big trucks. But it requires some attention to detail & simple, inexpensive routine maintenance to deliver the best results in terms of service life. cheers simmo

Originally Posted by Rurover

What about screwing a grease nipple into the end of the cap and giving it a squirt every now and then?
Anyone done that , and has it worked?

Alan

Hi Alan , I never heard of putting grease nipples in the caps , The caps come off easy with a big shifter , giving access to the end of the drive shaft . What I do know is with , with my rear mags " deep dish " the center plastic wheel cap doesn't fit , because the hub cap hits It . The front ones are ok. I suppose It depends on what wheel you have . Looking at mine if you were to put a grease nipples in the caps you would still have to take the wheel off to get access , unless you put them on the front , and I don't think that's a good idea !!.. Jim

Hi Jim,I'm sorry if i wasn't clear, i don't have grease nipples and don't see any need for them. I just remove the hub cap, rubber type or screw on type and put some grease in there and put them back on, the grease will work through the splines into the hub. On the older defender it's easy because the hub is always visible. On range rover wheels and later mag wheels you need to remove the wheel to do get access to the cap. That's not really a problem, I guess most people take their wheels off once a year? for rotation, maintenance access for bearing adjustment, brakes , tyre rotation etc. For me I can grease all the drive flanges and shafts in 20 minutes because I have open center wheels. My rear ( maxidrive ) ones i use the hub spanner, but I don't do them up too tight , and grease the thread.(molycoat), I had trouble getting one off once , maybe I did it up too tight , those fine threads need some grease on it, if it binds it will be hell to get off. To be honest the hub, drive flange & bearing system on the defender I find very reliable user friendly, and the bonus is I can change a bearing in a car park or on the side the road. I never have needed to do that yet, but is good to know. My only issue is the adjustment nut locking washers have too much slack in them and the bearing adjusting nuts can back off sightly. Since changed to oil filled hubs about 60,000 kms ago, I have not changed a single hub bearing, Only routine adjustments , I think i changed one oil seal in that time.

Well, As usual small questions turn into large discussions ha
With the stock drive flanges I don't really see those little black rubber caps holding in or forcing any grease down the splines.
I'm going to purchase a set of hd flanges for front and rear, although it seems most people only change the rear set? Am I wasting my money purchasing them for the front?

Jim, after hearing what you write about mags , Will the rear flanges threaded caps fit with the stock 16" alloys fitted to 2.4 Pumas?

Thanks

with the stock drive flanges I don't really see those little black rubber caps holding in or forcing any grease down the splines.


It worked for me for and the previous owner for 20 years, so should it be OK. It doesn't have to pump it through, it just has to make the grease available, the axles and hubs do the rest.

Originally Posted by jackdef90

Well, As usual small questions turn into large discussions ha
With the stock drive flanges I don't really see those little black rubber caps holding in or forcing any grease down the splines.
I'm going to purchase a set of hd flanges for front and rear, although it seems most people only change the rear set? Am I wasting my money purchasing them for the front?

Jim, after hearing what you write about mags , Will the rear flanges threaded caps fit with the stock 16" alloys fitted to 2.4 Pumas?

Thanks

Mine has sawtooth alloys and they go on as normal. Pat

I use the HTE branded "heavy duty axle" sets or if the axles are still in good condition, such as on a new Defender puma (or TDCi if we want to be more Ford like) just replace the drive flanges with, again HTE branded flanges, standard width. (I'm not pushing any particular brand as long as its good quality).

*The screw on cap allows the splines to be greased as a normal service item (every 10,000kms).
*Standard width HTE drive flanges fit under the Land Rover alloy wheel (plastic centre cap), this is a great idea on brand new Defenders (as the above then applies).
*A small hole drilled in the outer edge of the plastic cap (small for a oring pick) will allow easy removal of the plastic cap, wont really be noticed, stops the need to remove with a screw driver that might slip and scratch the wheel.
*if upgrading to complete HTE branded drive flanges and axles (HTE rear axles), machining the cap down a few mm (on the threaded outer end) allows the plastic centre cap to fit.
*A spline such as on a axle, if not lubed is always going to wear out.
*Saying that, the "puma" Defenders seem more prone to wear than the "TD5" Defenders.

While I havent tried them, I'm sure the Ashcroft heavy duty axles, drive flanges would also be a good bit of gear.

Regards
Daz