Thread: Total loss of drive....bugger!

Bugger is not the word I wish to use at the moment, but I'd probably be censored.
Well the clutch is all back together and working fine, there's nothing wrong with the output shaft, but here's the kicker. My front diff is stuffed, the center has failed.

They took it for a drive to test the clutch, and the front diff started making horrible noises. Now when I lost drive last week there was no noise, and no warning. When I changed the diff oil last September, it was clear and there was very little swarf on the magnetic drain plugs I fitted ages ago. None of the offroading done recently has been extreme, as I've been on my own and with the kids, no serious wheel spin or shock loading, didn't realise how weak these two pin diffs are, when not set up properly from factory.

So anyhow they now want to charge me $4700 for a new centre, axles and sundries . New genuine centre is $735 and the axles are $1500 each.
As far as I'm aware from 2007 till 2010 the 110's had the two pin rover diff on the front, after 2010 Land Rover realised that this was a weak point and went to four pins in the front diff.

Anyway there's no way I'm going down the Genuine road, not for it to fail again.
Ashcrofts it is, well under half the price for a pegged ATB centre with HD axles. I was going to purchase eventually, in fact I was waiting for the front diff to fail. Just didn't expect it to happen all in one week.
Long term plans are for an ATB in the rear, and one in the transfer case.

Does anyone know how quick the Ashcroft express postage is?

Just trying to convince The Minister of Finance that this is the way to go, looks like the no5 trailer I was looking at purchasing will have to wait awhile.

It's gone from a couple of years of trouble free motoring, to all this, ah well when it rains it pours. Like i said at the beginning of this thread, at least it happened where the vehicle was easily accessible.

Going in to look at the damage tomorrow. Couldn't get there today as work was busy, and it was the last day to get vehicles off the wharf.

Thats terrible mate. I thought all pumas had a 2 pin front diff, are you sure after 2010 they went to 4 pin in the front?
By going Ashcroft im asuming half shafts, cvs, diff centre and stub axles?

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That was the thought, but I've been thinking about it some more, the front diff failure that is. I was a little distracted with work and a visit to the dentist this arvo, when I received the call from the dealer today.

I've also just spoken to Dave Ashcroft, on the phone, and like me he finds it highly unlikely the clutch and diff have let go all at the same time. A diff just doesn't let go without protesting.
Their words were, " we took it for a drive and the front diff was making noises, your diff needs replacing" then they started talking half shafts as well. Sounds like the diff let go whilst they were testing the clutch. How do they know it's the front diff? and what has failed? Dave asked if I had given authorisation for the disassembly of the diff, which I had not. So how do they know what's failed exactly?

My thinking now is to go in tomorrow and ask to see the vehicle, take photo's and if the front axle is still together then ask to remove the front prop, pay my bill and leave in 2wd. I need a second opinion, as Dave recommended, he says he's seen so many miss diagnosis over the years, not just from dealers but independents as well. If however the front axle is in pieces then I can see an argument brewing, and if It can't be driven in 2wd then the problem is elsewhere. But I'll probably still get a towie to take it elsewhere. Problem is I trust Les Richmond, but they'll probably have a decent backlog of work when they reopen next week.
Has anyone used Pickards in Abbotsford?

The front, rear and centre Ashcroft ATB can be had for about $2200 including air freight and import duties/GST.
It only takes a few days to get to Australia, but customs holds it up a few more days.

I went to Pickards a week ago to check my oil leak whilst in Victoria. I have nothing but nice things to say about Dave. He spent a good 20 minutes inspecting my vehicle and came to the conclusion that i should be able to nurse it back to Sydney. I offered to pay him for his time and he outright refused. He was a complete gentleman and i would have no issue using him if i lived in Melbourne.

You said you heard a loud bang when it happened and then you had no drive. Now the dealer has said they've taken it for a drive and there are noises coming from the front diff after replacing the clutch. The transfer case has been checked and all is fine prior to the clutch install. Sorry for repeating everything but im going somewhere with this.
Now the clutch must have been busted becuase you said you had no drive and now that its replaced they are saying it does, according to the dealer. To now narrow it to the front diff and the half shafts means that its been stripped otherwise how would they know? Are they taking a stab in the dark? Did you inspect and personally see the vehicle the last 2 days?
Id say when they checked the transfer box and didnt find fault they then started stripping the front axle, where they found no issue. Checking these two areas has probably cost them "x" amount of time. They then decided to check the clutch where they did find a fault and replaced it accordingly. Once the clutch was replaced they needed to find away to inflate and cover their costs. Fitting a new front axle in at $3735 (diff centre, half shafts) gives you a new axle and covers all their time whilst they are still making money. They are ripping you off.
The chance of a half shaft letting go at 100kmph on the freeway in 6th due to a clutch failure does not make any sense at all. If the half shaft was damaged prior to the bang noise you would have known about it, walk in there tomorrow and take your car off them asap.
The above could be wrong but to me it makes sense. Sorry for long reply

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Maybe they test drove it with the diff lock engaged?

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Ozy013 said he tried this at the time of hearing the bang before towing it to them. If it it was a half shaft the vehicle still would have moved when engaged in diff lock assuming there was nothing wrong with the clutch. It didnt so thats how i came to the above.

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Is it possible the original issue was front diff��? They yanked the gear bag and had to blame something so picked on the clutch?

I'd be wanting to see a shagged clutch before paying a cent - and when I say shagged the centre better be in a different postcode to the friction plate to account for lack of drive

S