Rear end clunk

[WhiteD3]

I'm a mechanical numpty so please excuse the "clunk" description.

When accelerating away from a standing start (or near to) into a 90 deg turn (L or R) I hear and feel a clunk from the rear end. Think of exiting a driveway. The clunk is not loud or harsh and feels like I've run over a small rock or some such. Otherwise the car makes no noise from the rear end at any other time.

Diff issue?

MY18 D5 SD4 with no eDiff and 46k on it.

Cheers.

Mark

[rar110]

I’m thinking suspension. It should be under warranty still. I would get JLRA to look at it ASAP.

Something easy to check (but pretty unlikely) is loose wheel nuts. I’ve had the experience of the 110 going in for work and the shop forgetting to tighten a wheel’s nuts. A couple of weeks later they had all loosened off and the wheel came off.

[tony_s]

One of my rear shocks had gone at 50k kms. Sounded similar to your description but when going over bumps. Both rears replaced under warranty.
Tony

[BobD]

It could actually be the callibration of the transfer case causing it. It was a fault picked up by LR and listed on Topix for the L405 and I think someone also had the problem on a D4. It is usually solved by changing the transfer case oil and then recallibrating the transfer case. The dealer would need to do it but it might be hard for them to diagnose.

The transfer case tends to grab a bit (sort of locked up for a short time), which means that when relative movement is required between front and rear while turning a corner, for instance, it needs to inlock and does this a bit violently since it has wrongly locked, so there is a clunk usually from the rear diff due to the sudden shock. I thought my L405 had stripped rear diff teeth when I got it second hand, but it was just the transfer case issue and the above treatment fixed it. If they can diagnose it properly it will be a warranty fix. With mine it happened worst when accelerating around a slow speed right hand 90 degree corner (such as coming out of a drive way or at a T junction).

You can also try driving in sand on a beach for few minutes. If there are a few clunks from the rear when you drive back onto the bitumen until the transfer case properly unlocks, it will be the transfer case issue for sure. That was the other symptom with mine.

Just something else to look at if diff issues are ruled out and if you can convince the dealer to check for that. The cure is on Topix for them to follow if it is the TC calibration.

[WhiteD3]

So after having the car for a day LR say its the tyres (Pirelli Scorpion all terrain plus 275/55R20) causing the rear diff to lock on tight 90° corners. These tyres are 25mm wider and 22mm bigger in diameter than the OEM 255/55R20.

I find this a little strange as the tyres have been on for a year and 32k but maybe they've reached a point of wear to cause this? They look almost brand new to me.

LR said they considered "calibrating" the diff (how is this done?) to the tyres but decided not to as it would need to be undone if/when I changed tyres.

The wash up was that LR said its the tyres and not to worry about it. So I won't.

[inbar krasny]

Dear friend.

what was the solution eventually? did you manage to solve the problem?




I'm a mechanical numpty so please excuse the "clunk" description.

When accelerating away from a standing start (or near to) into a 90 deg turn (L or R) I hear and feel a clunk from the rear end. Think of exiting a driveway. The clunk is not loud or harsh and feels like I've run over a small rock or some such. Otherwise the car makes no noise from the rear end at any other time.

Diff issue?

MY18 D5 SD4 with no eDiff and 46k on it.

Cheers.

Mark

[WhiteD3]

IK,

No solution. LR said they could reset the diff for the new tyres but that would mean it would need resetting again when those tyres are replaced. I've since changed to Yokohama Geolandar CV G058 255/55 which are the same size as the original OEM and while the problem has lessened, its still there.

[Graeme]

Reset the diff? About the only thing that an be done to an open diff is to set up the CW&P backlash properly and no wheel or tyre size will affect that!

Have you checked that it's not an e-diff, assuming that you know what to look for?

[WhiteD3]

No e-diff.

[BobD]

No e-diff.

See my post #4 above. The centre ediff causes this issue. It doesn't have to have a rear ediff, although that can also cause the problem. It is a known problem on Topix, especially for early L405 Range Rovers.

Topix says to do two transfer case oil changes and then recalibrate the transfer case. When turning corners the centre diff also has to be released due to the different speed between the front and rear axles. If not properly released there is a loud clunk from the rear end as it slips. This happens when accelerating around corners, such as T Junctions, after slowing or stopping for the intersection but will also clunk when coming off a beach onto a hard surface, for example.

Its nothing to do with tyres or the rear diff, even though it fells like the rear diff has a tooth missing on the crown gear when it happens. I had it on my L405 and heaps of people are having it on their D5's, although they ignore anything I say about the transfer case causing the problem and continue to blame the ediff if they have one, even after the problem continues when they get it replaced under warranty. Just ask the dealer to recalibrate the transfer case and change the oil, as per the Topix information.

[WhiteD3]

Thanks Bob.

Its been a long time since I accessed TOPIX and of course now it won't let me in using my VIN. Any chance you could screen capture that TOPIX for me?

Cheers,

Mark


See my post #4 above. The centre ediff causes this issue. It doesn't have to have a rear ediff, although that can also cause the problem. It is a known problem on Topix, especially for early L405 Range Rovers.

Topix says to do two transfer case oil changes and then recalibrate the transfer case. When turning corners the centre diff also has to be released due to the different speed between the front and rear axles. If not properly released there is a loud clunk from the rear end as it slips. This happens when accelerating around corners, such as T Junctions, after slowing or stopping for the intersection but will also clunk when coming off a beach onto a hard surface, for example.

Its nothing to do with tyres or the rear diff, even though it fells like the rear diff has a tooth missing on the crown gear when it happens. I had it on my L405 and heaps of people are having it on their D5's, although they ignore anything I say about the transfer case causing the problem and continue to blame the ediff if they have one, even after the problem continues when they get it replaced under warranty. Just ask the dealer to recalibrate the transfer case and change the oil, as per the Topix information.

[BobD]

Thanks Bob.

Its been a long time since I accessed TOPIX and of course now it won't let me in using my VIN. Any chance you could screen capture that TOPIX for me?

Cheers,

Mark
Sorry, I don't have access. I paid for access when I had the issue on my L405, printed the instructions out and gave it to my indie, who did exactly what it said. This fixed the clunk for the next 60,000km until I traded it in on my D5. This was a known fault of the early L405's, which mine was. It now appears to have raised its ugly head with the D5 as well but I don't know whether there will be anything on Topix specifically for the D5 transfer case clunk.

If you search for my posts on the L405 you may find the procedure in a post. I posted about it but I don't know where it is. I remember that you needed to change the oil and recalibrate the transfer case and I think it required two oil changes. Someone in the D4 section also posted the same information for the D4 transfer case, which gave me the idea to look on Topix for the RRV.

My indie said the oil was black due to the transfer case being wrongly calibrated at the factory (this was at 40,000km when I bought the car) but there was no permanent damage and all was good after changing the oil and recalibrating the TC.

[stevo]

I change all my oils at the 12000km range as being a mechanic this goes against everything that i know about did all the, did oil samples at same time and of course metal was high from "bedding in" will do a sample on all compartments again and post the results, warranty runs out in 7 months.

[IndusD4]

See my post #4 above. The centre ediff causes this issue. It doesn't have to have a rear ediff, although that can also cause the problem. It is a known problem on Topix, especially for early L405 Range Rovers.

My rear e-diff was replaced in November and the cluck went away. For while only, the clunk is back and if anything, worse than before as in the clunk is heard/felt more often. It is back at the dealer for further investigation, I've mentioned Bob's reference to similar issues with L405 Range Rovers. Fingers crossed they can locate the cause, as it doesn't appear to be the e-diff itself causing this.

[IndusD4]

Got the car back fixed, no clunks on the way back from the dealers. They carried out two oil changes on rear diff and transfer case, then ensured the car was on the latest RDCM and TCCM software versions, checked operational zero positions and did a RDCM and TCCM calibration.

Ron

[WhiteD3]

So after almost 2 years the car was fixed yesterday. Apparently there's a second bulletin out for the issue. The first covers the flush and oil change and the second is about inspecting for worn parts.

After some argument JLR covered it under warranty.

No more clunks for now. Fingers crossed.