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Thread: L322 Rear Tailshaft Removal and Refurbishment

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    L322 Rear Tailshaft Removal and Refurbishment

    Ok, thought I'd start a new thread on this as it's got bigger than I expected, and there's a few things that aren't quite as simple as I would have first thought.

    The Clunk as I've described in the other thread was the centre bearing on the rear tailshaft failing - the pictures tell the wholestory - the rubber surround has perished, allowing movement of the taileshaft which has distorted the ring that holds everything and the steel has work hardened and cracked - looks like one side failed some time ago, and the big bang the other night was the whole lot going to god.

    Removal of the shaft was a bit more problematic that I expected, but now I know what I know, it would take me 10 minutes next time so I hope I can pass this on so anyone else having to do this will benefit from my swearing.

    There are 2 covers - actually heat shields - that cover over 95% of the rear tailshaft - the front heat shield closest to the transfer casecomes off easily - you'll just need a 10mm socket on a long extension bar or 2 to do this - 2 of the nuts are located very high in the tunnel.

    Once this is removed you can access the centre bearing (just). The front flange is held on by 6x bolts with torx E12 heads. The rear flange that bolts to the diff uses 6 x bolts with 16mm nuts. The centre bearing is held by 2 x 13mm nuts.

    Now, this is where I got caught - I couldn't get the tailshaft to move off the back of the diff and it was only after a lot ofswearing I realised there is a relief machined into the side of the flange to stick a big screwdriver into to lever it out - there's one on each side - simple once I found these, but it's dark in that area, and only just enough room to work.

    Oh, just on that - the back heat shield cannot be removed without first removing the entire exhaust system, which is why I am working around it - there is just enough room to do this, so at least the designers thought about it a bit.

    Pics of the tailshaft, shagged centre bearing carrier, etc.




    What's left of the centre bearing - it still turns fine as the bearing itself is a sealed roller bearing, but there's nothing left to support it.


    And where to lever the damn flanges from - wish I'd seen these earlier.
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    If you need to contact me please email homestarrunnerau@gmail.com - thanks - Gav.

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    Ok, so now the tailshaft is out, 2 things need to happen - the first is to replace the centre bearing and the second is to replace the uni joint in the middle. Neither of these jobs are as straight forward as I would have liked.

    Ok, the centre bearing just requires the tailshaft to be split in 2 - there's a bolt that holds them together behind the unit joint - easy enough to remove - it's 18mm and comes out with a bit of effort - it had a lot of loctite on it. Once that and the washer are out the way, you can see that the 2 parts connect via a spline, this is where it got interesting as they are stuck fast!

    The only way to press them apart is to remove the uni joint first - more on that in a minute. Once the 2 bits are apart, then the old bearing will come off no dramas - this will be self-explanatory once you get this far. The centre bearing is readily available in Aus from multiple suppliers which leads me to think I'm not the first one to have this problem. I will have that on Monday.

    Now to the Uni Joint. While it was not destroyed like I first thought, it definitely needs replacing - there is a small amount of play in it, but worse than that, is that it binds quite badly - when in use, the shaft is almost straight the entire time, so the uni only moves a tiny amount which I think is what has caused the wear in a very small arc and caused the issues it has.

    Anyway, this is where the real work starts as it's deemed not serviceable by Land Rover and the Uni joint itself is not available as a spare part - it is also staked in the yolks, not clipped. The prices I have been quoted for a whole new shaft are between $800 to $1,400, so obviously I'm happy to stuff around a bit here and rebuild this one.

    Soooo, onto the next job - which will happen tomorrow so I'll post more pics then - is to remove the uni joint and find a replacement. Now, replacing staked uni joints with serviceable items isn't difficult - a lot of Japanese vehicles in the 80's and 90's used these and I've done them before - once the stakes are broken out, the uni can be removed like a standard unit. The replacement items need to have a spring clip fitted to the inside of the cup. While this isn't the place to start if you've never done uni joints, it's not that much harder, you just need to find the right replacement.

    I've copied a bit of data from Hardy Spicer catalogue so you can see what I mean and also the unit that I think I'll need - it's attached below.

    As I haven't got it out yet, the measurements I've taken are only rough, but they line up almost perfectly with a couple of readily available items. The cup diameter measures bang on 25mm - a very common size, and the internal spring clip dimension where they will have to sit as best as I can measure is around 44 to 45mm - the B2 dimension of 44mm is a common size by the looks of it. You need an R1 style cap to make all this work - I'll take plenty of pics when I do this so you all understand what I mean.

    Oh, and the rose joints on each end of the shaft are in very good condition - again, they do almost nothis as the shaft stays almost dead straight the whole time.


    So, tomorrow I'll remove the old Uni joint and clean everything up and I'll press the yoke off the shaft in preparation for the new centre bearing. When the new unit joint is in, I'll make a small hole in the heat shield so a grease gun can be inserted to grease it periodically. Should be able to make it last forever then.

    Lots of fun to be had - I know the new owner who is buying this off me will be watching closely so I better get this right huh?

    A couple of pics ofthe tailshaft and uni joint.

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    If you need to contact me please email homestarrunnerau@gmail.com - thanks - Gav.

  3. #3
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    So, now I'm sitting here thinking about all this, I'm just wondering how many vehicles there are out there with perished rubber around the centre bearings? Despite there being a heat shield there, the centre bearing is only about 40mm away from the exhaust pipe that runs right down the tunnel just below the tailshaft. There's plenty of these on the road that have done way more KM than this one...

    If your Rangie has a noise in the driveline - particularly when you first take off from a stand still - I'd be advising you check this before it leaves you stranded. Not a 5 minute job, but for under $150 in parts and a bit of time, well worth the effort maybe.
    If you need to contact me please email homestarrunnerau@gmail.com - thanks - Gav.

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    Ok, took the tailshaft to my mates workshop this morning to disassemble everything in preparation for the new parts, and to measure up the uni joint accurately to see which one I need.

    As this is a bit of a how to, I'll describe the steps for those that haven't done a unit joint before - they aren't hard to do, but a bit of knowledge will help you from buggering up the shaft - which is quite possible if you're not careful and go wailing on the wrong parts with your big arse hammer...

    Which gets me to my first point - if you have a press, use it - it is HEAPS easier to do this way and you're less likely to damage anything. If/when you have to put the shaft in a vice - only hold it by the yolk, or the weld where it is attached to the tube - DO NOT hold the shaft by the tube - the smallest dint in it WILL cause it to vibrate like a bitch and it will weaken it. If you're unsure - take it to a Mechanic that has done these before, not just any old joe blogs guy - they will also probably **** it for you.

    So, onto some pics. Using the press and a drift, press a cup down until it dislodges the one opposite and drives it down into the plate - this breaks the stakes off - no need to try and grind these off first - it doesn't take much to do this. Once it's pressed completely one way, flip it over 180 degrees and press the whole lot the other way to break the stakes on the other side.

    Ok, so this is what it looks like before anything's happened.


    How I set it up in the press.


    Once pressed through, and spun around, you can see the cap has moved.


    From here, it was over to the vice to knock the opposing yolk one way then the other a couple of times until the old needles drop and help force the caps further out - when they are most of the way out, the cross of the uni can be removed and the caps pressed out completely if they haven't already fallen out.

    The shaft is now in 2 bits and the second yoke can be done the same way.

    Next post will be some pics of what I found once it was all apart.
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    If you need to contact me please email homestarrunnerau@gmail.com - thanks - Gav.

  5. #5
    Tombie Guest
    Nice write up Gav...

  6. #6
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    Ok, now you should have 2 parts of the shaft, the cross and the 4 caps of the uni joint - and about 100 needles all over the floor.

    Oh, I forgot to mention a MUST DO when pulling apart any driveshaft like this - is to mark it so everything goes back in the same orientation - the yoke that is splined to one shaft, and how the shafts lined up with each other. I use 2 small centre punch marks - they won't wipe off like a paint pen can, and being 2 marks on each part, there won't be any confusion with other dings that may be present in the parts. The 2 pics below show where I've marked everything - all in a line.




    Ok, now it's all apart, here's everything laying them out on the bench, and what I found...



    Not pretty - dry as a bone, rust everywhere and heavy brinellng on all trunnions. While I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, I do wonder how many other people are running around with shafts in similar condition...

    That just left one more thing to pull apart - the yoke off the shaft that the centre bearing runs on - it is on a spline that the yoke slides onto. Now, here's where you will definitely need a press - it took just over 10 tonnes to shift this - not over the top by any stretch, but not something you will manage at home with a hammer and vice. Once that was off, I split the bearing race off the shaft and cleaned everything up ready for the new parts.

    A quick note on that - make sure you deburr all the edges where the bearing cups will be reinstalled - with the stakes being broken off, the edges are pretty rough and so need a bit of attention - a half moon file will make short work of it but make sure you DON'T touch the surfaces where the cups will sit - these are precision machined and the last thing you want is to have the cups being loose in the yoke.

    The yoke off the spline - there's a small spacer there as well - don't lose this and put it back where you got it!
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    If you need to contact me please email homestarrunnerau@gmail.com - thanks - Gav.

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    Ok, last part was to accurately measure everything up - my guestimates yesterday were a bit out, but I think I've found a suitable part.

    With the caps off, they measured up at exactly 24.00mm. The yoke's a tiny bit under as they are a press fit.



    The main faces where the snap rings will live were 48mm.


    So, with these measurements and based on the Hardy Spicer catalogue - there's a part that should fit a treat - a replacement for a staked uni from a Mazda. Good to see that Land Rover in all their wisdom didn't make something as a one off (Probably because the BMW engineers were involved. )


    I'll hunt one down tomorrow and install it Tuesday night - I'll report back on its fitment, etc.
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    If you need to contact me please email homestarrunnerau@gmail.com - thanks - Gav.

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    That's a lot smaller than a standard LR UJ. I just measured one and it's 27mm vs your 24.
    Ron B.
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    2003 L322 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 V8 Auto
    2007 Yamaha XJR1300
    Previous: 1983, 1986 RRC; 1995, 1996 P38A; 1995 Disco1; 1984 V8 County 110; Series IIA



    RIP Bucko - Riding on Forever

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    Yes, it is the size you'd expect on a car, not a heavy 4WD, but it's held up for 13 years. Given that it doesn't move bugger all, it's transferring its power in a straight line - is probably why it's fine in this application.

    The part number for the TD6 and V8 tailshaft is identical so it's common to both models and must have been deemed up to the task (like the transmission... )
    If you need to contact me please email homestarrunnerau@gmail.com - thanks - Gav.

  10. #10
    p38arover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Homestar View Post
    Yes, it is the size you'd expect on a car, not a heavy 4WD, but it's held up for 13 years. Given that it doesn't move bugger all, it's transfering its power in a straight line - is probably why it's fine in this application.
    Good point.

    Quote Originally Posted by Homestar View Post
    The part number for the TD6 and V8 tailshaft is identical so it's common to both models and must have been deemed up to the task (like the transmission... )
    Now that's good to know. There was one near here on ebay. I thought of buying it to rebuild but it was for a Td6. I never got around to checking MicroCat.
    Ron B.
    VK2OTC

    2003 L322 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 V8 Auto
    2007 Yamaha XJR1300
    Previous: 1983, 1986 RRC; 1995, 1996 P38A; 1995 Disco1; 1984 V8 County 110; Series IIA



    RIP Bucko - Riding on Forever

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