Thread: help please!!!! 1996 Defender

You've broken part of the front drive train, possibilities that come to mind (in the order that you should check) are: 1:Stripped flange splines; check this by taking the caps off the axle flanges, then either have someone else get in the car and try to drive it while you watch and see if the axle spins in the flange, or jack the front wheel up and see if the axle stays still while you spin the wheel by hand (with everything in gear and the opposite wheel on the ground).
2: broken axle or CV joint; you need to remove hubs and swivel housings then withdraw the axle and CV together, easy to see if anything's busted. If not, proceed to 3; broken front diff; once the axles are out, take the prop shaft off then remove the diff centre and see what's busted.

Just re-read your post after writing the above; my response assumes that the drive flanges on your vehicle are flanged with removable caps; I can't wuite make out what splines you are referring to in your description. How worn? Enough not to transmit drive? They would have to be pretty much flattened completely off for you to be able to spin the propshaft by hand.

yep that

Sorry I am vague but I am very uneducated when it comes to the drive train. I am calling the drive shaft the very first shaft you come to when you remove the dust seal then the five bolts around the drive member? Then I removed a sir clip off the drive shaft-the spline on that was worn-as was the internal one it locates onto in the drive member. Hope this helps? Cheers

Disengage the CDL, and have someone sit in the car with foot on the brakes (just in case something decides to grab and the car moves forward).
Start the engine, put it in gear and let the clutch out.
Have a look at that drive flange on the wheel and the splined shaft that is going through it. You want the 5 bolts in, but the dust cap off.
If the splines are stripped the shaft will be turning inside the flange.

If that's the issue the fix is a new drive flange and CV joint. The splined shaft is part of the CV assembly. I'd be pulling the caps off the other wheels and having a look at them too as if one is worn its likely others are too.

Steve

If your in Brisbane, I've got a spare drive flange, to get you going .

Thank you very much for the offer but unfortunately I am in Tassie. Thanks for the advice fellas, hope to replace cv and drive shaft today cheers jamie

Originally Posted by jamieluck

Thank you very much for the offer but unfortunately I am in Tassie. Thanks for the advice fellas, hope to replace cv and drive shaft today cheers jamie

Guessing it was a stripped spline then?

Suggest you update your profile location too, as it helps others when offering advice/suggestions that relate to your location.

Steve