Axles and Gearbox

I have bought a very cheap but good condition 1983 Salisbury rear axle. The main part of it will be kept as a spare, but I’ll be using its stub axles and hubs to replace those on my current axle. The reasons are two-fold: first, the current stub axles have a tiny amount of wear which is allowing slight bearing and wheel movement in the vertical plane (less than 1mm at the tread); second, the current 1972 axle has the old style hubs and half shafts with the large outer and small inner wheel bearings. By swapping to a post 1980 spec, I’ll have identical inner and outer bearings, just like fitted to the front axles when I replaced its stub axles for the same fault (more severe, resulting in hub seal failures). The later spec is much tougher, and the bearings are easier to source as they are used on all Defender, Discovery I and Range Rover Classic models. I have bought Genuine Parts new bearing sets, which include all the seals and gaskets, for £19 per hub, just to be sure that I won’t end up stripping the hubs in the Alps.

I have also ordered new chrome swivels, bushes and bearings for the front axle so that I can replace all but the outer swivel casings with new. The slight left hand pull is still there, and though it’s weak enough that any road camber dominates the mechanical fault, I’d still like to set the geometry up perfectly. A computerised laser four wheel alignment showed full alignment in every aspect except front wheel camber (outward lean of the wheel). The correct camber is 90 minutes (1.5 degrees) out, but the off side is currently showing 75 minutes and the near side only 45. As there is no play in the swivel bearings, and the pins and Railko bushes have been inspected and found satisfactory, the conclusion is that either the axle tube is bent (unlikely), or the swivels have been subjected to some hard knocks (potholes) and their lower bearing holes have stretched (relatively common).

I hope to have the rear axle upgraded before the Land Rover 60th Anniversary run on the third of May, as the 109 will be taking part. The front axle will be tackled shortly after.

The gearbox fault also remains, with fourth gear continuing to jump out under engine braking. A gearstick movement is also present in third gear under identical circumstances, though the gear remains engaged. Initially suspicious of selector adjustment, I have now come to believe that there may be a fault with the 3rd/4th synchro unit or that the circlip on the primary pinion (input shaft) has failed, allowing the pinion to slide ina nd out of the gear box as the torque on the helical teeth messhing with the lay shaft produces thrust loads. Either way, the box has to come out for another rebuild. I have ordered a full set of brearings, retainers and clips, and will be rebuilding the box before the trip. Clearly, this job will take priority over the front swivels.