D2 Transfer Box exploded?

Padda.116 · 2025-01-18T12:25:50+0000

Hi all, I’m posting on behalf of a Freind.

He had a 2003 Disco 2 Manual with a bigger turbo intercooler and remapped pushing 220hp. With extreme power LOF clutch.

He accelerated as hard as he could and started wheel spinning like crazy and then he made this horrendous explosion sound and then knocking and lost all drive.

He got towed home and we had a look underneath both props still fine however the front one spins the back one dosent but makes a slight vibration like it’s trying to.

The only thing I could notice is that the higher gear you go and more you accelerate it makes this noise like 2 metal plates grinding together coming from the transfer box area. We jacked all 4 wheels up and spun and couldn’t hear anything bad just the front drivers side but sounded more like a bad wheel bearing to me .

He said when he got towed home and got up to about 40mph he heard a really bad whirring noise but I’m inclined to say tyre noise of his mud terrains?

He dosent have diff lock either.

My guess is the transfer box has exploded internally or the clutch has but looking for a second opinion

Many thanks!

Anaconda · 2025-01-18T16:10:03+0000

I am reasonably sure I read something on Ashcrofts about spinning your wheels and knackering the transfer box up.

lightning · 2025-01-18T17:29:23+0000

Live axle utility 4x4

Never designed for racing/wheelspin starts with the engine tuned nearly 100BHP (and probably a whole heap more torque) over stock.
Particularly when over twenty years old.

Ashcroft will probably sell your friend an uprated transmission to cope with this kind of abuse.

kermit_rr · 2025-01-18T18:09:47+0000

Anaconda said:
I am reasonably sure I read something on Ashcrofts about spinning your wheels and knackering the transfer box up.

Yes, i read spinning the wheels for a few seconds without difflock engaged can kill it

lynall · 2025-01-18T18:40:19+0000

Iirc the LT230 transfer box can take some serious bhp, way more than any td5 an develop.

Oil changes and levels will play a large part in that toughness.

Only 1 prop spinning sounds like your diagnosis is correct.

Anaconda · 2025-01-18T19:03:25+0000

kermit_rr said:
Yes, i read spinning the wheels for a few seconds without difflock engaged can kill it

Yes, that was it.

Stanleysteamer · 2025-01-18T21:16:20+0000

Anaconda said:
Yes, that was it.

And of course the problem is that a D2 often, if not usually, doesn't have a lockable diff lock!!

I heard this too but I think it was to do with a D1, which makes perfect sense.
Maybe wheels spinning was not supposed to be a problem with Traction Control?
But in any case if an owner beefs up the power of a motor but neglects to beef up the rest of the vehicle he/she is asking for trouble.

300bhp/ton · 2025-01-18T22:43:53+0000

lightning said:
Live axle utility 4x4

Never designed for racing.

Maybe not, but people have been racing them for 60+ years!

300bhp/ton · 2025-01-18T22:55:05+0000

Padda.116 said:
Hi all, I’m posting on behalf of a Freind.

He had a 2003 Disco 2 Manual with a bigger turbo intercooler and remapped pushing 220hp. With extreme power LOF clutch.

He accelerated as hard as he could and started wheel spinning like crazy and then he made this horrendous explosion sound and then knocking and lost all drive.

He got towed home and we had a look underneath both props still fine however the front one spins the back one dosent but makes a slight vibration like it’s trying to.

The only thing I could notice is that the higher gear you go and more you accelerate it makes this noise like 2 metal plates grinding together coming from the transfer box area. We jacked all 4 wheels up and spun and couldn’t hear anything bad just the front drivers side but sounded more like a bad wheel bearing to me .

He said when he got towed home and got up to about 40mph he heard a really bad whirring noise but I’m inclined to say tyre noise of his mud terrains?

He dosent have diff lock either.

My guess is the transfer box has exploded internally or the clutch has but looking for a second opinion

Many thanks!

Driving like a dick with no mechanical sympathy will result in breaking stuff. :vb-poke-with-stick:

But I daresay many of us have been there and done that.

Many have pushed over 400hp through an LT230 for competition use. They are usually pretty strong. However you'd normally have them locked up, they are not designed for massive wheel speed differences and shock loading.

That said, pretty much anything in the drive train could have broken doing this. And unless it was on mud or wet grass, hugely unlikely to have been spinning all the wheels, most likely was just one wheel or maybe 2 for a brief while. All they (you) can do is go through the drivetrain and look for the broken part(s). If it is the transfer box, then a rebuild or replacement likely needed. But a front diff is usually more likely to let go off road, which would not be so dissimilar to what likely happened here.

A bit of wheelspin action in my pickup at an event last summer.

MJI · 2025-01-19T08:57:44+0000

300bhp/ton said:
Driving like a dick with no mechanical sympathy will result in breaking stuff. But I daresay many of us have been there and done that.

Many have pushed over 400hp through an LT230 for competition use. They are usually pretty strong. However you'd normally have them locked up, they are not designed for massive wheel speed differences and shock loading.

That said, pretty much anything in the drive train could have broken doing this. And unless it was on mud or wet grass, hugely unlikely to have been spinning all the wheels, most likely was just one wheel or maybe 2 for a brief while. All they (you) can do is go through the drivetrain and look for the broken part(s). If it is the transfer box, then a rebuild or replacement likely needed. But a front diff is usually more likely to let go off road, which would not be so dissimilar to what likely happened here.

A bit of wheelspin action in my pickup at an event last summer.

Was the winner a TD5?

D2 Transfer Box exploded?

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