Defender 90 TD5 - Possible Gearbox/Clutch issue

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bankz5152

bankz5152

Well-Known Member
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South London/North Kent
Hey chaps,

Need some Landyzone wizdom here. I was driving down to Hampshire the other day and notice some slightly odd noise coming from the gearbox/clutch though was hardly noticable. Drove there fine, drove back fine. Jumped in today drove about 20 miles and the noise was very loud, especially in 2nd & 3rd a little in 4th and hardly in 5th.

Sounded like a mechanical squeel. Almost like the noise the fan belt makes when it gets wet, not as loud as that but very similar with a metallic sound to it. Soon as I drop the clutch the noise goes.

Theres no issues with power, it seems to come and go randomly - as in I cant replicate the noise myself - just have to wait till it happens.

Gearbox/Transfer box oil was changed about 9 months ago. The entire clutch was done by LR in July. All the UJs & Props are greased often, I havnt been off road in it in a few months so only had tarmac miles for a while. There is a slight leak from the gearbox but hey its a landy. I havnt checked the gearbox oil level just yet as It was dark when I got home.

I personally have no idea what it is, though im going to Wales in a couple weeks and would like to find out before I go.

Any ideas chaps?
 
Woah. I have no idea what that is, what exactly is that?

The noise only happens when the clutch is up, in gear and throttle down. Coasting theres no noise.
 
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Did a bit of digging. Im starting to think the clutch release bearing/Thrust Bearing is going. Which it shouldnt be, only a few months old!

Edit -

As the parts/labour are under warrenty im currently in talks with Ribble Valley 4x4 (they have already agreed to replace any damaged parts) and my local Land Rover dealer about what can be done. If all goes to hell and I end up having to do this myself, is it possible to do just by sliding the gearbox back and fitting the part? or has the whole box got to come out?
 
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Whole box off as the release bearing effectively fits over the G/Box input shaft so the shaft needs to be out the clutch plate to be removed
 
bankz5152 said:
Did a bit of digging. Im starting to think the clutch release bearing/Thrust Bearing is going. Which it shouldnt be, only a few months old!

Edit -

As the parts/labour are under warrenty im currently in talks with Ribble Valley 4x4 (they have already agreed to replace any damaged parts) and my local Land Rover dealer about what can be done. If all goes to hell and I end up having to do this myself, is it possible to do just by sliding the gearbox back and fitting the part? or has the whole box got to come out?
Click to expand...

Surely if it's under warranty you shouldn't have to do anything yourself?
 
The labour is by LR and the parts by Ribble. LR wanted £1600 all in. Buying the clutch kit elsewhere was £360 and labour was £490. So its a bit hit and miss for the time being
 
I'd have thought if it was the clutch release bearing you'd be more likely to hear a noise when your foot was on the clutch pedal rather than the situation you've got. After all, when the clutch isn't down, the two parts of the bearing are not rotating against one another. I'm with James - I expect it's a bearing somewhere else in the gearbox.

Anyway, let's see what the garage says, if they're prepared to take another look at it.
 
Hmmm. I see, any ideas what else it could be? Going to pop out now and have a look at the oil level and see if I can replicate the noise and record it.

EDIT -

Thought i'd give it a go round the block, the noise seems to have become quiter but still noticable and took around 5 minutes to show up. Managed to get it on video, it is much quieter than it was on Tuesday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hxo3Gi06jg&feature=youtu.be


About 2 seconds in.
 
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difficult without being there.
in my opinion-
not the release bearing. possibly, a dry uj or loose uj. cant remember if you said you'd checked them.
grease them, see if it shuts up for a bit, tho if it is a uj, it'll soon present again and want swapping.
 
It's a long shot, but last year mine was squeaking in a similar way and it turned out to be the handbrake. It only happened sometimes, under power when accelerating. Turned out the friction material was peeling off the shoes and rubbing on the drum.

I spent ages looking for the cause - wheel bearings, propshafts, exhaust rubbing on chassis etc. Eventually new handbrake shoes and spring kit cured it. Cheap repair too.
 
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This really is such a pain in the ass. Just not knowing if its free to fix or a new box.

Ill go through all the props again and re-grease. Someone suggested it could be a plate the sits infront of the transfer before before the prop coming loose. So also going to take the front prop off and see if that solves it.

Im leaning away from the thrust bearing aswell. Ill check the hand break aswell.

So far possible issues could be

- Layshaft on its way out
- Gearbox or Trans Failure
- This little plate thing
- Handbreak

What exactly causes a layshaft to fail?


If i havnt mentioned it already its an 02 Defender TD5 with the R380 box. About 78k on the clock.
 
check ujs and lift in diff inputs and t/box outputs,try with one prop only at a time see if that alters it,if its a layshaft issue it will be usually be noticeable in 3rd and 5th but better in 4th,l/s failure is usually down to lack of oil and or oil changes,what is the little plate thing
 
The little plate thing was suggested by someone on Facebook -

"It's the plate at the front of the transfer box that the shaft the front prop bolts to goes through if it's loose and were talking just 5mm that will be your noise tap it back into place if the noise goes your done"

Sorry chaps gearbox and trans are new to me, never had any issues with them before now. By drum I assume you mean the hand brake drum?

As for oil, according to the chap who did it last year the oil that came out was very black, he didnt think it had been changed in some time. When I bought the car im pretty sure it had sat for a while, how long exactly I have no idea.
 
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Yes, handbrake drum. If you're taking your propshafts off to grease and inspect them it's not very much more trouble. There's usually a countersunk head screw which is sometimes a bit difficult to undo, and you might need to slacken the brake adjuster a bit to enable you to prise the drum off past the shoes. Mine's usually full of rust and brake dust, which is a source of squeaking in itself.
 
Update -

Changed the gearbox oil - looked dark - no chunks of metal came out just a bit of filings on the drain plug.

Took the handbrake drum off, it was flithy and full of brake dust but generally looked alright.

Greased all the props

Noise remains, it sounds different but still promenant in all gears. It increases when i pick up speed and is there if the clutch is up or down.

Changing the Tbox oil tomorrow check that
 
I'm sorry to keep rattling on about the handbrake, but this is starting to sound more and more like my experience. I took the handbrake drum off and hoovered the dirt out (there was a lot of it) and put it back together. It still squeaked, but squeaked differently, so I knew I was on to something and decided to replace the innards. Go for a little drive with the drum off, if you've got somewhere fairly flat round you where you won't need it for hill starts, and see if it makes a difference.
 
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