Help Please! diff lock stuck on and replacing rear cross member

Evening all, got my first landy home today and it has some issues.

Its a 1986 110 N/A 2.5D Im not sure what gearbox it has in it. its also been sat for about 2 years

First! The diff lock is stuck on which makes for some intresting driving, i think it was engaged when it was last driven and left to stand and become stuck. the selector lever feels like stiring thick porridge and doesnt seem to do much either. Im a confident mechanic but landys are new grounds for me so any advice on fixing this is greatly appreciated!

Second! The rear cross member is shot and needs replacing, can this be done with the body on or do I have to lift it off at all?

Cheers! Liam

if you remove tunnel you can sort diff lock linkage ,switch been wound in too far can jam diff lock selector ,rear cross member is usually done with body in place

Taa very muck! Ill have a crack at the diff tomorrow and report back with my findings.

Also your avatar made me chuckle

LSO1008 said:

Second! The rear cross member is shot and needs replacing, can this be done with the body on or do I have to lift it off at all?

Cheers! Liam

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Keep the body on, that way you can align the bolt holes to the tub easier!

First either chop through the wire in the driver side chassis leg, then sold together later or disconnect all the wires inside, pull that through and then tape an old metal coat hanger onto the loom and then pull through from under the engine bay (not all the way, just far enough so you don't chop through or weld the loom.

Then the Easiest is to take the exhaust off, take wheels off on axle stand, measure the new cross member and double, triple and quadruple check and scratch the line into the chassis. Cut through, clean up area, fit new one, weld in place, reasemble all bits you've taken off.


Edit: also you'll have to take fuel tank out i assume?

I took boot floor pan out to do the rear cross member, I didn't cut any wires either. it was one of press brakes, it might be easier to weld one of the cross members you can buy with extension sleeves, but trying to do a plain xmember with fabricated plates joining it to the chassis was difficult until I removed the boot floor! did mean not having to chop wires though

If the diff lock is stuck in but the truck has been stood for a couple of years it is more than likely that the linkages have seized, rather than the switch being wound in to far, if you lift the transmission tunnel and check all the external linkages are free to move - you may need to disconnect the bottom one from the diff lock shift selector shaft on the transfer box to ensure all externals are free to move. once the external linkage is eliminated from the equation you can look at the internal linkage and the shift selector shaft. if you are lucky you may be able to free off the spigot shaft by using a decent pair of mole grips and attaching direct to the shaft, it is worth having the vehicle jackked up on axle stands and "wheel free" to enable any wind up within the transmission to unwind and take the strain out of the diff lock and front/rear propshafts.
if this does not get the shaft free, you may need to undo the ring of bolts holding the diff lock selector shaft into the transfer box and remove it from the box, check that that it is free to move while it is out, if not a good dousing with penatrating oil and working the shaft/lever with grips should sort it. if the shaft is free then the selector rod in the transfer box is probably stuck, this is a bit more tricky to free off, but can be done with a good quality pry bar levered gently in the slot where the diff lock selector shaft pawl normally sits (the prybar being longer gives more leverage) normally that will get it moving all ok, and once freed off will usually stay free providing you operate the diff lock mechanisim once a month or so. you can do this statically or by shunting forwards and backwards a couple off feet just to ensure it goes in and comes out of diff lock. I hope this is of help, drekkly, Mark