Loud Bang when turning - Diagnoses help?

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landy1994

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Dear All,

I’m experiencing a large bang when turning sharp corners at lower speeds:confused:. I’m fairly confident it is in the transmission.

Items checked to date:

I’ve checked the prop shafts and they are all fine including the hardy splicer.

The A frame knuckle is worn and was making a slight nocking when going slowly over potholes and still is so this can be discounted.

It is not in the steering linkage

The diff lock appears to be working correct.

Vehicle drives and performs as it should aside from the bang.

The noise is either coming from the centre or front diff, however I’m fairly confident it is from the centre diff/transmission.

Gear change is fine in both low and high.

I can also occasionally get the bang if the car was to spin on take-off (it is not the usual engagement noise of the transmission through the drive shafts and diff’s etc.)

I’ve read other threads intimating the same problem but forum come backs are all looking for suspension wear etc. This noise appears to occur when the differential is changing state to allow different wheel speeds.

Any diagnoses tips before I go to the labourous task of stripping diffs?

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

Could it be half shafts? How can I check this quickly?

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
 
Try and get someone to walk besides you to listen to see where the sound is coming from. Does it happen every time you turn a right and is it just one bang or is it repetitive?
You could remove the centre seat (assuming you have one, not a cubby box) and remove the seat box/transmission cover and put a piece of wood on the transfer box and to your ear, listen for the bang through that, it should give you a bit of an idea as to if the problems the box or not.

I had a similar problem, it turned out to be my front cv but that is usually a repetitive metallic crunching sound .
You could also remove your propshafts in turn and see if the noise remains (you will need to engage centre diff with only one prop on).
I may be wrong but someone once told me that you could remove your drive flange on your hub with diff lock engaged, thus taking the stress out of the diff so you can see if the noise is the diff.

I have not tried that before so it may or may not work.

There are different types/sounds of bangs, without hearing them its hard to give a clearer idea of what it might be.
 
I’ve tried with someone walking bedside the car and they could not pinpoint where the bang was coming from.

It only bangs once in a turn and makes a similar noise to throwing the handbrake on when the car is still rolling?

It also only bangs some of the time? I cant get it to bang every turn.
 
Ok, I know you said that you have checked the bushes and a frame ball joint, but get underneath with a large screwdriver or pry bar and test EVERYTHING that's connected to something else. Personally, if you get no results from checking what I've mentioned above then (if it was me) I'd start thinking front or rear diff, usually cv joint failure is accompanied with a repetitive metallic click.
You could drain the diff oil and see if there is excessive metal bits in the bottom of the axel casing, which might indicate excessive wear but a slight amount is normal.
When you say loud bang do you feel any jolts through the steering wheel or the general feel of the Landy when it happens?
 
Spider gears in the diff will make a bang if they are damaged or teeth broken. could try jacking it up and turning the wheel to feel for any roughness
 
D.G.F.S,

Thanks, I’ve checked with the pry bar. All is fairly tight as it is poly bushed, with the exception of the ball and socket on the A-frame. This is worn but makes a noise that is far less significant.

Rappy1,

What I can’t understand is that if some teeth were missing why I don’t hear the noise all the time or if there is a direct link; noise with engine load which could be the gears slipping.

Is there a way of quickly checking the condition of the centre diff? I’m 70% sure the noise is coming from here.
 
If you're convinced its the centre diff, the only thing you can really check is if there is excess metal in the oil and on the drain plug magnet. There will always be some bits. Apart from that there is not much else. Don't forget, you could have a problem at one end of the vehicle but it may sound like its at the opposite end. I had a clunk sound a while back. I was convinced it was the front diff, so I had it apart swapped it for a second hand one and the noise was still there. Anyway, it turned out to be the rear trailing arm bush that was worn.
 
Dear all, after countless probing I'm coming to the conclusion that the centre diff is missing some teeth?

I think I will have to drop and strip the box.:eek:
 
Ah'd be tempted to sort the A frame ball joint out first. It might only be makin' a slight noise normally, but it might make a louder one if it's twisted a certain way.... just a thought;)
 
if you jack front and back up one side so 2 free to turn wheels you can feel center diff gears by contra rotating both props by hand ,and feel axle diff gears by rocking wheel while still jacked up
 
mine did same Tbox was shagged believe front output shaft but cant remember swapped it out for 2nd hand low miles box £100
 
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