Should a transfer box output shaft wobble?

Hi all

I just refitted a new bearing on the front output of my Disco tranfer box on a Defender. When doing this I noted that on taking out and returning the output shaft, it was quite loose in it's housing when fully inserted - I am tlaking about a a radius wobble of about 10mm on the end. Somebody told me this was ok as the bearing stablises it, but surely it should be a tight snug fit with no wobble????

Thanks for any advice.

Does anyone even know if it should wobble just a little?

A tiny amount of run-out maybe, slack Alice and wizards sleeve special errrrr nope

This slack is how ive determined my T-boxes to be shagged in the past. Think my lift kit is killing the output bearings. My last one must have had 10mm of play when i took it off, but it was still working, crazy. It was much quieter in the vehicle after i changed it.

Jamesyboy said:

Hi all

I just refitted a new bearing on the front output of my Disco tranfer box on a Defender. When doing this I noted that on taking out and returning the output shaft, it was quite loose in it's housing when fully inserted - I am tlaking about a a radius wobble of about 10mm on the end. Somebody told me this was ok as the bearing stablises it, but surely it should be a tight snug fit with no wobble????

Thanks for any advice.

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Ah sorry dident read that properly befor posting. 10mm is alot, coinsidance its what i wrote too, but thats certainly not ideal, i fitted a good used box to mine as i dident fancy playing with bearings. Payed £100 for my good used one. I know nothing of how to fit or ajust the bearings thought its somthing ive been meaning to do on my old box. Is there some kind of shimming ajustment on it?

Hi Woodsy

I've a replacement box and I think it will go in. Did you change your output shaft to get it quieter, or the whole box? The vibration is much much better with my new custom double carden prop and a set of castor correction bushes, although it is now present at a lower rev range. My last new wide yoke custom prop was a piece of crap and could not be opened or closed by hand - they told me that was normal but gave me a refund anyway..mmm..
Anyway that prop seemed to damage the innerds of my t box - a sort of whirring grinding noise on decceleration or up-hill. No noise with the new prop. Lifts are a nightmare - so many problems down the line. Changing the output bearings is really easy when you learn how - do you want some forum photo guide links which I used to save me a lot of heartbreak?

Jamesyboy said:

Hi Woodsy

I've a replacement box and I think it will go in. Did you change your output shaft to get it quieter, or the whole box? The vibration is much much better with my new custom double carden prop and a set of castor correction bushes, although it is now present at a lower rev range. My last new wide yoke custom prop was a piece of crap and could not be opened or closed by hand - they told me that was normal but gave me a refund anyway..mmm..
Anyway that prop seemed to damage the innerds of my t box - a sort of whirring grinding noise on decceleration or up-hill. No noise with the new prop. Lifts are a nightmare - so many problems down the line. Changing the output bearings is really easy when you learn how - do you want some forum photo guide links which I used to save me a lot of heartbreak?

Click to expand...

Do ye mean like this...

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f41/transfer-box-front-output-bearing-oil-seal-renewal-81771.html

from what I can gather....there should be no wobble. Recently had my gbox redone top to bottom....seems its a common weakness for the bearing to cause a bit of wear to the casing.....what they did was machine, then fit a steel insert into which the bearing fits....very snug fit.....seems ok now

Hello all and thanks for your advices - I am going to just replace the t-box. Bushtoy - the bearing in mine is a really tight fit so I assume the case was good.

when you say wobble how do you mean? Side to side? Slack? Rotational slack? Is that the box I got from the guy here and sent over to you? I gave it the once over looked fine to me when it was wrapped up. Do a clip on your phone and email/txt me showing me the wobble your getting.

Hi mate - yes the wobble is the flange being able to move side to side - even with a new bearing in. I noted that the flange was wobbly until I put all the way onto the output - it looks a little worn inside but I am not expert. The output shaft was a problem but I reckon it was caused by the unusual stresses presented by having a prop angle at the diff being totally straight and sharp at the t box - I was using a wide angled prop.
Castor correction bushes are fitted which definitely have made the t box angle sharper but the steering much better. Apparently only a double carden will do the business for this situation. That said it is only a 2 inch lift. I fitted a double carden and it ****ed the t box end UJ grease all round the chassis legs and gearbox on the first run of 2 miles!!!!!!! (This didn't even happen with the wide angle prop). I noted the UJ was gone - after one drive!!!!!! Perhaps it was gone already - I did note that the ball action was stiff and locked it in position around the extremity of it's own action - ie I had to 'snap' it back into position - I was told by the supplier this was normal and would soften up. This is a highly rated supplier.
Took the double C off last night and stuck her in diff lock - and most of the vibration is gone. Much smoother to drive despite the diff lock. The vibration is occurrent at different speeds in different gears but 30mph and 55 mph are the main ones.
A mechanic has measured all the alignments eg gearbox, engine, etc and says they are down to the MM and degree from the book.
So VIBRATION is the cause of things going bad, or VIBRATION is a symptom. If one thing screws up, it screws other bits up and then it's hard to pinpoint a cause.
I checked the front wheels and they free wheel fine in neutral and the front diff has no unusual play.

Other helpful info - the engine is a retro fitted Disco 300tdi in my Defender 90. All standard bits. Disco chassis mounts welded onto legs in new position. I get a bit of kickback in the gearstick when switching her off after a drive. I used to get kickback through the clutch pedal when turning her off - which is a mystery but must be mechanical - this disappeared after the castor corrrection bushes were fitted.

Is it possible the ENGINE could be the vibration culprit? Eg the flywheel - I got a new clutch and heavy duty fork, but not flywheel that I can recall. It's a wee bit noisy in the morning with the clutch out - press it in and the noise goes away. Look at this link - TD5 flywheel inspection - LR4x4 - The Land Rover Forum

All this for a crappy wee 2 inch lift. It beggars belief!

Im having the EXACT same problem!

The noise is as if a 'UJ' has gone..... but all are new and fine.

But like you say theres a LOT of vibration coming from somewhere!!!

Like yours mine has a 2in lift.

Just today i have noticed 'side to side' play in the front output shaft (see pic) and iv noticed a (Excuse the lack of technical description) flange of some sort, the one my finger is touching that is loose! The loose flange spins, and pulls out towards the propshaft!

Is this normal? As i have litrally just fitted this t-box this jan (Like jamesboy mines a disco t-box on defender box)

P.s I split my rear prop not long back and looking at the other pic have i put it back properly ie, the UJ's are aligned in the correct way? Could this be a cause of the vibration?

Hey Scott...I've done my research and the UJ's should line up or as close as. Phasing them all seems a bit of smoke and mirrors. The wee spinning bit on the flange is actually a shield which fits around it - gently try and lever it closer to the neck of the flange in situ - it will ride over a collar that keeps it in place . It can come loose and has done on mine.

The UJ's on that second pic look awfully close to maximum - are they rubbing and causing your vibration, or are they wide yoke props?

At least we know we are not going NUTS!!!!!!!! My test this afternoon is to jack each whole axle and check the number of revolutions of the diff for each full rotation of the tyre - to eliminate the idea that a previous owner fitted a diff with a slightly different ratio which would screw up my drive line obviously. Don't be surprised - alot of blokes put Defender diffs in Lightweights etc but don't know to do both axles... eek!

Something, somewhere, is causing enough resistance to do an output flange and bearing in the t-box consistently. If your engine is original, that might eliminate any worries I have about my Disco 300 fit having an effect. Maybe the rear prop has to be a wide yoke too - but everyone says it is not necessary, even the pros.

Jamesyboy said:

Hey Scott...I've done my research and the UJ's should line up or as close as. Phasing them all seems a bit of smoke and mirrors. The wee spinning bit on the flange is actually a shield which fits around it - gently try and lever it closer to the neck of the flange in situ - it will ride over a collar that keeps it in place . It can come loose and has done on mine.

The UJ's on that second pic look awfully close to maximum - are they rubbing and causing your vibration, or are they wide yoke props?

At least we know we are not going NUTS!!!!!!!! My test this afternoon is to jack each whole axle and check the number of revolutions of the diff for each full rotation of the tyre - to eliminate the idea that a previous owner fitted a diff with a slightly different ratio which would screw up my drive line obviously. Don't be surprised - alot of blokes put Defender diffs in Lightweights etc but don't know to do both axles... eek!

Something, somewhere, is causing enough resistance to do an output flange and bearing in the t-box consistently. If your engine is original, that might eliminate any worries I have about my Disco 300 fit having an effect. Maybe the rear prop has to be a wide yoke too - but everyone says it is not necessary, even the pros.

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Hi mate!

What do you mean when you say it looks near max?

Its funny you should say that about the diffs as i have just fitted a new (used) rear diff! A 10 spline Disco one to replace the one that went bang!

Iv only had this problem since i changed it too! Are you saying there are different ratio diffs even between the 10 spline diffs?

I retro fitted the 200tdi mate from a Disco in Jan. And the props are standard but iv never once had a problem previous and all seems to have stemed from the point the old diff went!

You can get, I think, 12 and 24 spline diffs on Defenders. Mine are the older 12 splines. There are different ratios which produce more or less wheel turn per turn of the the diff - regardless of the number of splines. I checked mine today. Both are 1.75 diff turns to 1 wheel rotation, so I think I am ok there. That said, I just discovered that both my rear wheel bearings or splines are shot - they wobble slightly when I grab the tyre and pull it back and forwards. Check this too! It gives serious vibration.