Vibration

Defender 2.4 TDCI 2008.

Just collected from garage having had a replacement gearbox mounting fitted (old one was broken) and immediately noticed the vehicle vibrating when stationary/ticking over. Phoned garage and they said nothing we have done would cause the vehicle to vibrate but bring it in and we will have a look. My first thought is to crawl under the vehicle with a couple of spanners and disconnect the new bracket to see whether the vibration stops.

Mike

Engine mount maybe?
Poor quality gearbox mount?
I would have a look, costs nothing.

New mount has moved exhaust close to chassis?

Maybe the vibration was always there but it was masked by the gearbox mount. Plus 1 for another perished mount somewhere.

It's making me wonder why the first gearbox mounting snapped! Sounds like something was wrong before which snapped the first mount.

Al2O3 said:

It's making me wonder why the first gearbox mounting snapped! Sounds like something was wrong before which snapped the first mount.

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+1 to this

Thanks. Vehicle is a 110 if this is relevant. I did have a crawl under the vehicle last night in the half light/pouring rain and it appears both rubbers have been replaced (drivers and passenger sides). The only rubber visible is the drivers side which is twisted, has obviously been forced to locate bolts. Mounting places on chassis and gearbox are not correctly aligned.

Mike

Just to be clear there was no vibration before the new rubbers were fitted.

Mike

mike56 said:

Just to be clear there was no vibration before the new rubbers were fitted.

Mike

Click to expand...

Which suggests there was an issue prior maybe a vibration which caused the old one to break. You’ll be feeling a vibration now because the gearbox is securely mounted if that’s the case. Could be 100 things causing a vibration.

Check for;
- exhaust play and hitting anything
- engine mounts condition
- play in the clutch, flywheel could be rattling and causing vibration
- drive shafts could be bent

Take it to a Land Rover specialist, could be 101 things.

mike56 said:

Thanks. Vehicle is a 110 if this is relevant. I did have a crawl under the vehicle last night in the half light/pouring rain and it appears both rubbers have been replaced (drivers and passenger sides). The only rubber visible is the drivers side which is twisted, has obviously been forced to locate bolts. Mounting places on chassis and gearbox are not correctly aligned.

Mike

Click to expand...

That makes you go hmmm! It does sound like there has been an issue before and the focus for the pressure has been that mount, hence it gave up. How did you discover the gearbox mount needed replacing?
Have you checked the vehicle for signs of crash damage? Slight mismatch of paint on different panels. Paint in better condition than it should be. Any signs of creases in any of the outriggers etc?

This could also be low cost/non-original rubbers that are 1. poorly fitted, 2. made out of overly hard Chinesium type plasti-rubber. Suggest you buy G grade and/or Glencoyne rubber mounts.

I'm not familiar with the 2008 model (as mine's a 2006) but could anybody have made a mistake on assembling them? Are the rubbers 'handed' or need to go in a particular way up? Are the brackets 'handed'? I'm wondering why they're not sitting comfortably and seem to be distorted.

To illustrate what i mean, many years ago when we had a Series 2 Forward Control, we had great difficulty getting the gearbox to sit properly on its mounts and getting the bolt holes to line up. I even made some spacers to try and improve matters. It was only later that we worked out that the brackets connecting the mounts to the chassis were handed and somebody had previously put them on the wrong way round. We'd just been trying to put things back they way we found them. Once the position was reversed, everything lined up perfectly first time.

Thanks for replies.

To address the few points above.

No crash damage, I have owned from new.

Visual inspection of the rubber mounts indicates they are obviously handed although I have no idea whether the garage fitted cheap Chinese ones or genuine replacements.

The problem was discovered while the garage was fitting a new clutch.

I phoned the garage and was advised "nothing they have done would cause any vibration" but pop in and we will have a look. I did pop in and the chaps body language spoke volumes. When he eventually came to have a look and started the engine, without getting in he said that vibration is coming from under the bonnet. He popped the bonnet up and quickly pulled the rubber injection cover up and waggled it about and pointed at the top bracket that holds the alloy heat shield in place saying it is broken and will need to be taken off and welded. Notably he did not sit in the vehicle to feel the vibration and did not inspect the rubber mounts to see whether they had been fitted correctly. He was not at all interested, in fact I would say he was more than annoyed. When I arrived home I re fitted the flexible cover correctly he had just ripped off and properly inspected the bracket he said was broken and discovered it is not broken. For 6 or 7 years I have used this garage for all my servicing and repairs etc averaging about £1,000 per year but I am now looking for a new garage to attend to my needs.

Mike