Would you believe it....

Hi to all,
I had been trying to locate the source of a rather annoying rattle coming from the front of my 110 for the last 2 years that I have owned it. Literally I have explored every option I could think of:
Mud flap brackets
Brake shields
Brake pads
Loose bolts
Steering damper shield
Universal joints
Air filter housing.... you get the picture.

Incidentally, I was also aware of a significant amount of backlash from the front axle and more worryingly recently a truly horrendous crunch from underneath occasionally when turning left or right and the steering would stiffen in the process.
So since I had a little downtime recently I decided to pull the front diff out and have a look. And.........

Though you can't see it here the shaft for the spider gears is snapped completely in two. This apparently resulted in the elongation of the ends of the hole for the shaft. Gears as well are knackered. I believe I have found the source of my rattle . How was this even still driving?? Gives me the chills thinking about what could have resulted if I had let it continue longer. Notice how close the shaft is to the crownwheel teeth.

Update to follow.

That's impressive. One for the Land Rover pathology museum. Looks like the shaft has been fouling the crown wheel too, judging by the chips off the corners of the teeth.

Oooh, ugly

That doesn't need a mechanic, it needs a dentist.