steven walker

steven walker

Active Member
Hi all
I've had my defender 300tdi in for Mot today, it failed on a few little things,track rod end,a lens on indicator ect which have been done and it's now passed
I have advisory on rear chassis/crossmember corroded,is this much of a job to sort? Any idea of cost ect?
I'm newish to this defender ownership so sorry if it's a silly question to ask
 
I forgot to add I also have advisory on U/j bearing play..i have a clunk on taking up drive and the mechanic said that it's probably the shock from the constant clunk that has worn the u/j ...he said it would be best to sort out the clunk in the driveline first before changing the u/j, are there any common causes of this clunk on taking up drive? The mechanic can't see anything obvious that's causing it, he said maybe in gearbox ??
 
It might be the A-frame ball joint that connects to the rear axle that's causing the clunk.

Plenty of info on here about the rear cross member replacement. Do a search and you'll find loads.
 
Drive train shunt can be a lot of things, one of a lot or a lot of a lot. You need to go through the drive train , bit by bit looking for worn components and play.
 
If the crossmember corrosion isn't too bad, you might get away with welded patches. Worse than that, it's a new crossmember. There are plenty for sale from different makers. Most of the cost will be labour, as it takes a bit of time to disconnect the body etc.
 
Worse case scenario for the clunk is worn mainshaft splines on the gearbox, it means a rebuild to replace that.
Easy to check for wear there, videos on the net for guidance.
 
Thanks for all the replys,I think I will try and sort the chassis out first with a new rear crossmember,does anyone have an idea of what it will cost me in labour if I buy the crossmember and get garage to remove old and fit it/weld it?
 
As said have a search around for threads on suppliers and cost.

For all sorts of daft reasons I went for a LR genuine Xmember, needed long 'legs' to address rusted chassis rails too, and had little choice of fitter (won't be going back....their prep was awful, with masses of rust on 1 year old xmember already......) so it cost me best part of £900.... Some seem to manage it for nearer £500, or buy the bits and fit it themselves - but they are cleverer than me and have welding skills..... Good luck, A
 
steven walker said:
Hi all
I've had my defender 300tdi in for Mot today, it failed on a few little things,track rod end,a lens on indicator ect which have been done and it's now passed
I have advisory on rear chassis/crossmember corroded,is this much of a job to sort? Any idea of cost ect?
I'm newish to this defender ownership so sorry if it's a silly question to ask
Click to expand...
Someone on the forums is selling a Black Sheep Crossmember which is an awesome bit of kit and the best you can buy.
 
The guy that advised you to look for drive line problems before fixing the prop U/J was completely wrong. As a general principle you should always fix the problems you know you have before looking for other faults. A worn U/J could be dangerous and cause a lot of damage if it lets go when you are driving and it could actually be the cause of the noise you are hearing. Changing a prop U/J costs less than a tenner and takes half an hour, get it sorted before you worry about your gearbox being shot.
 
Thanks for the replys ,I will start saving some penny's and try get my crossmember sorted.
I understand what you are saying Waldershelf and I did say to the mechanic about getting the U/j done and he said (rightly or wrongly) do the u/j at same time as strip the drive line to source the problem of the clunk as the clunk in the drive probably caused the u/j wear in the first place ??
 
Yes, replace the universal joint first and then see how much clunk you have left. There's often a tiny bit of slack in everything and it means that between the gearbox and the wheels there can be quite a bit of rotational slack. For what it is worth, the biggest difference to my clunk came with the replacement of my rear drive flanges and half shafts. A tiny bit of slack here can give you a good few degrees of rotational slack at the gearbox. Seems a bit extreme to go dismembering otherwise perfectly good diffs and gearboxes in the hunt for it though.
 
Do you have pics of the cross member? If its only an advisory it might not be terminal and a patch or some anti corrosion maintenance might fix it, replacing it is quite expensive and you really need someone who knows what they are doing.
 
Thanks guys,I find all this really interesting ,I should take a few photos or the crossmember corrosion ? I would like to attempt to find and sort the clunk in the driveline myself now if I can .. I used to be ok at fixing and tinkering with cars in my younger days (80s) so I could maybe save a few penny's and start looking at the drive line
 
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