Oh and thanks Nitemare, the picture is very helpful. Makes much more sense now and I will have a look at the chromes and swivels once I've managed to resolve my hub dilema.

OK, another very frustrating night. I got new FWH. 24 spline. Turns out there must be at least 2 sizes of splines because the FWH are about 1/2" too small in diameter. The splines on mine, shown in the picture a few posts ago, are about 2" diameter, roughly. The new AVM FWH are roughly 1.5"...

Couple of things... Chromes? Would be happy to take pictures if I knew what they were. What are the swivels? Do you mean the diff? Where are the fill plugs for the swivels?

I'm frustratingly close to having this sorted thanks to the superb assistance and advice from you guys. Just a couple more stupid questions... I've stripped off the old hubs and had a go at cleaning them up. They are still stuck so I've got some new (AVM) ones. I'll hang on to the old ones...

Yeah, shame nrgserv, would be great but it's a bit of a drive :) So, I've had a fun 90 minutes or so... I took off the cap by undoing the 6 hex bolts. The end cap actually popped off on it's own once undone. Found out this is because the springs in the cap were under load. Picture of cap...

And now I'm going to head out into the cold and dark to try and strip these hubs. Unfortunately I need it running for Saturday afternoon and am at work all day so this time of the year, with no workshop to do it in, I'm going to have to toughen up :) Once I've got them off I'm going to try and...

I'm in Oxfordshire, Didcot to be precise.

I am torn between repairing/replacing these with FWH, or reverting to "normal" hubs. I've read a load of views and articles on the pro's and con's of each approach and it seems to be a quasi-religious debate with no real conclusive conclusions. I am very tempted to return to non-FWH for the...

Fantastic advice everyone, thank you very much. One, hopefully final, question, how do I remove the castellated nut? It looks like it has flats you can fit a spanner or socket on, but do you risk breaking off the catellations?

Ah, awesome, thanks beasty!

Jamesmartin, there's one on a previous post, but here are a few more...

From the look of yours off the vehicle, it suggests I do just remove the 6 bolts round the edge and pull. Is that right? If so then surely fitting them is simply the reverse and therefore a blindingly easy job.

OK, I thought I'd try unlocking and relocking the FWH but they won't budge. Even with excessive force :S Again, to me points to the FWH being the problem. I realise this may be wishful thinking. So, how do I get them off? Just undo the bolts around the base and pull? Will I be able to see how...

OK, I've done a little more investigation and have more info. They are ORA free hubs, I've included a picture below. Some tests and results... In neutral I can manually rotate the front prop shaft, there's no "nasty" noises I would associate with a knackered diff or anything else in the drive...

Hi All, Encountered an unexpected problem today, I got stuck in a wet muddy field. No problem I thought, 4WD it is. Nope, only the back wheels are turning. OK then, low box, that HAS to be 4WD! Again, no, just the back wheels turning. YIKES! Took me a while getting a run up and trying...

Thanks. How would I go about checking that?

Excellent, thanks Martin1512!

Hi All, Yet another newbie question no doubt, but here goes... I have an interesting situation with the gearbox on my '84 series 3. When I first start her up it sometimes will not allow me to select a gear. I wriggle the gear stick around and it simply won't go into any gear. There's no...

Hi All, I know that the workshop manual for my series 3 says DOT 3 clutch fluid, but I've read elsewhere on these esteemed forums that DOT 4 is backwards compatible with DOT 3. Firstly, can people confirm that for me? Secondly, is there any problem with topping my clutch reservoir up with DOT 4...

Fantastic stuff everyone, many thanks! Think I'll go for Halfords 15w40 for the moment. I'm hoping to do an minor engine overhaul in the not too distant future (should tax my rusty mechanic skills :S) and I'll put in the more expensive stuff once that's done. I've ordered the Haynes manuals...