Diff lock or viscous coupling?

[rangie85]

Hey guys n girls,

What's a better transfer (stronger and more practical) viscous coupling or center diff lock?

Cheers
Luke

[Aquarangie]

LT230 transfer better by a mile. VC is a good unit but if you plan on doing any sort of real 4WDing them the LT230 is the better option long-term (and cheaper).

Trav

[RangingRover]

Definitely stick with the old fashioned mechanical centre diff. Seen many MANY vicious couplings with stripped teeth/broken chain or siezed, and that was on cars that had never been offroad, and had often not done huge kms!

Biggest problem with the LT230 is the input gear splines aren't properly lubricated on earlier models, and can wear out after a couple hundred thousand kms ultimately stripping when bad enough. Noticeable increases in backlash over many kms before that happens though, chances are if your T-case has massive backlash, its these splines that are worn. You can buy new input gears with oiling holes relatively cheaply, or alternatively there also exists somewhere or other a kit which changes the cover plate over the input gear and supplies oil to the splines.

[mikey.reynolds]

just reading this ive been meaning to find out this noise i have in my driveline..so this topic is relevant so me..i have a 95 manual 3.9 disco that backlashes when easing off the gas or shifting gears..and when creeping slowly in gear it makes a kinda tickering sound in the drive line..been there since ive had it over the past year..fair to say i should replace the gear splines??? any idea wat they cost?? cheers

[RangingRover]

Not necessarily the t-case input gear.... Rovers tend to have quite a bit of audible backlash anyway, due to driving both driveshafts all the time, and if you are crawling along kind of alternating between coasting and accelerating, the driveline tends to clatter a bit as the driveshafts get loaded and unloaded. Same thing when you change gear - foot on clutch, driveshafts are now being spun by the wheels (basically), then you let the clutch back out and the engine takes over control of the driveshafts, changing their load direction.

If you get under it and find a large amount of backlash at the t-case, might be worth pulling the round inspection cover off to have a look at the splines, and just see if they are worn. THEN you know whether you actually need to replace the input gear or not, and then you can ask around for prices.

[Bush65]

just reading this ive been meaning to find out this noise i have in my driveline..so this topic is relevant so me..i have a 95 manual 3.9 disco that backlashes when easing off the gas or shifting gears..and when creeping slowly in gear it makes a kinda tickering sound in the drive line..been there since ive had it over the past year..fair to say i should replace the gear splines??? any idea wat they cost?? cheers

Could be worn splines, but there are other possibilities as suggested above, also check that bolts in drive flanges are tight.

If the splines are worn, it is not only the input gear that wears, the mating splines on the output end of the gearbox mainshaft also wear (this is the expensive part).

If you have an auto, it is much simpler and just the spud shaft needs changing and both the input gear and spud shaft can be changed insitu.

The gearbox has to be removed and stripped to replace the mainshaft. Then it is better to replace all bearings, seals etc. while it is apart - $$$.

I haven't priced any of this, but as a guess, a new mainshaft could be anywhere above $700 for the part. Add a lot more for bearings, seals and labour.