[Richard_G]

From the amount of slack you have in the nose bearing on the diff and the lack of oil dribbling out, I'd say you haven't got any in it! Rather than rebuild what you have, I'd just swap the diff, a simple enough job. The only difficult part will be getting the hubs out, an old brake disc fitted the wrong way round and a club hammer will do it. While the front propshaft is off, it is also easy enough to change the seal on the transfer case viscous coupling housing but that leak isn't bad at all. It isn't dropping down and dribbling off the exhaust.....

No gaskets required, diff and viscous coupling cover are both sealed with RTV.

 

[Richard_G]

To remove the diff you obviously have to remove the half shafts on both sides. To do that the hubs need to be pulled out at least far enough that they pull out of the diff. That involves pulling the ABS sensor out of its hole, removing the 4 bolts that hold the hub in place and the theory is that you then pull it out. However, as it has been there for the best part of 20 years simply pulling it out is unlikely to be successful. One way of doing it is to slacken the bolts and then hit the heads of the bolts to knock it out. That may work but the chances of catching the CV joint boot and splitting that is pretty high. The usual method is to put an old brake disc on back to front, bolt it up tight and bash it with a club hammer.

On the transfer case, if you just undo the 6 bolts the cover will come off with the output flange and viscous coupling. As the seal is behind the flange, you still won't be able to change the seal. The seal can be changed with just the flange taken off as it pushes in from outside. It's in RAVE, Section 41, Repair, Page 3.

 

[Richard_G]

No, no need to replace the half shafts. They have splines on the end that slide into each side of the diff. Worse case you split the CV joint boots in which case al you will need is replacement rubber boots. Have a look at the procedure in RAVE, it's not difficult.

 

[Richard_G]

Go here Adobe - Download Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, download and install the reader (if you don't have it already), then download RAVE from https://rangerovers.pub/downloads/rave.zip. Unzip it (right click on it and follow the instructions), then double click the file called rave-lr.pdf. That's it. RAVE gives you step by step instructions for all jobs.

 

[Richard_G]

Is there any version of the Rave, where you can click on the sentences “See this section”?
It is really annoying having to search in a 1300 pages document for each section…

All of them. Turn on Bookmarks in Adobe Reader and your page will look like this:

 

[Richard_G]

Both cost $50, isnt it smarter to get the CV Joint with the boot included over just getting the boot? Is the part application the same or am I missing something??

$50 for a CV joint boot is ridiculously expensive while $50 for a CV joint complete with boot is only twice the price of an aftermarket one over here.

However, you will only need the boot if you split it by hitting it with you hammer when trying to knock the hub out. If you use the old brake disc method you won't be hitting anywhere near the boot so you won't need one.

 

[Richard_G]

2 days? I did mine in about 3 hours......

Undo the propshaft bolts (9/16" AF), unscrewing the grease nipple will make getting at one of the bolts easier (7mm socket), drop the front of the propshaft off and tie it to one side so it is out of your way. Both wheels off, drain the axle oil, both front callipers off and tied up out of the way, brake calliper carriers off, ABS sensors pulled out. 4 bolts on the back of the hub out, bolt old brake disc on back to front and hit it with your club hammer to pull the hub out by 3 or 4 inches, rest it on the wheel you have already taken off so it isn't resting on the axle oil seal. Take the 2 bolts out that hold the harmonic balance weight on and remove that (makes the diff lighter). Undo the ring of nuts that hold the diff in and hit it with your club hammer again to break the RTV seal. Pull it out (or let it fall out). Clean up the old RTV from the face, put a thick bead of RTV on the new diff and put it in. Reassembly is the reverse of the above (except for needing the club hammer, you can't unhammer something back on....).

 

[Richard_G]

A jack and a pair of axle stands is all you need. PM sent

 

[Richard_G]

Upon thinking about it further I don't think you need to remove the ABS sensors since they are in the hub and you are pulling that whole assembly, including the axle, out a few inches. I just replaced a rear diff on my second 99 and I did not pull out any ABS sensors. Didn't even remove the calipers from the hubs however you will have to do that if fitting the used disc to be pounded on.

You do. The ABS sensors are in the outer swivel and the hub has a sleeve around it with a hole in it that the ABS sensor pokes through. If you were to pull the hub out without taking the sensor out, the end of it will be sheared off by the sleeve.

 

[Richard_G]

What did you pull against? You can do it with a slide hammer on the wheel studs but I can't see how you would use a puller.

 

[Richard_G]

Ah, that would make sense but as he needs to take the hub and half shaft off, it wouldn't help much.