Member Since: 26 Apr 2014
Location: Leamington Spa
Posts: 427
Disco_Mikey wrote:
Leon wrote:
I had front diff noise.
Drained front diff oil and it came out the same colour as melted milk chocolate and the rear looked fine.
Had the diff re-built and all now fine.
Can't work out why it came out that colour?
Also diff breather was blocked.
Water ingress
Hi Mike, it was a really dark brown I would have thought it would have been lighter if it was water - your expert opinion on this would be most appreciated.
I keep meaning to add some water to some diff oil to see what colour it changes to but have not got around to it.
Last edited by Leon on 12th Nov 2017 7:04 pm. Edited 1 time in total
12th Nov 2017 6:26 pm
Leon
Member Since: 26 Apr 2014
Location: Leamington Spa
Posts: 427
sean 471 wrote:
I have a droning from the front that goes off when I take my foot off the accelerator. Any pointers if this was the front diff bearings?
My front diff was the opposite - droned when foot taken off, ok when foot on.
12th Nov 2017 6:31 pm
Leon
Member Since: 26 Apr 2014
Location: Leamington Spa
Posts: 427
Philip1972 wrote:
Hi Geoff,
Any pointers about changing the breather?
When did the new type start to be fitted?
New breather part number is LR019450 - have a Google and you can see pics etc
12th Nov 2017 7:03 pm
Philip1972
Member Since: 10 Mar 2017
Location: Gloucestershire
Posts: 1072
Thanks.
Just been out to check and I have the new one fitted
12th Nov 2017 8:17 pm
Geoff at Drym
Member Since: 18 May 2015
Location: Cornwall
Posts: 584
Philip1972 wrote:
Hi Geoff,
Any pointers about changing the breather?
When did the new type start to be fitted?
It 's a cheap item that you can get from Advanced Factors. It comes with instructions on how to fit. The breather pipe comes up just behind and to the left of the rad.
Don't Know when they brought the mod in, sorry. They carried out this modification as it was discovered that the original breather got blocked easily causing the diff to overheat. That's about all I know on the subject. It was easy to fit the new one, you have to cut the old one off at an angle and push the new one into place.
Forget all that, I answered your previous post!!!2007 Disco3 2.7 tdv6 SE
gvif with reversing camera
V8 brakes with new EPB module and shoes
Later D4 grille
Alive tuning remap
Mazda MX5
Ferguson ted20 tractor
Hyundai Getz 1.4 (wife's )
12th Nov 2017 11:27 pm
ScottyPlugPlug
Member Since: 09 Sep 2016
Location: Milton Keynes
Posts: 15
I recently changed the front and rear diff oil on my D3 at 75k miles. As is good practice, I warmed up the diff oil by driving a short time then removed the fill plug first to ensure I could replace any oil I removed. When I opened the front diff fill plug it released air and was obviously under pressure.
The front diff oil was dark brown with the consistency of melted chocolate. It also had a strong burnt smell. The drain plug was ok, just the normal fine swarf, but no big shards of metal.
Suspecting (praying!) that a blocked front diff breather was the cause, I replaced the oil and ordered a new, larger breather. I fitted the new breather yesterday. When I cut the pipe to remove the original breather end piece and fit the new one, again, the pressure released from the diff just as it had done when I removed the drain plug.
So, I suspect the cause of my burnt front diff oil was probably due to the oil overheating because of the blocked front diff breather pipe. I recommend to everyone with an original diff breather to replace it before they get any trouble.
I paid about £30 for the new breather,which is a rip-off for such a small piece of plastic, foam and rubber, but it's a good insurance policy against the cost of a replacement front diff or at the least, blown seals and oil leaks!!
14th Apr 2018 9:15 am
ScottyPlugPlug
Member Since: 09 Sep 2016
Location: Milton Keynes
Posts: 15
Forgot to say....
The rear diff oil was golden (75k miles), normal consistency and the drain plug had slightly less fine swarf on it than the front plug. No pressure when I opened the fill plug so breather ok on that one.
To fill the rear diff, I bought a small garden sprayer from poundland for £3, unthreaded the brass end and attached a clear plastic tube. It even had graduations marked on the side so I could get the correct 1.1 litres measured.
Member Since: 26 Apr 2014
Location: Leamington Spa
Posts: 427
I started getting a noise from the front diff so I drained the oil and it was exactly the same as yours-dark brown.
2 weeks later had to have a new diff because noise still present after oil change.
Also hissed when I took the filler plug out.
New type breather fitted also.
14th Apr 2018 9:34 am
ScottyPlugPlug
Member Since: 09 Sep 2016
Location: Milton Keynes
Posts: 15
Thanks Leon, I'll keep an eye on it. How was your drain plug, any big chunks of metal?
I don't have any noises from the front diff so hopefully I caught mine in time before any serious damage was done.
I initially drained the diff oil because I was searching for a clonking noise from the front diff area. I thought the diff might be low on oil but it turned out to be a dry front bearing in the front prop causing the noise. Fixed by repacking with grease.
It's such a simple job and I've got some spare oil so I might change the front diff oil again in a month or so. If I do, I'll report back on the state of the old oil.
14th Apr 2018 10:15 am
Leon
Member Since: 26 Apr 2014
Location: Leamington Spa
Posts: 427
Mine was noisy for about 2 months before I changed the oil so you should be ok.
Only usual bits on the plug.
I did hear that the diff manufacturer made a mistake in the early days in that they were painting the inside of the diff and LR had to replace loads due to them failing.
I thought the chocolate colour might have been from this.
14th Apr 2018 10:28 am
ScottyPlugPlug
Member Since: 09 Sep 2016
Location: Milton Keynes
Posts: 15
This was my front diff plug, A generous helping of swarf covered in a layer of thick luxurious milk chocolate-like oil.
Will add another photo when I replace the diff oil again
22nd Feb 2019 6:56 pm
OldPOP
Member Since: 15 Apr 2017
Location: Newbury
Posts: 117
There is swarf and then there is SWARF!!!!!!!
Luckily this lot was stuck to my diff magnet since day one and looks like machining debris
22nd Feb 2019 8:34 pm
ScottyPlugPlug
Member Since: 09 Sep 2016
Location: Milton Keynes
Posts: 15
Wow! I’m feeling less worried about my plug now.
Is your diff still running or did it self destruct?
22nd Feb 2019 9:06 pm
OldPOP
Member Since: 15 Apr 2017
Location: Newbury
Posts: 117
Has been running with that lot stuck to the plug for 140,000 miles and not a whisper from it
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