Sloppy Salisbury

[swamijake]

I've got an ex-mod 110. My rear end seems to have a lot of slop in it. It's a Salisbury with drum brakes.

Is this a reliability issue? Can I reset the gears and get rid of the slop or would I be better off putting new gears in?

Any thoughts?

[red90]

Check the drive flanges first. They wear out frequently.

If it is the R&P or diff, you can usually fix it with a rebuild as normally it is either bearings or shims. It is not that usual for the gears themselves to be worn but you never know.

[swamijake]

Good tip. Way easier to swap the drive flanges than rebuild the diff.

[ANDYD]

Hi Jake,

I have been chasing similar slack (Salisbury with Disc brakes). I have fitted new Drive Flanges but didn't make any difference.
When you say "slop" how much are you talking about?

-Andy

[obalme]

You do need a certain amount of slop, before you do to much it might be an idea to check out a friends rover see how yours compares. I thought I to much slop in my diff's, but my mechanic friend said it was fine. If you make it too tight you will cook the diff.

[swamijake]

In terms of amount of slop, I haven't measured, but I can grab the drive shaft and turn it at least 1/8 if not a 1/4 turn back and forth. Also if I'm slightly rolling back and let out the clutch in first I can really feel the slop there. It's not undriveable, but quite noticeable. Fully aware that too loose is better than too tight. I bought new flanges but I'm pretty sure it is slop in the gear set.

[red90]

1/8 turn play at the diff pinion is normal.

The driving slop can be many other things.

- Total slop in the whole drivetrain.
- Excessive wear on the gearbox output spline.
- Loose suspension bushings.

You really need to look and measure each item by itself to see if there is a problem. Measure and evaluate before throwing parts at it.

[swamijake]

That would usually be my attitude as well, but given the age and tough previous life of my 110, I'm happy to change everything as I go. I have all new suspension bushings that will go in over the coming months as well. Next time I'm underneath the Rover I'll try to get a more precise measurement of the slop.

I know the gearbox output is fine as I fully rebuilt the transfer case a couple months ago and checked it all out on the bench, and transmission output splines and transfer case input splines were in great shape.

[cbalme]

For the past few years, my father and I were living with a clunk whenever we took up drive. At first, I thought it was the output splines in the R380 which is apparently a common fault but we just changed all the rear axle bushings and now there is no clunk or noticeable slack at all.

[ANDYD]

Hi Colin,

That's great that it cleared you "clunk" , must be nice to be clunk free finally...
Which rear axle bushings did you change? Are you referring to the radius arms or A-frame bushings or ?

Cheers,
Andy

[HeadDamage]

It can be a bit tricky but if you lay down beside the rover and have a friend shuttle it back and forth a bit with the engine you will see the axle housings rotate a bit if the bushings are worn. You should then be able to figure out which bushings are the problem. Failing that get under there with a pry bar check them all one at a time.

[cbalme]

Hi Andy,

We noticed one day after parking on a hill if you hold the truck with the handbrake then release it and put it on again you can feel the clunk. I had someone look underneath and the whole axle was twisting so we decided to change the bushings for the radius arms and the ball joint. Some of them looked alright but I think they all contributed to the problem. We pulled the A-frame off which was the worst part and replaced the ball joint which I think was the original. After driving it most of the body roll was eliminated as well. Next task is the front bushings which should be much easier since there's no small bolts to mess around with, especially the 12-point bolts on top of the axle.

We bought a kit from Paddocks and paid the extra 10 pounds for an OEM kit but they still came in a blue bag. Only time will tell...