Hey everybody. It's been a long time since i've posted; hope everyone is doing good.

I was pulling my tractor out of the field the other day and suddenly the front wheels started spinning but not the back (i was in CDL low). I dropped the tractor and switched to 4H and heard some ugly noise from the rear. Went back to CDL and limped it to the house then put it back in 4H and put it in gear and let out the clutch. The rover just sat there in gear and made some ugly noises so I had a friend look underneath and the rear propshaft was turning so I either broke an axle or something in the final drive.

I haven't opened up the cover yet to look at the rear diff but i've been calling around to find out what my options are. There are two 97 Discos in a junkyard near me. They only want $250 for a complete rear axle assembly. I called a place that rebuilds diffs and they were talking more like $1500.

Does anyone have any advice on junkyard axle assemblies and whether or not a rear axle assembly from a 97 will fit on my 96?

Thanks all; any advice will be appreciated.

 

Cover?

Just replace the diff assembly if it's bad. You should be able to get a junk yard diff for $100. The axles are full float, so you should be able to pull the shaft out and look at it. If you had steel wheels you can even do it without removing the wheel. No need to replace the entire axle. Also, $1500 is crazy money for a rebuilt diff. You could get a locker, new gears, and setup for less than that.

 

thanks for the reply, I agree about the $1500. I could buy another disco for that much.

So, you're saying that I can separate the axle tubes from the differential housing and just replace the diff housing, leaving all of the gears inside?

 

Call or email Marty Powell. I just got a 3rd for my 98 for $75 shipped. I'm putting it in so it can be driven while I re-do the ARB that's in there. Make sure you tell him whether you have a rotoflex or u-joint so he gets the right one so you don't have to mess changing it.

overlandrovers@yahoo.com

270 576 7922

 

Nope. The third just bolts in, like a ford 9 inch.

 

There you go. His prices are impossible to beat, and his shipping is fast and cheap.

 

Thank you all for the quick responses.

A little off topic but related. If i'm going to be replacing the rear end anyway, I wonder if it would be a good time to add a locker like the detroit or truetrac; any thoughts?

 

I'd probably buy an ashcroft part instead of Detroit, they have more gears 6 instead of 3 or something like that, so that should help get a little more friction for the limited slip to transfer power to the wheel with traction. I'm not speaking from experience though, but maybe someday I will be

Ashcroft Transmissions

I recommend calling Erik at lucky 8 directly, sometimes their website is a little out of date, and he can sometime do prices even better over the phone: Lucky8 Llc. - Take the road less traveled...

 

Of course, make sure you haven't just snapped an axle before buying a new differential

 

What jafir is saying is jack up rear, pull off wheels, remove all center hub bolts and pull out axles,you need to do this either way to get the center section out