My rear dif is shattered, I removed the rear driveshaft so I can limp around in front wheel drive with a bit of grinding until i fix it. I found a rear end in a scrap yard, do i swap the whole rear end or just the dif and axles? There is a lot of grinding of metal going on so are there bearings etc that will be trashed making the axle swap a better alternative? Thanks!

 

If they are selling you a complete rear end, with everything, that is what I would change. If the used axle comes with brakes, and whatnot, I would compare those to what you have on the vehicle, and swap as necessary. Changing the complete assembly versus internals will save a lot of time also.

 

Suggest you "disco"ntinue driving, the remaining grinding metal in the rear could lock up and leave you stranded.

 

If it were me, I'd just swap thirds. The only wear points in the rear axle which would suffer from contaminated fluid (assuming there's lots of metal flake in the gear oil) is the third. I doubt the shafts will have any appreciable wear from it. Though, make sure you look over the shafts for any damage (like twisted splines).

If you can, tear your axle down to figure this all out before dropping money on replacement parts.

 

Thats only on a DI, the DII has modular hubs assemblys that slide onto splines on the axle shafts.
There is a seal but it will not let junk get into the hubs.

Land Rover Discovery II Drivetrain Parts Available from RoversNorth.com

 

I appreciate the input.... So the general consensus is that the seals should have stopped the contaminants getting into the hubs and as long as the splines on the axles are good I should be able to get away with just swapping the dif? Am I reading it right, Thanks!

 

Nothing will get into the hubs, they are sealed for life, they are modular, one bolt holds the whole hub assembly on, nothing to repair/replace on the hub, it goes bad, remove the nut, unhook the ABD sensor and throw it away.

Land Rover Discovery II Hub Assembly W/ ABS Sensor (Rear) - Land Rover Wheel Parts at Roverparts.com

 

Any special tools necessary to replace the rear diff? And is there a known procedure?

 

? while replacing rear pad found lots of fluid on inner pad pulled hub and looks as if the bearing is leaking the fluid not the seal.
Are bearings replaceable?
2003 disco 145K
Left rear