I changed my rotoflex and the central section of my Watts linkage (edit: apparently the Lucky 8 techs call this piece a "snowman." Neat!) a couple of weekends ago.
Now I'm getting a hot/friction smell from the back end, like overheated brakes, even though I've driven barely 20 miles since I did the work. I don't know if the smell is related to the updates or if it's just a coincidence. The new Watts is much looser than the old one so I hear the rear axle moving around a lot more; I'm not sure if the extra play could be causing something to rub somewhere.
I put new rear shocks on today, and also pulled the Watts arms so I can put new bushes in them. Didn't see anything that looked like it had unusual wear on it.
Any guidance or suggestions?

 

Sure the rotoflex isn't rubbing on anything? i know there shouldn't be anything there to rub on but stranger things have happened!

 

I don't see anything around it that it could be rubbing on, and it's a pretty straightforward operation to replace it so I don't think anything in its vicinity could be loose.
I'm considering dropping the rear driveshaft and locking the CDL to see if the smell persists. I'm also wondering whether it could be the parking brake and the timing is just coincidence. Can anyone give pointers on how tricky it is to access the brake drum?

 

Just hoping its just one sticky rear brakes. Had mine replaced a week ago because the rear piston wont release anymore but hope you find the fault sooner.

 

Looks like I should pull the rear driveshaft anyway, since I'd need to do that to check on the parking brake shoes.
Really I'm just looking for some reassurance that the new snowman (see first post) isn't causing so much lateral sway in the rear axle that pieces are rubbing together or straining the driveshaft.

 

I changed the outer bushings in the Watts arms today. As I was putting the rear wheels back on I discovered that the wheel on one side would spin freely and not rotate the driveshaft, while the wheel on the other side would not spin because I had the parking brake on so the driveshaft couldn't rotate.
Is this a limited slip differential, or is something amiss inside the diff?

 

So both wheels are off the ground, and you have the P brake on? When you spin one wheel the other should spin in the opposite direction, rather easily. If only one will spin, and the other will not, then yes, sounds like the diff has issues. If the diff is original, it should be open, not LS.

 

If the parking brake is on and both wheels are off the ground, surely neither should spin? Right?

 

No, the parking brake only holds the driveshaft, not the wheels like most domestic trucks.

Something isn't right, it's like one of your side gears is completely broken, and the other one is frozen to the carrier (result of the hot smell??). Re the wheel that won't spin, have you confirmed that the brake caliper is not hanging? Regardless, if the parking brake is on, you should not be able to spin one rear wheel and not the other.

Others may have actual experience and better suggestions. I've not pulled a Disco diff, but they work like any other.

 

I know the parking brake holds the driveshaft and not the wheels. The driveshaft is connected to the wheels via the differential. I don't think I've ever seen a diff where the wheels can coast without the driveshaft rotating (but this is Rover -- all things are possible!)