Hello Everyone,

I've gotten much useful advice & solutions from this forum. This is my first post. I'm hoping I'll be able to lend expertise down the line as I'm learning more about what makes Disco's tick on a daily basis. I've overhauled two DII engines already.

I just purchased a 2004 Disco II (bank repo pulled from repair shop) and heard a loud thumping noise coming from rear after I drove over a bump. I jacked-up truck and noticed rear prop shaft was disconnected from rotoflex and tied to the chassis with rope. It appears to be a new prop shaft that repair shop may have been in the process of installing when tow truck showed up. It is connected to transfer box. Anyway, I went ahead and connected to rear differential rotoflex and Disco will not drive front or backwards. It feels like front drive is trying to move, but rear drive won't let it. I don't want to force it and make it worse.

I went ahead and disconnected again and I'm able to drive Disco on front wheel drive only. No Manual or Sport lights blinking. No fault codes on Hawkeye.

Anyone ever experienced this or have any suggestions on cause & solution?

Thanks!

 

I know that transfer case can go bad by not having all 4 tires the same size. If you drove it without the rear shaft connected it could have screwed up your tranfer case as you cant lock out the back wheels only the front. And then you cant drive very long or fast. You should shoot Tom Woods or Mike, one of more experianced guys on hear a email. i would not try to drive at all untill you do. I had to replace my 2004 DII Transfer case the day after i bought my truck or as refer to it, Pile...

Good Luck, Chris

 

When it is not connected and tied to the frame, is it stationary or does it free spin? Do you have the CDL engaged (the transfer case lever pushed to the left)?

 

OK, after having a beer and thinking about it here is my conclusion:

The CDL IS engaged, otherwise a free spinning driveshaft would cause the vehicle not to move at all as all power would be transmitted to that shaft through the transfer case.

There is something going on with the ring and pinion on the rear differential causing it to seize when turned, holding the vehicle still while the shaft is connected.

When the shaft is disconnected, the rear wheels are able to turn freely.

 

Have you tried jacking the rear up with driveshaft disconnected and try turning the pinion by hand? Or by putting the transmision in nuetral with the CDL unlocked to see if it might be the transfer case? I would guess its the spider gears in the diff but it doesnt make sence it drives fine without the driveshaft hooked up.

 

You may be on to something.....

I jacked it up and differential spins freely (shaft not connected to rotoflex). No problem there.

Prop shaft will not spin as it is still connected to transfer case. I tried different combo's (CDL on/off, tranny neutral, transfer case neutral, low gear, etc.) still won't budge.

Excuse my ignorance here, but can transfer case deliver power to front shaft and not rear shaft? They work on separate gears?

 

Thanks so much for your quick reply. You guys are awesome!

 

So with the shaft removed from the rotoflex, when you jacked up the rear axle so both rear wheels were off the ground and spun one wheel, the other wheel turned the opposite direction, correct? Did you try turning the pinion, by turning the rotoflex to see if both wheels turned while jacked up?

As far as I know, the way these transfer cases work, since Rovers are AWD, is that the transfer case turns both front and rear shafts at the same time, roughly. When the CDL is engaged, the front and rear shafts are locked together essentially. When the CL is disengaged, if one driveshaft has no resistance (like when both rear wheels are jacked up, the transfer case will send all power to that driveshaft (path of least resistance), and the front driveshaft will remain essentially stationary in the transfer case.

 

Lordmorpheus,

Just turned the pinion again and to my amazement noticed both rear wheels are turning in same direction (reverse or forward) instead of opposite of one another.

So here's what we got:
1. Vehicle drives OK using front wheel drive only.
2. Rear prop shaft is connected to transfer case and not to differential. It will not manually spin.
3. Manually spun pinion will turn both rear wheels in same direction
4. Jacked up all wheels, turned engine, put on drive and front wheels spin, but rear prop shaft does not spin.
5. Tried engaging and disengaging all combos of CDL/Tranny and prop shaft did not spin. With CDL engaged, front wheels did not spin though. CDL does make "engaged noise" when selected.
4. I'm hoping for a quick adjustment, but preparing for the worst.

Conclusion: So it appears that although I have a free spinning differential, once I connect rear prop shaft, shaft will not let diff spin.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

 

The center diff in the transfer case is an "open" diff with the ability to manually lock via linkage.

If it's in "unlock" and the truck drives in fwd mode, that means the rear output is broken/locked up.

If you have BOTH rear wheels off the ground and turn the pinion shaft, both wheels will turn the same direction, as you are only turning the ring gear/ carrier set.

My bet is the transfer case is biffed.

luck,greg