I have owned Disco's for 15 years but am looking to buy a 89 Range Rover. I have done everything on my Disco's including installing an engine and transfer case so I am fairly mechanical. I know the 89 was the first year with the BorgWarner transfer case. Here is my question... The guy is selling the RR with the front drive shaft out of the car. In my mind I should be able to turn the front drive shaft flange coming out of the txfr case even if the rear wheels are on the ground because the txfr case does not have a CDL. Am I thinking right? The car does not run (the starter is bad) so I can not test the transfer case. I have read the viscous coupler goes bad in the txfr case. The guy has been driving the car around for 5 months with the front drive shaft out of the car. The only way I see this happening is if the viscous coupler went bad in the "locked" position. If I can show the owner the txfer case is bad. I should be able to get the car for less money. I had him put the car in neutral and I tried park but could never turn the front drive shaft output. Am I thinking correct?

 

Seems like a bad viscous to me. I'd want to make sure everything in the front axle was ok.

Sounds like a $500 truck to me.

 

Thank you for the response. So I am thinking correct. I should be able to turn the front drive output flange coming from the transfer case by hand. I had not thought about the front axle. What could be wrong with the front axle that would still allow it to drive around for 5 months? I have a donor 95 Discovery I was thinking of pulling the transfer case out of. You said a $500 car. Which is probably accurate. The problem is the car has quite a few "goodies" that I like. ARB bumber with winch, ARB air lockers front and rear, rock sliders, old man emu lift, 2 HID lights, rear custom bumper, BF goodrich mud terrains with plenty of tread left. How much should the car be with the "goodies" on it? I know the LT230 from my Discovery will fit, what about the axle or parts from the axle?

 

That truck wouldn't move without the front driveshaft yet the owner has been driving it around town that way for five months? He knows the viscous is toast. That's why the driveshaft was pulled. Now, the question is, how are the diffs and CV's. As a VC locks up it tends to take out anything in front or back of it. Driveshafts, diffs and CV's are all prone to damage when the VC goes. Does he have the missing driveshaft or did he rip it apart driving around town with the VC seized?

Look, the truck might have a lot of nice goodies but if the way the owner has dealt with the VC problem is any indication, he's not being completely forthcoming with you. That makes me wonder about what else is wrong.

 

The owner is telling me he bought the truck 5 months ago with the front drive shaft out of the vehicle. The front drive shaft is in the rear cargo area. The current owner is not very mechanical ( I have no idea why he would buy a car with the front drive shaft missing). I agree, something is definately wrong with the truck. But if it only the transfer case, I am okay with that it is probably even preferred by me. I was going to do the LT230 swap eventually any way. If the front drive shaft was taken out early after the transfer case failure, wouldn't everything else be okay? I would think only damage would occur if you drove it around "locked up". As a rear wheel drive car, the only added stress would be on the transfer case>

 

Sorry I haven't responded sooner, I didn't realize you had added a post.

It's never a good idea to drive one of these trucks with just one driveshaft. Not only is extra stress being put on the transfer case but also everything else is now getting 100% of the engine's power output.

I would also be wary of what the owner is telling you about buying the truck with the front shaft removed. He may very well have been driving the truck with the shaft in, experienced issues and, only then removed it so he could still use the truck. You said it yourself, he's not very mechanical but who would buy a truck with all those goodies and the driveshaft in the back seat?

Buy it cheap. I'm talking REALLY cheap and then it's worthwhile. You are going to have to take a good look at all the components up front when you do the transfer case swap. You may find more than just the viscous is bad.