Hey all, my 2008 LR3 with about 124k miles has been slowly developing a "clunk" that I'm suspecting is caused by a transfer case chain that has too much play. The clunk is most pronounced in lower gears at low speed even on very smooth roads when I switch from braking to accelerating. I believe the cause is play in the driveline rather than a bushing for a few reasons, but mainly because the clunking happens before there is a shift in the vehicle's acceleration (i.e. when I let off the brake and start to accelerate, I hear the clunk, THEN I feel the car start to accelerate), and also because I've also had my front suspension replaced fairly recently it's very smooth and tight over bumps. There has never been any sound of the TC chain skipping teeth under load like some people report with severely worn chains.

Anyway, I've heard from a couple people that some play in the driveline of older Land Rovers is fairly common, as they age and the TC chain stretches, but I have a couple of questions:

How much play is normal, and when should I start to worry about it? If and when I decide to do something about it, is replacing just the chain economical? (I can't seem to find an OEM replacement) Is it better just to bite the bullet and buy a new transfer case?

 

I’ve heard the same thing about driveline backlash being normal in Land Rovers, but usually it’s coming from old Series trucks and Range Rover classic owners. I’m not sure how applicable that is to the L319 and other modern vehicles. Mine definitely has some backlash (technically all vehicles do). Like you, I never notice it in the higher gears like when I’m engine braking in the mountains (which I do a lot). Where I notice mine is when I am in low speed situations, starting from a stop slowly or reversing, pretty much the situation when you are parking, parallel parking, or accelerating over a speed bump. I don’t think it’s excessive, it’s just noticeable, and I think that’s part of driving a 4x4 truck. No matter how much JLR designs them for on road manners, you are going to have some characteristics of a Jeep.

I *think* the transfer case is relatively simple to remove and replace. You can get a rebuilt one for $2000 (see links below) or buy a used one on eBay for $250-500 and rebuild it yourself, taking your time. You’ll probably need a press of some kind for the races, but if I were going through the trouble I’d replace all the bearings and seals while in there.

Here is the chain (not OE as far as I can tell):

https://www.lrparts.net/iab500280-ch...overy-3-4.html

New bearings and seals. These are Corteco and Timken, so you may find them stateside:

https://www.lrparts.net/da7215-trans...overy-3-4.html

 

You can get one from a recycler, too, for about $500 (average).

 

Thanks for input! I'll do some more crude diagnostic work to see if there are other components that are producing some amount of the play. I have replaced the rear driveshaft and rear diff, but I suppose everything forward of the transfer case could be contributing.

 

Is the rear diff a locker?

 

The rear diff is an ARB locker, not an HD locker.

 

I see....

 

I spent some more time poking around underneath the LR3 this evening. There is definitely rotational play in the driveline, but another thing that's seemingly abnormal is that there is about 0.5-1 mm of axial play in the front output flange of the transfer case. I'm sure that bearing is supposed to be preloaded and it seems that it no longer is. I'm guessing that the transfer case's days are numbered.

 

I would think TC slack, caused by the chain, would only cause an issue with the forward output. I maybe am wrong, but I thought rear output was direct. In any case, bearing slop is never good anyway. I myself am planning to pick up a used one, bench rebuild it then swap.