Discussion
My diff is making a bit if a clunk when pulling away so I am planning on having it refurbished at the next service in January.
My car is a 96 P plate and I think it has a BTR type diff fitted. I have a few questions:
What is reasonable to pay to have the diff removed refurbed and refitted?
Who would you recommend to refurb it?
What other work would be good to get down with the diff removed?
Is it worth trying to source a GKN type diff or another alternative to the BTR rather than refurbishing it?
Many thanks!
My car is a 96 P plate and I think it has a BTR type diff fitted. I have a few questions:
What is reasonable to pay to have the diff removed refurbed and refitted?
Who would you recommend to refurb it?
What other work would be good to get down with the diff removed?
Is it worth trying to source a GKN type diff or another alternative to the BTR rather than refurbishing it?
Many thanks!
T5GRF said:
My diff is making a bit if a clunk when pulling away so I am planning on having it refurbished at the next service in January.
My car is a 96 P plate and I think it has a BTR type diff fitted. I have a few questions:
What is reasonable to pay to have the diff removed refurbed and refitted?
Who would you recommend to refurb it?
What other work would be good to get down with the diff removed?
Is it worth trying to source a GKN type diff or another alternative to the BTR rather than refurbishing it?
Many thanks!
Cost probably £400 - £500 for the rebuild, plus cost of removal/refitting.My car is a 96 P plate and I think it has a BTR type diff fitted. I have a few questions:
What is reasonable to pay to have the diff removed refurbed and refitted?
Who would you recommend to refurb it?
What other work would be good to get down with the diff removed?
Is it worth trying to source a GKN type diff or another alternative to the BTR rather than refurbishing it?
Many thanks!
Rebuild could be done by Readman Racing or The Gearbox Man.
My '96' on an 'N' plate Griff has a GKN box (speedo sensor on the propshaft flange). I'm not sure when they started fitting the BTR diff to Griffs, identifiable by speedo sensor on the offside drive shaft flange.
If you do have the BTR you best stick with it as I think spare parts are available whereas important things like the crown wheel and pinion are no longer available for the GKN.
Before you go ahead with a rebuild check that the propshaft bolts are tight (may need to drop the exhaust), make sure all diff bushed are good, and make sure the driveshaft CV joints are good.
Definitely worth doing the UJ's should be available for under 20 the pair(don't get them from a TVR dealer - they're pretty standard Land Rover items).
I'd also go for the two side bushes, they are easy - don't tackle the rear one unless you REALLY have to.
New CV joints will set you back about 240 quid for all 4, if you can afford it - do it, I wish I had (would've saved me 6 hours work at a later date). Dave Mac have these in stock.
I'd also go for the two side bushes, they are easy - don't tackle the rear one unless you REALLY have to.
New CV joints will set you back about 240 quid for all 4, if you can afford it - do it, I wish I had (would've saved me 6 hours work at a later date). Dave Mac have these in stock.
Definitely worth doing the UJ's should be available for under 20 the pair(don't get them from a TVR dealer - they're pretty standard Land Rover items).
I'd also go for the two side bushes, they are easy - don't tackle the rear one unless you REALLY have to.
New CV joints will set you back about 240 quid for all 4, if you can afford it - do it, I wish I had (would've saved me 6 hours work at a later date). Dave Mac have these in stock.
I'd also go for the two side bushes, they are easy - don't tackle the rear one unless you REALLY have to.
New CV joints will set you back about 240 quid for all 4, if you can afford it - do it, I wish I had (would've saved me 6 hours work at a later date). Dave Mac have these in stock.
I had my GKN diff completely refurbished about 18 months ago by CTS (The Gearbox Man). Made a cracking job. Cost me about £400 including carriage both ways. I changed the diff mount bushes whilst I was at it. My Prop UJ's were fine but I did pump them full of fresh grease (have grease nipples), my CV's were good before strip down so just repacked with fresh grease. I took out and replaced the diff myself so no costs there. Allow a few 100 pounds for a garage to take out and replace as it is a time consuming job. Getting the diff back in is a right pain as you need to put it on it's side then support it once up above the chassis rails. I replaced ALL fixings when putting it all back (including the high tensile socket heads on the CV's), this is a practice I always follow and I recommendd it, not many garages do this so beware. Good luck mate.
It's a bugger of a job, from memory this is how I did it with approx. times.
1. Lift car, remove wheels. (10 mins)
2. Remove anti rollbar and exhaust. (20 mins)
3. Loosen drive shaft bolts, 6 bolts on each face (total of 24) (45 mins)
4. Undo lower wishbones from hub carriers (not sure if this is really necessary - but I found it easier to remove/refit drive shafts).
4. Remove drive shafts (15 mins)
5. Remove propshaft (6 bolts) (15 mins)
6. Remove Diff 4 bolts front face, 2 side, 1 rear (sounds easy in one quick sentence!) - Off for refurb (60 mins)
7. Change 2 x UJ in propshaft (20 mins)
8. Change 4 x CVs on drive shafts, repack with grease, new boots, etc. (120 mins)
9. Fit new diff bushes (only two side ones - not sure about the rear, but it looks bloody difficult to get to) 30 mins
10. Refit reverse 6 to 1 (4 hours)
So my 'layman guess' is about 9 -10 hours... guess it depends where you take it, but maybe £500-600 in labour alone? I'd have thought recon diff and parts would be another £800.
Of course, your 'clunk' could also be any single (or combination) of Diff, Bushes, CV Joints, UJs, loose bolts, etc.
1. Lift car, remove wheels. (10 mins)
2. Remove anti rollbar and exhaust. (20 mins)
3. Loosen drive shaft bolts, 6 bolts on each face (total of 24) (45 mins)
4. Undo lower wishbones from hub carriers (not sure if this is really necessary - but I found it easier to remove/refit drive shafts).
4. Remove drive shafts (15 mins)
5. Remove propshaft (6 bolts) (15 mins)
6. Remove Diff 4 bolts front face, 2 side, 1 rear (sounds easy in one quick sentence!) - Off for refurb (60 mins)
7. Change 2 x UJ in propshaft (20 mins)
8. Change 4 x CVs on drive shafts, repack with grease, new boots, etc. (120 mins)
9. Fit new diff bushes (only two side ones - not sure about the rear, but it looks bloody difficult to get to) 30 mins
10. Refit reverse 6 to 1 (4 hours)
So my 'layman guess' is about 9 -10 hours... guess it depends where you take it, but maybe £500-600 in labour alone? I'd have thought recon diff and parts would be another £800.
Of course, your 'clunk' could also be any single (or combination) of Diff, Bushes, CV Joints, UJs, loose bolts, etc.
Edited by jeboa on Saturday 24th August 12:26
T5GRF said:
Thanks for the advice chaps. What would be a reasonable labour figure for a specialist to charge for removal and refitting plus cv and uj replacement?
Not allowing for the CV & UJ joints I would 'guesstimate' £500 to £700 labour. It can be a pig of a job, especially removing the old diff bushes, and at £60 to £75 an hour that can be charged, you can see how the costs could escalate! Do check that they will where possible use new bolts! They should not add too much cost, so do not be ripped off, for example Propshaft hi-tensile bolts and nylocs only cost about 50p per bolt with nut. I would also have new drive shaft to diff flange bolts, these are hi-tensile socket heads. You are probably looking at approximately £1500 including your diff refurb and other parts plus strip out and refit costs.Get quotes before you commit. Rgds, Pete
Ouch!
Hope it doesn't go against advertising rules, but I noticed SC Power are doing sets of front and rear wishbones for £625 including VAT and delivery:
http://www.sc-power.co.uk/
That is going to be an expensive service!! I'm not sure about the SC Power kits, but you'll also need bushes, etc.
Then you're probably going to need the Geo setup too..... I took mine to a local garage and helped the guy with the setup using their four wheel alignment jig, cost me about £75. There are far superior places (Centre of Gravity, etc.) but I just didn't have the £300-400 for that. Even with my DIY job, it feels so much better.
Sure you don't fancy tackling it all yourself - you could save a £1k in labour? Plenty of people on here to help you out with any questions as you go through.
Hope it doesn't go against advertising rules, but I noticed SC Power are doing sets of front and rear wishbones for £625 including VAT and delivery:
http://www.sc-power.co.uk/
That is going to be an expensive service!! I'm not sure about the SC Power kits, but you'll also need bushes, etc.
Then you're probably going to need the Geo setup too..... I took mine to a local garage and helped the guy with the setup using their four wheel alignment jig, cost me about £75. There are far superior places (Centre of Gravity, etc.) but I just didn't have the £300-400 for that. Even with my DIY job, it feels so much better.
Sure you don't fancy tackling it all yourself - you could save a £1k in labour? Plenty of people on here to help you out with any questions as you go through.
Edited by jeboa on Tuesday 27th August 14:29
Just to throw some numbers out there that might help, David Gerald recently changed the diff on my car for another supplied unit, for the cost of £264
I then had the removed one stripped and rebuilt (only bearings and seals needed) for £180 by my local axle specialist .....its just a diff at the end of the day, nothing special as long as the main crownwheel and pinion are in good condition.
I then had the removed one stripped and rebuilt (only bearings and seals needed) for £180 by my local axle specialist .....its just a diff at the end of the day, nothing special as long as the main crownwheel and pinion are in good condition.
T5GRF said:
Thanks for the advice. It looks like my next service will be fairly eye watering as I will also need upper and lower wishbones...
As Jeboa has said, do you fancy tackling the wishbones your self, not too difficult, you can also fit some nice polybushes and new shiny bolts whilst you are at it. If up to it can save £1000's, we are all here to offer help and encouragement. By the way, are your wishbone that far gone? Mine looked cruddy but it was all surface rust and paint peeling, a good strip down and repaint and they look as good as new? Rgds, Pete Hi, thanks again for the help and advice. Sadly I don't have the skill or tools to carry out the work required.
I have known that the wishbones were getting a little thin for a while so had budgeted for their replacement at the next service in January but the clunky diff was not on the agenda until recently. It would seem that 2.5k is about the going rate for the work via an independent including parts. I just want to make sure that whilst it's apart that any other preventative maintenance jobs are done at the same time as after 9 TVR's and 3 previous Griff's I intend to keep this one!
I have known that the wishbones were getting a little thin for a while so had budgeted for their replacement at the next service in January but the clunky diff was not on the agenda until recently. It would seem that 2.5k is about the going rate for the work via an independent including parts. I just want to make sure that whilst it's apart that any other preventative maintenance jobs are done at the same time as after 9 TVR's and 3 previous Griff's I intend to keep this one!
T5GRF said:
Hi, thanks again for the help and advice. Sadly I don't have the skill or tools to carry out the work required.
I have known that the wishbones were getting a little thin for a while so had budgeted for their replacement at the next service in January but the clunky diff was not on the agenda until recently. It would seem that 2.5k is about the going rate for the work via an independent including parts. I just want to make sure that whilst it's apart that any other preventative maintenance jobs are done at the same time as after 9 TVR's and 3 previous Griff's I intend to keep this one!
As I have mentioned above, do not skimp on fixings, make sure whoever does the work uses new bolts for everything. Of course you would have thought of nice new polybushes whilst the wishbones are off. Also a good opportunity to have the chassis cleaned and repainted where necessary and a coat of wax oil! All the best, PeteI have known that the wishbones were getting a little thin for a while so had budgeted for their replacement at the next service in January but the clunky diff was not on the agenda until recently. It would seem that 2.5k is about the going rate for the work via an independent including parts. I just want to make sure that whilst it's apart that any other preventative maintenance jobs are done at the same time as after 9 TVR's and 3 previous Griff's I intend to keep this one!
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