Removing the diff!!

There is a chassis rail on one side of the car that can bee removed. 3 vertical bolts at the back, and one horizontal going forward at the front. Corrosion is your enemy again but they are big bolts so not likely to snap (famous last words). I had time to get plenty of penetrating oil on everything first so they weren't a problem.

The diff is heavy so a good trolley jack or transmission jack underneath it is handy. I found this out he hard way and had it sitting on my chest while I wondered what to do with it.

All the bolts mounting the diff are big and very visible. there is a single front one going through a rubber bush on the chassis which I did first, then the 3 into the side through the rear mount. on reflection I think I might do the rear ones first in the future and let the diff pivot a little on the front one before undo that.

Once undone, remember the breather pipe on the top which needs sliding off, then I think there is clearance to just drop it done to the floor.

Once out of the way, get underneath and look in wonder at the amount of room you now have to get the the sump pan and upoer sump!!

Sump removal

The sump pan is easy. Lots of 8mm bolts and disconnect the oil temp sensor. Assuming oil has already been drained.

Of interest, I seemed to have oil leaking through the oil temp sender so I replaced that as well.

All the bolts holding the upper sump on should now be visible. I'll go from the back to the front. My memory is hazy here from the euphoria of getting that far, and I definitely took out two too many bell housing bolts.

Good idea to remove the oil pickup at this stage so it does not get damaged.

Starter motor bolts, and there is one bell housing bolt in the region of the starter motor that I think needs to come out.

4 vertical bolts along the back of the upper sump.

2 bell housing bolts above where the driveshaft was

2 small bolts going into the side of the upper sump on the passenger side at the back that are the bottom of the turbo support mount. These are very difficult to get to with the driveshaft and diff in the way.

Turbo oil drain pipe. One 8mm bolt holding a clamp in place on a flange that pushes the pipe into the upper sump. This is a bit fiddly and you might need to bend the pipe a little being careful not to fracture in. Not which flange the clamp works on, and there is an O ring to be careful of/replace.

Dipstick tube. Climb out from underneath and streeetch!! Undo the small bolt holding the dipstick tube at the top. It is a total ball-ache but waggling from the top and trying to push from the bottom eventually frees the dipstick from the sump (O ring again). Just needs pulling upwards a little to get it out of the way. Don't remove fully as getting it back in is a body off job

There are a number of external vertical bolts, and some you can see inside the sump. Loosen all of them.

At the front, the A/C compressor has a lower bolt going into the upper sump which needs removing.

On the other side more or less in the same location, the starter motor live wire is bolts to the upper sump with what seems an exceptionally long bolt. There are 2 8mm bolts holding a plastic cover over this wire at the nose end of the upper sump. Remove that lot and the wire can be moved out of the way (assuming battery is all disconnected and likely alternator is off if the oil pump is off).

Assuming the 4 long 8mm bolts going up into the oil pump housing are off.

Once you have done this and checked around the sump for any I have forgotten, then undo the bolts outside the sump, then finally the bolts inside the sump. They are different length ones but I think it is fairly obvious where they all go back.

The upper sump can then be lowered down and the crank and crank case revealed in all their glory. If the sump won't budge, it is a case of finding the forgotten bolt as it should pretty much fall off it is free.

I'll do a bit on re-assembly later, but a few things while I remember them.

- Oil pump housing on first but not tightened up. I think I put 4 bolts in just to hold it in place and avoid the same issue with the gasket.

- Gasket has a rubber seal built in and does not need gasket cement, but I did read somewhere that one the place where the oil pump joins the front of the block, and on the visible corners on the back of the block where the last main bearing end cap has a joint, some gasket cement is needed

- I could not find a bolting on sequence anywhere so started in the middle and worked out to the ends, same as you would for cylinder head bolts. There are torque settings for the bolts. Needs looking up but quite low, maybe 15NM

Hope that helps so far.

I have a point of possible interest here if a few people are reading. We hear a lot about these engines destroying big end shells. Given that the oil pump should have been designed for the life of the engine, but pretty much all survivors have had the oil pump changed to avoid the issue of the casing fracturing around the belt tensioner mount, I wonder how many pump changes has inadvertently damaged the upper sump gasket and caused it to block the oil pickup hole, thus starving the engine of oil and causing the failure.

I say this as I believe the oil pump was never designed to come off and go on by sliding it over that gasket, and given the gasket has a rubber seal built in, it seems almost 100% likely that some damage to the gasket will result in changing the oil pump without removing the upper sump, and in the worst case, the gasket being slid backwards a few mm and partially restricting the oil flow to the pump.

I guess the only way to tell would be to find data on engine failures on cars that have had an oil pump change.

In any case, if I every have a D3/RRS where I need to do this again, I think that although it makes it a bigger job, I would drop the upper sump and replace the gasket!

Wow, a nice detailed write up. Confirms to me everything I need to know about the job. And why I pay a nice man to do things for me!

One small pointer, which is probably irrelevant for anyone planning to do this sort of thing as they'll know it anyway, is to ensure the diff filling plug is loosened slightly before draining it. A total sod to empty it and then find the filling plug won't come out and you can't refill it once reinstalled. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Wowza Thank you so much! That’s super duper helpful I actually feel much more confident now! I’m tackling this evenings and weekends around my long a*** job!

Keep me posted. If anything comes up along the way, no worries with you asking here or dropping me a message and I'll do my best to help out.

I did have one thought that I couldn't remember what I did with the ARB drop links. I have a feeling they had to be undone from the ARB end so that the upper wishbones could move easily.

Already in the thick of it. The steering link was unbolted and the wishbone was unbolted on one side all fine, on the other side the upper wishbone nut came off easy enough but the joint refused to come out. Hit it a bit hard and it came out but I think I the thread on the ball joint :O
Might need to replace the wishbone

Another issue I have come across is: the lower nut did what you said on the near side and the threaded part unlocked inside the ball joint so I had to get an Allen key in there to get the nut off. That’s all done now. On that note though...will that be okay spinning or does that mean I broke it and it needs replacing?

I managed to gently persuade (read: whack ) the two driveshafts out of the hubs.

I am now at the stage where I’m going to go under and get the prop shaft unbolted and removed, then drain the diff!
Still trying to juggle studying for my law degree...working full time...building a house...and this. Not even close to enough time especially with a baby and teenager!
I’ll get there though!

It’s ok if it spins

Thanks!

I am having a right battle getting to the top two bolts on the prop. The other four were tough but just about managed. Any tips for getting them? The prop turns a little so that doesn’t help. I can turn it enough to get the bolts in a good position but can’t seem to hold it so I can crack the nuts open

Currently taken the under tray off and going along the prop with a couple of extensions and a flex head which reaches fairly well (the diff end of the prop)

I have given up for the evening given the time/light, and the fact I just mashed my knuckle up something big as the ratchet slipped haha

Humm. I don’t recall when I did the front.

But when I did the rear, I ensured pair of tyres were in contact with ground somehow. (Wood block ?) and auto box in P
Or manual in gear. Once I had access the the 2 bolts to undo.
Edit. That don’t help you if driveshafts removed.

Professionals will use electric impact guns that don’t have this problem

£200 ? From Screwfix (you need battery and charger too). Yellow tools.

I got my sump out only with the diff loose. I must have shoved it an inch out the way.

Glad you’ve got so far

I used long 3/8 drive wobble bars to get the awkward top prop bolts at the transfer box end. They took a bit of cracking but the play on the wobble bars allowed them to drop to the side of the prop so I could get a good swing of the ratchet.

I’m a bit wary about air tools or electric impact guns on these unless the socket can be well seated. The bolts have the star heads and I’ve seen them disappear when abused to the point where the star socket can’t get a good grip.

I suppose worst case would be raise the rear on stands so you can turn the entire transmission to get the bolts on the bottom

Oooookay. Just got time to carry on. Managed to get all the bolts out the prop.
Moved on to trying to get the driveshafts out either side.
I am struggling to get the near side shaft out.
I also got the bolts off the support tube for the o/s shaft but it appears to be stuck to the diff. Did you find this?
Any tips at this stage?
I know you said prise the shafts out don’t pull them but gosh they’re really in there with that retaining clip!
And this support tube like what?!?! (All 5 bolts out).
I have however drained the diff so haven’t gotten nowhere lol.

I struggled getting the driveshafts out too, and gave up.
I found with the diff loose from the mounting bolts, I could move it an inch of so out the way, and then managed to get the sump off. ( going up by the radiator - see 2nd post)
Others say it isn't doable or not the prefered method.

Persistence is the only way. They are designed to come out. Continual sharp tugs and a good pair of gloves to save your knuckles when it suddenly comes out.

It did take a while but they do come out!

Still no luck getting them free. Looks like the O/S extension tube has been cemented on to the diff.
I unbolted the diff and lowered the jack and have managed to get to all the bolts.

I have loosened all the bolts necessary (I think) after taking off the lower easy peasy oil pan.
There were two inside, four along the back (vertical), some either side, one really long one I had to get to through the wheel arch N/S that goes through the front of the block.
I am now onto the horizontal bolts which I wanted to ask about.
I see and have loosened three. If I’m laying under the car feet out the front looking upwards, the bolt heads are facing the rear of the car and so the threaded ends point forward.
One of these was holding the starter in place and I think needs removing however it’s currently holding the tool in place which was locking the crankshaft (because I took the oil pump off). I will leave this for last.

My question - apart from the vertical bolts all over the place, the one super long horizontal one towards the front, and the three I just mentioned, are there any more I should be taking out?
It looks like there are horizontal bolts above the three I took out on both sides...I hope these don’t all need removing as they’re in tight and are a b*tch to get to!!
Anyone let me know if they have to come out I’d appreciate that.

Secondly, the dipstick holder...I see the end of the dipstick laying under the car, and I unbolted (reall pain) the two brackets holding it in place in the engine bay, but is it now a case of pulling and twisting and tugging until it budges or is there a knack to it? It doesn’t seem to be shifting and I’m cautious about how hard I’m pulling because of the “body off job” comment ha!

After that I’m going to try to get that lowered enough to get the gasket out the engine bay way from above. Looks like there MAY be enough room. I have fan, all belts, and oil pump off so lots of room.

I think you need to remove the air Con compressor 13mm bolt on the passenger side. You need a UJ joint for this. (maybe this is the long one you talked of)
Yes you need to remove the 8mm starter bolts and starter itself

You need to undo the bolt for the turbo drain pipe

Remove the dip stick itself and then just tug on the tube. The landrover one was ok, but I know what you mean, sometimes they can be real difficult. Maybe some wd40 from above, or tap the end in the sump , if you can see it.

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