| Author | Message | ||
     Michael Noe (Noee) Senior Member Username: Noee Post Number: 726 Registered: 03-2002 |
Mine are torn to shreds, I'd like to replace with a heartier component. Anyone source upgrades for these POS? What is one good reason LR put plastic fill plugs on the diffs? Don't say cost or weight. | ||
| Greg Davis (Gregdavis) Senior Member Username: Gregdavis Post Number: 971 Registered: 08-2002 |
Mike, please let us know what you find out. And yes, they do suck! | ||
| Greg (Gparrish) Senior Member Username: Gparrish Post Number: 1332 Registered: 04-2002 |
Maybe it's because they deal with vibration and heat extremes better? Just a guess, but I would think the plastic material would be less likely to loosen or un-screw due to vibration, and might cause less concern with regards to heat expansion/contraction than a metal plug. However, these are totally uneductated guesses. I'm curious to know the real reason as well. | ||
| Randall Smith (Mr_smith) New Member Username: Mr_smith Post Number: 34 Registered: 04-2003 |
I have not seen the plug in question, but: Generally speaking plugs are available in your hardware store. They are almost always a standard size, but there are straight pipe threads (NPS) and tapered pipe threads(NPT and the most likely choice). As long as there are no high temps and/or high loads, plastics can be substituted for metal for any machine part. So long as they are not over torqued, it might actually be better. One possible good reason (other than weight and cost) in this case would be that plastic threads seal better than metal. However gear lube does not usually leak with a tapered thread. I'll have alook next time I see a D2. Randall | ||
| Chad M Lock (Cmlmtn) New Member Username: Cmlmtn Post Number: 7 Registered: 08-2003 |
My guess would be because these things were made to wade. The palstic would not corrode. | ||
| Bill Bettridge (Billb) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Billb Post Number: 959 Registered: 02-2002 |
"My guess would be because these things were made to wade. The palstic would not corrode" So.....by that logic, the hell with the rest of the truck rusting away, at least the drain plug is still good!? I don't think there is any logic - just like the stupid plastic radiator fill plugs. Bill | ||
| Mike Rupp (Mike_rupp) Senior Member Username: Mike_rupp Post Number: 252 Registered: 02-2002 |
The only possible logic would be cost. "As long as there are no high temps and/or high loads, plastics can be substituted for metal for any machine part. So long as they are not over torqued, it might actually be better." Not true by any stretch of the imagination. How about chemical resistance? Metals are pretty inert. Make some part out of Polycarbonate and stick it in an under-the-hood application. The first month the part would work great. Six months later the part would literally fall apart. | ||
| Robert Sublett (Rubisco98) Senior Member Username: Rubisco98 Post Number: 996 Registered: 04-2002 |
"The only possible logic would be cost." I'll agree with Mike on that one for sure. I was bewildered after changing out fluids on my D1 so often to crawl under the wife's D2 and see this. My first thought was "cheap-asses at LR trying to save a buck" But only the LR Gods know why.. | ||
| Randall Smith (Mr_smith) New Member Username: Mr_smith Post Number: 37 Registered: 04-2003 |
I am the Land Rover God's representative on this board and the answer is that it saves LR one million $/yr to use plastic plugs. The gear oil comes in a plastic bottle too. Is that a problem? Sqeeze the bottle too hard, maybe it will leak. Just buy metal plugs if you want. Randall | ||
| Phillip Perkinson (Rover4x4) Senior Member Username: Rover4x4 Post Number: 393 Registered: 02-2003 |
see you are in Cary Mr. Smith are th affiliated with the Centre there? | ||
| Randall Smith (Mr_smith) Member Username: Mr_smith Post Number: 41 Registered: 04-2003 |
Phillip I am only two miles from LR Cary. Some times I will go there on sunday mornings to examine trucks on the lot. Ex: to see these plastic plugs for myself. But I do need to go to that dealer and inform them that I am the Rover God's representative in the Raleigh-Durham area. Randall | ||
| Jack Parker (Jack) Member Username: Jack Post Number: 185 Registered: 03-2002 |
Here's another guess: D2's are filled at factory with dino diff fluid, this allows the gears to either "case harden" or "machine harden" (I don't remember which is the correct term). At the first service interval - 7.5K, the dealer drains the dino and fills with synthetic fluid. The next factory service interval for the diff fluid is not until 90K. This information was told to me by the senior tech at LR Denver South. So, in most D2's, the drain and fill plugs are not touched but every 5 years - in this case, cheap plastic would work fine, and who knows, maybe it seals better with the synth fluid?? My guess is this is another case of LR thinking most D2's never see any off-roading. For the minority that takes these things off-road, we're stuck with stupid things like plastic fill plugs, air dams w/ integrated fog lights, no CDL, transmission with no dipstick, etc. BTW, FWIW - the Bently workshop manual says to replace the o-ring on the plastic fill plug tighten to 7 ft/lb., and use Loktite 290 on the plastic drain plug and tighten to 47 ft/lb. | ||
| Michael Noe (Noee) Senior Member Username: Noee Post Number: 728 Registered: 03-2002 |
I've never replaced the o-rings (wonder if that's why water gets into my rear diff?) on my fill plugs. My drain plugs are not plastic, did you really mean metal, seems like 47ft/lbs would rip the threads off plastic? Pls don't tell me you have plastic drain plugs too. | ||
| Greg (Gparrish) Senior Member Username: Gparrish Post Number: 1334 Registered: 04-2002 |
Jack, Are you sure about that service schedule? I was pretty certain that the diff fluid was changed at the 30k service visit. Greg | ||
| Matthew Gibson (Mattgibson) Member Username: Mattgibson Post Number: 77 Registered: 06-2003 |
I have a D1 and don't believe it has o-rings on it's diff plugs. Does It have them? Haven't looked at them in a few months. | ||
| Jack Parker (Jack) Member Username: Jack Post Number: 188 Registered: 03-2002 |
Micheal, Yep, drain plugs are metal, sorry about that. I was looking at the workshop manual, and not the actual plug  Greg, Just checked again in the Passport to Service for the '01 D2. Diffs are at 7.5K and 90K. Transfer box is at 30. But maybe your dealer believes (rightly so) that waiting until 90K is too long? Finally, I have not removed my fill plug, so I can't verify the O-ring is there. But the Bentley workshop manual for the D2 shows one, and the procedure details replacing it at the service. FWIW, I have found some other cases where this manual is not quite accurate. Sorry for any confusion! |
