[D5Gill]

The last time I was able to check that AWD was over a year ago at 130k miles during snow. All was well. 20k miles later, In January of this year, during the snow, it was very obvious that my AWD was not working. All I got was FWD wheel spin. So for the last 30k miles or so, I drove in knowledge that the sleeve had definitely failed. This was confirmed by horrendous wheel spin in the wet when pulling away at junctions.

For the last few hundred miles or so (in plenty of wet) my wheelspin has pretty much gone. The car feels more composed on the roads. If the fronts have spun 1/7 a rotation, then I have not felt or heard it.

The sleeve/collar was the original unit. It had done 130k miles the last time I could confirm that it was good. Once I had removed it, it was pretty obvious what had killed it - Rust. The splines inside the collar were covered in corrosion which had caused the surface to weaken. This progressively got worse until the splines were all but gone. The new collar apparently is much harder and has a higher tensile strength. This coupled with the grease, will prevent corrosion setting in for the foreseeable future.

I am glad that I got this job done in time for the winter. I will have a lot more confidence when driving in adverse conditions.

I can't believe that people are having to change their transmissions and bevel gears just because the mechanic could not release the bevel collar. Sheer laziness, lack of trying or bumping the bill is what springs to mind. Releasing the collar was one of the easiest jobs in the whole process. Anyone who can change their own oil, do a brake job, cut a notch in the bevel collar with an angle grinder and unbolt ancillaries that are in the way can do this job.


GLAD THAT MY XC ISNT RUNNING LIKE THIS ANYMORE ¬