Hi new member here and wonder if anyone can help
Have a 2010 manual freelander and am changing the front diff. The problem I have is the splined sleeve in the gearbox seems stuck. I want to change it with my new front diff. Any ideas on how to remove it
Thanks

I'm afraid I can't answer your question but is there anything about it in the JLR manual ? Jules

Hi
I think I found the answer on other thread….its stuck on the splines and i need to take the gearbox out take it apart and maybe cut if off

Oh dear . I hate it when jobs escalate unexpectedly. Best of luck.
Got any pics of the problem ? Jules

Might be worth ringing Bell Engineering to ask the question.
You’ll get a proper answer from there.

Turned into bigger job than I first thought. Took the gearbox out to get access but my 10 Ton puller still wouldn't move it, so ended up taking the gearbox apart and diff out to allow me to cut it off. All now ok splines on gearbox not damaged and new sleeve fits ok

Well done you for not giving up on that one!
I don't like to admit it but looking at what you had to do, if I ever get an issue with the PTU then I think
I'll be taking it somewhere to be fixed.

elvisman wrote:

Turned into bigger job than I first thought. Took the gearbox out to get access but my 10 Ton puller still wouldn't move it, so ended up taking the gearbox apart and diff out to allow me to cut it off. All now ok splines on gearbox not damaged and new sleeve fits ok

Chapeau !  Jules

I'm curious as to why you'd need to change the front diff? It's not known to fail, so what is wrong with it? 2009 Rimini Red SE TD4. Soon to be sold.
Hyundai Ionic 5 Ultimate on order.
Gone. 2006 Tonga Green i6 HSE.

Wow, tough job. Did you try heating the sleeve while using the puller?

I bought the car from a salvage auction with very light damage to the door, thinking it would be an easy fix, so never got a chance to drive it, before I bought it. When I got it home and drove it, there was an awful drowning noise from the rear.
After striping the rear diff and changing the bearing the noise was still there. I hadn't even looked at the front diff because the noise was so loud at the rear. I then started looking for the source of the noise and noticed the front diff front bearing had completely disintegrated and you could move the prop shaft flange up and down about 10mm. The bearing had broken up and smashed the crown gear and pinion.
The car looks like its had no maintenance done for some time and the damage was so light I think they pretended it had been in an accident, claimed the insurance rather than repair it.
The problem with doing all this work is that one thing leads to another. As i have had the gearbox out it seems silly not to replace the clutch….and the flywheel….and the main engine seal..etc etc
The car is 2010 with 98000 miles and owes me in total about £4500 including the purchase price and hopefully will be a good car when its done

I didn't use heat on the sleeve because its so close the the bearing and I didn't want to change the bering as I was worried about changing the preload if I had to replace the bearing.
I cut a couple of slots in the front of the sleeve and used a dremel to cut along its length and then used a cold chisel to split it
The splines were ok but were covered in rust and thats why it was so tight

Nightmare of a job, don't fancy ever tackling that! Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

Photos of front differential

Damage to front differential