As I had drive when in difflock and the front prop was spinning away, advice from the LR4×4 forum pointed towards the front half shaft and I removed the front prop by the side of the road so that I could get home. Now in the process of stripping the hub, removing the other side and removing the diff so that I can get the broken bits out of the diff.

More pictures and text to come once I get this thing sorted out. Kinda coverd in grease and oil just now

When I got home I decided to have a look at where things were going wrong and noticed that the dashboard light didn’t come on and difflock wasn’t engaging.

The first step was to remove the gearlever rubber surround. This was cable tied on so I had to cut it before lifting it up and over the levers. Next the transmission tunnel cover comes off. This is just screwed/bolted to the floor so an easy job.

Now I could see what was happening and thankfully it was obvious to see where it had gone wrong. The lever  pushes a pivoting rod back and forwards and the pin that held these two items together was completely missing.

A suitable nut and bold was found, tab of threadlock to keep it together and I had difflock working again.

Another common fault with difflock is that the lever, while moving, doesn’t have enough throw to engage lock. This is where the adjustable pivot comes into play and by adjusting it you can increase or decrease the amount of travel. It has a screw thread and bolt on the casing which you can use to adjust.

The other common fault is that difflock works but the dash light doesn’t light up. Apart from a blown bulb, the switch can be at fault and often needs adjusting in or out so that it makes contact.