Hi Guys, I know this isnt a new subject and failures are well known. I own a 08 FL2 HSE TD4 and had my diff fail at 60k. Living in Switzerland, I was quoted £4 grand for a replacement! i looked on line and ordered a recon unit from Maltings off road in Doncaster and as I trained as an Ag mechanic, didnt see any major difficulties in installing it myself, job was completed in 6 hours on the side of the road, new oils etc were added and away I went. However I still had what sounded like tyre rumble or perhaps a wheel bearing so I chaecked pressures and checked for any bearing play or lumpy feel and found nothing, so over to the wife to run around shopping and so on.

After about 3 -4 months the noise developed into what was clearly a nasty whine and was clearly the diff again, so after chasing up Maltings, they eventually send a replacement foc under guarantee and I installed it with new lubs etc again, only took me 4 hours, Im getting good at this! Big BUT, I still have this rumble, like before and still nothing else wrong detected. So my obvious question, what is going wrong? There are several possibilities:
- Im making a mistake when I fit it but its seems to be straightforward to me unless Im missing something?
- I have another faulty recon diff? Does anyone have any experience with recon diffs or do you have any recommendations?
- it is a wheel bearing. What is the best methond to check this? I cant feel any play at all and it turns freely

My main thought now is that its the wrong ratio!? We're there different ratios for FL2 diffs? My vin is SALFA24C38H113308

I own an XKR, a XJ12 and couple of bikes which I maintain and repair so used to using a spanner. Any help would be highly appreciated. Many thanks Discovery Sport, LR2 BY 2008 60k, XKR XJ12, Daytona 595, XL500, big Dog & bigger baseballbat

Perhaps you should look again at the tyres, mine didn't look bad but new ones made a lot of difference. What about swapping front to back to see what that does? 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

All diesel diff final drive ratio's are the same. I would say that it is unlikely that you have received two bad diff's.

Tyres are for sure worth looking at. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

I presume it is the rear? if so, get your wife to drive it with you in the back and the seats down, you should be able to hear where the noise is coming from. Wheel bearings are not always detectable with trying to detect movement at the wheel by hand, at least mine wasn't. If it turns out to be diff related, what about the Haldex and/or drive shafts?

Thanks for the good advise Guys. We run winter tyres here and they do generate more noise but I'll certainly take a look at this again. The Haldex looked perfect to me when I changed the diff last time, no sign of plate wear or damage and oil clear with no contamination, so assume alls well there. Drive shafts look ok to me, I refilled with LR grease and there seems to be no play.
MAV71, you said that all Diesel ratios are the same, is there any chance it's a petrol rear diff unit my mistake? I still feel very sure it's a ration issue. i thought I would run the car up on a ramp and could the wheel revs to see if they match and then do the same on the road...
RichP, will for sure get the wife in the drivers seat and try to pinpoint it more and I'll check the oils again for any signs of contamination.

Thanks for all the replies so far, appreciate any further ideas.... Discovery Sport, LR2 BY 2008 60k, XKR XJ12, Daytona 595, XL500, big Dog & bigger baseballbat

If you sourced your diff from the UK, it is highly unlikely that the diff will be Petrol, purely down to the fact that Petrol FL2 in the UK is an extremely rare car.

Also, after checking with a friend who is an LR tech, the final drive Ratio of the Petrol rear diff should be the same as well. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

Many thanks MAV71. This sat I will go though it with a toothcombe as suggected. I'll run it up on the ramp and try apply the brakes at the same time to simulate drive load but eliminating tyres. What about the haldex, is there any chance it may be stuck in 4wd and causing torque windup? How can I test this? Thanks again. Discovery Sport, LR2 BY 2008 60k, XKR XJ12, Daytona 595, XL500, big Dog & bigger baseballbat

It's permanent 4 wheel drive anyway. I don't think the Haldex unit would cause a rumble noise though. Freelander 2 HSE Lux 2013MY - Barolo Black with Ivory Leather. Alpine DVD - Privacy -Evoque 20" Dynamic Wheels and more to come.........

So I checked everything yesterday, oils, tyres, pressures, drives etc. I notice that the rear wheels drive freely and propshaft fixed, so Haldex is disengaged when car is stopped. Tried to run up on the ramp but processor obviously doesnt know whats going on becuase wheels have no resistance, anyway had a good listen to everything and all seemed good. Back on the road, I market the wheels and road and drove 20 revolutions with the front and the rear was exactly the same, so assume that ratio is pretty much ok, a more extended test may show more but I think this was enough. So all things being equal, i can only assume that tyres are causing 'excessive' noise, especially being winter tread, once the winter is over, I'll fit new summer tyres and see what happens.

Thanks for your help Guys and I'll continue to monitor. Cheers for now. Discovery Sport, LR2 BY 2008 60k, XKR XJ12, Daytona 595, XL500, big Dog & bigger baseballbat