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Johnno73

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
First post (of possibly many!), so please be gentle on the newbie :? !

Bought myself a 57 plate Nav "Mammoth Sport Adventure" last week with 81k on the clock. One owner from new and have been promised that it has a full stealer history, but I don't yet have the service book (1st mistake).

Nice truck, very tidy on the inside and externally pretty reasonable nick, given age and miles; no dings or rust and the occasional scuff to the plastics.
Test drive went well, engine pulls well - no smoke on start up or when you give it a bit of right foot, clutch doesn't slip (a good sign!), doesn't wander about the road when accelerating or braking and doesn't make any weird noises. Brakes are a tiny bit spongy, but I've read this is one of their traits and the pedal firms up well late in the travel. Also, all is dry underneath, so no sign of leaks. Happy days methinks :D !

Manage a couple hundred miles towing the tin tent over the weekend and begin to notice a bit of a "clunk" as load is placed on the engine when pulling away (solo and towing). Hmmm.

Had a wee crawl about underneath and notice prop shaft has some lateral movement (maybe 5 to 8mm?) and a wee bit of side to side play. Question 1 - is any play in the prop shaft normal?

Also while crawling about underneath, I notice oil on the inside of the O/S rear wheel which is coming from within the drum. Immediately soil the underwear with visions of spending thousands on a new rear axle (as well as a divorce :shock: !).

Anyway, books it in with a local 4x4 specialist who strips down the hub and confirms fluid IS coming from the shaft seal :( :( . Question 2 - are there replaceable seal kits for the half shaft and is it a DIY job? I have searched and some say it IS possible to replace seals, but others say it is definitely an axle replacement jobbie.
Friendly 4x4 man also says front prop shaft UJ is a bit rusty and could be done with being changed, but rear is ok for now. Question 3 - Are Milners UJ's up to the job, or is it best to go for Nissan ones and how big a job is it to change them?

I'll be calling the dealer I bought it from to let him know the motor is essentially dangerous what with the rear O/S brake shoes being shot and completely ineffective, but I would like to be reasonably well armed with any definitive info I can gather from you very knowledgeable chaps on here.

I'm really warming to this truck (much more so than the Terrano I traded in against it), but in all honesty I'm **** scared of having to fork out a small fortune on top of what I've just spent buying her (Nigella. Sad, I know, but she has a cracking set of headlamps out front :twisted: ).

Any help or advice muchly appreciated,

John.
 
#3 ·
Hi John welcome,

Firstly, the UJ should not have any sideways movement, by all accounts the Milners UJ should be fine and it's a reasonably straightforward job to change if you've got a vice and a decent tool set.

You are right to worry about the rear axle, it is not a straightforward job just changing the oil seal. It's either a new half shaft assembly or a second hand axle. ( Use the forum searcch option )

The upshot is you need to take the truck back to the selling dealer to either get a refund or if they are going to repair everything, you need to know the axle has been repaired properly.

Good luck
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
Cheers for the replies and input gents, even though my fears regarding the half shaft and axle are slowly being confirmed :( .

I called the dealer this morning who tod me to get an estimate for repairs as they don't actually do repairs themselves.
My tame mechanic called Nissan was quoted £900 for a half shaft alone and we also discovered that Milners do a replacement bearing and seal kit.
I know this is a "how long is a piece of string" type question, but is it almost guaranteed that the shaft will be damaged when he pulls it apart? What kind of damage would be visible on he shaft; twisted, ovalised or heavily scored where the bearing sits? It's an experienced 4x4 mechanic in a fully equipped workshop who'll be doing the work, but he's never tackled a Nav before, so any further info that I can pass on and will help him out would be fully appreciated.

Cheers again,

John.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
Of course it could always be something as simple as the breather pipe on top of the axle being blocked? Anyone any ideas how to remove it and check?
If it wasn't pi$$ing down here just now, I'd be crawling about underneath having a look myself :oops: !
 
#8 ·
Basicly the early navaras used a soft half shaft and the actaly rubber seal wore into the shaft hence the leak, when you take the half shaft out (from my experiance) you will see a tiny ring round the polished sealing surface as you would normally expect under a seal lip only when you look under a microscope or powerfull loop you will seee that the botton of the ring is jagged where the seal has torn into the metal. the first time mine leaked i just replaced the seal with one from nissan for around £20 this lasted about 3 months/6,000 miles before it failed again i then replaced the half shaft with a new one at a cost of £576+vat for the compleat kit (seales included)
I had got my truck from a vauxhall dealer (perrys avoid like the plague) I had taken out an extended waranty on the vehile luckily so after nearly taking them to court they payed up.

The only thing with yours is i though the half shaft problems had been sorted out by the time you got to 2007 so it is possible its just a seal worth checking but dont get your hopes up
Could be the breather but unlightly
First of all i would presue the dealer to pay for repairs as all vehicles sold have to have a minimum waranty of 30 days and also there are allot of rules covering second hand vehicles, basicly they would have to cover the cost of putting all the items you mentioned right
If they really wont do with with new parts but you want to keep the vehicle you will be able to buy a compleate back axle from a brakers for about £500 and replace it

Also Milner UJs are fine
good luck
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
First up, a big thank you to all the replies and advice. It's been very much appreciate. Cheers :wink: .

I had an interesting couple of days at the end of the week trying to get the issues sorted.

I called the dealer to let them know the half shaft seal was leaking and the UJ's could be done with being replaced. His reply was "get a quote for the work needing done and get back to me." I was more than happy to do this myself, as I knew my local mechanic would be more likely to do the job properly. Purely by chance, I clicked on Billcars' banner ad on here and I'm so glad I did!!
I spoke to Dave there and he couldn't have been more helpful; explaining exactly how the problem arises and what they do to fix it. Their solution is also WAY cheaper than the new half shaft, or even 2nd hand axle route :D . He also explained it's a relatively straightforward process to change out half shafts. He was also more than happy to guarantee his replacement for minimum 12 months / 12000 miles.

After a single phone call we went from a potential bill of £1500 to about £700. I called the dealer back who happily agreed that the work had to be done, but had to speak to the owner before he could sanction it. This should hopefully be done tomorrow as I'll be paying them a visit to get it in writing before I give my mechanic the go ahead to order the parts etc.

I appreciate I'm having to do some of the legwork rather than the "give it to Nissan and give the dealer the bill" route (nice idea Mr. Spoon :wink: ) and also, the whole process is a welcome learning curve for me if I have to do it again at some point in the future.

Updates as they happen!!

Cheers,

John.
 
#11 ·
agree with spoon. why opt for the cheaper option.
 
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#14 ·
:clappy: :clappy: :clappy:
 
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Discussion starter · #15 ·
ahtyrrell2 said:
Out of intrest what does billcar actally do as a reapair for leaking half shafts?
Click to expand...

Sorry for not replying sooner, but it looks like Billcar and the mods have beaten me to it!

Dave at Billcar told me they fit a new bearing kit and uprated seals as the Nissan originals weren't up to the job; especially if the breather on top of the axle got blocked.

Hopefully mine was ordered today and the truck should be leak free and sporting new brake shoes and UJ's when I pick it up in a fortnights time :D .

Cheers,

John.
 
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Johnno73
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