What did you do with your Grenadier today?

[Tazzieman]

This is where proper parts exploded diagrams would be nice! The ones we were promised about 2 years ago…

He'll be getting an exploded photo pretty soon!

 

[Jean Mercier]

Today, some motorway, dentist consultation and mall crawling , that's what the Grenadier was NOT built for.

And, time for my second Service Interval, appointment already made last week, but only possible on September 9, and that means I will have driven about 1000 km more I guess.
40000 km is about 25000 miles.

 

[Max]

I did much of that run a few weeks ago @Max. Would be keen to know if the off track river run you did across the station was more than just the run along “Louisavale Rd” from Monsildale to Linville which follows the creek, or if there were more tracks to cover in the area.

View attachment 7867213

I have done that track which is a good run but the tracks we were on, were up and over Mt Stanley, the headwaters of the Brisbane River in the Kilkivan District and we came out onto that road to Linville about 20klm NW of the Monsildale Creek road which is about 5/6klm then to Linville. I will endeavor to find and post a map showing our route...cheers

 

[NotHerDecision]

Well we drove 2 trails near Breckenridge Colorado today for about 7 hours of off-roading. Crossed the continental divide at Webster’s pass and it scared the crap out of me decending from that on the side of a cliff. Here’s a couple pics.

 

[chtucker]

Probably the first Grenadier on the beach in Grayland, Washington

 

[chtucker]

@chtucker I was there July 29th. Great day!

View attachment 7867268

Ha!!!

 

[255/85]

I'm thinking this issue could be initiated by a low /dry fluid level in the transfer case? My front seal is being replaced at the moment. My independent mechanic identified the issue and I had ~5k miles with 99.9% on asphalt. Poor quality manufacturing in my opinion. Ineos would not authorize a complete replacement of box - only replacement/repair of seals. Perhaps that is better ???
Welcome all feedback as I am learning! Being a vet, i know leaky vessels result in bad things in the pet.
Cheers!

I would think the issue is unrelated to the transfer box per se as the the failure was outside its confines. That means power was being transferred from the engine/transmission through the front prop shaft to the front axle assembly and it was the prop shaft that failed - In essence the most easily serviced part of the front drive train. The prop shaft potentially acted like a fuse. It would have been much more catastrophic had the front differential failed or, curse Crom, one of the outer CV's in the swivels. The question is "Is there something else going on in the front end that is not allowing power to be transferred unimpeded to the wheels or was the failure a manufacturing/assembly error?".

 

[Logsplitter]

I would think the issue is unrelated to the transfer box per se as the the failure was outside its confines. That means power was being transferred from the engine/transmission through the front prop shaft to the front axle assembly and it was the prop shaft that failed - In essence the most easily serviced part of the front drive train. The prop shaft potentially acted like a fuse. It would have been much more catastrophic had the front differential failed or, curse Crom, one of the outer CV's in the swivels. The question is "Is there something else going on in the front end that is not allowing power to be transferred unimpeded to the wheels or was the failure a manufacturing/assembly error?".

I get what you’re saying but the “fuse”shouldn’t blow pootling around town at 35mph. Apart from some use offroad on my travels this vehicle doesn’t get worked hard as I drive with empathy for the vehicle. Never had a speeding point in my life either. This is definitely a manufacturing or installation fault although trying to prove either when the C- clip is broken or missing would be difficult. I am led to believe this is where the failure happened.
Because of low speed I managed to stop quickly so limiting damage.

 

[Barney]

I am very interested in photos because I did not understand exactly where the error was. At the moment in Italy I cannot look under my Grenadier. I am waiting patiently for pictures and hope that they will restore Liberty quickly.

 

[NoAge Hunter]

Matzker installed the underbody protection today. I can‘t wait to pick the car up tomorrow to see it in real! I have seen that at the Abenteuer Allrad and really was convinced that this is what I want. The pictures now are looking very promising.I will publish more infos as soon as I have the car back.

 

[255/85]

I get what you’re saying but the “fuse”shouldn’t blow pootling around town at 35mph. Apart from some use offroad on my travels this vehicle doesn’t get worked hard as I drive with empathy for the vehicle. Never had a speeding point in my life either. This is definitely a manufacturing or installation fault although trying to prove either when the C- clip is broken or missing would be difficult. I am led to believe this is where the failure happened.
Because of low speed I managed to stop quickly so limiting damage.

I hope you didn't think I was impugning your reputation. Certainly you are an accomplished world traveller and I am humbled by your adventures. You also obviously know your way around a vehicle. But from my very distant perspective I wonder if the failure of the driveshaft was cumulative rather than the result of a manufacturing defect - i.e wear from the total miles driven meaning the CV joint is underspec'd - or the result of some other failure in the system that resulted in the "blown fuse". If the latter is the cause then another CV failure should be expected sooner rather than later. Pootling in and of itself shouldn't cause anything worse than a traffic jam.

It does look like there is some drive shaft containment afforded by the Matzker skid plates so that's nice.

 

[Logsplitter]

I hope you didn't think I was impugning your reputation. Certainly you are an accomplished world traveller and I am humbled by your adventures. You also obviously know your way around a vehicle. But from my very distant perspective I wonder if the failure of the driveshaft was cumulative rather than the result of a manufacturing defect - i.e wear from the total miles driven meaning the CV joint is underspec'd - or the result of some other failure in the system that resulted in the "blown fuse". If the latter is the cause then another CV failure should be expected sooner rather than later. Pootling in and of itself shouldn't cause anything worse than a traffic jam.

It does look like there is some drive shaft containment afforded by the Matzker skid plates so that's nice.

I had to look up impugning . I’m not offended at all.
Cumulative wear shouldn’t occur at 20k miles I don't think in a vehicle like this that is built for purpose. , but maybe as you say the cardan joint is under spec’d but I doubt that as everything in the drivetrain compared to a Classic Defender seems over spec’d. I’ve never had a UJ failure in my previous Defender or other vehicles inc my Hilux that worked really hard inc carrying and towing far too much.Although I did grease on a regular basis which isn’t an option with the Grenadier prop shift joints.
The ineos dealer has explained to me to the best of my understanding that the failure is with the C clip so may be an inherent fault but I hope not. Hopefully this is an isolated incident as others with Grenadiers inc on this forum are doing some pretty adventurous stuff with some tough terrain.
I travelled heavy which from what I can gather from the dealers in Southern Africa the Grenadier is well within its capabilities. Some of the testing they did was far more extreme than anything I’ve done.
I’ve gone for the Almont4x4 underbody protection but only placed the order yesterday

 

[Logsplitter]

Photos from the Ineos dealer of the prop shaft damage. Complete prop shaft to be replaced inc oil cooler pipes etc

 

[Logsplitter]

And for clarity there are no modifications to my Grenadier save some extra electrical sockets.

 

[AngusMacG]

Photos from the Ineos dealer of the prop shaft damage. Complete prop shaft to be replaced inc oil cooler pipes etc

Would be interesting if they can trace the quality check from the OEM of the shaft to see where it falls within the specs for the part. Maybe it was borderline in some respect which may need to looked at. If so, it could result in a targeted recall from that manufacturing lot.

 

[Karearea]

Photos from the Ineos dealer of the prop shaft damage. Complete prop shaft to be replaced inc oil cooler pipes etc View attachment 7867359View attachment 7867360View attachment 7867361View attachment 7867362View attachment 7867363

That looks very close to the “plastic” gearbox sump cover . So lucky that wasn’t taken out too, but clearly this incident was well managed at slow speed anyway I seem to recall

 

[Logsplitter]

That looks very close to the “plastic” gearbox sump cover . So lucky that wasn’t taken out too, but clearly this incident was well managed at slow speed anyway I seem to recall

I wouldn’t call it managed but simply driving below the 40mph limit and then stopping straight after being scared sh*tless by the almighty bang and vibrations.

 

[ADVAW8S]

I have to admit, reading @Logsplitter prop shaft with this playing jn the background.

View: https://youtu.be/pFlsufZj9Fg?si=VJKCSDMDOp5Swe-y

 

[Clark Kent]

Photos from the Ineos dealer of the prop shaft damage. Complete prop shaft to be replaced inc oil cooler pipes etc

I was under my vehicle today and grabbed a few reference pics of the front propshaft and flange/coupling arrangement where it attaches to the transfer case, to show how it probably looked just before the coupling separated (plus copious amounts of African dust).
Hi @Logsplitter. It's hard to tell from your explanation and pics. Is it the transfer case oil cooler lines that got damaged? That's the flex hoses and stainless tubes marked in my last pic.

FYI @Barney

 

[Karearea]

I was under my vehicle today and grabbed a few reference pics of the front propshaft and flange/coupling arrangement where it attaches to the transfer case, to show how it probably looked just before the coupling separated (plus copious amounts of African dust).
Hi @Logsplitter. It's hard to tell from your explanation and pics. Is it the transfer case oil cooler lines that got damaged? That's the flex hoses and stainless tubes marked in my last pic.

FYI @Barney

Hi ClarkKent
Great shots and so clean!
I’ve been following this situation with interest and happened to zoom in on your third photo which I am attaching. I’m really hoping I’m seeing something that isn’t there but from some knowledge of materials and castings I don’t like the look of the flange that is sitting below the universal joint.
Anyway just looking to help out