Final Drive
The most natural place to start is the heart of the unit – the final drive assembly, colloquially known as the ‘diff’ or differential. The good news is that - given maintenance of the correct oil level – these units will cover inter-galactic mileages without failure, albeit developing a little backlash and audible whines along the way.
The downside is that these units are prone to oil leakage via both the pinion and output seals, not helped by being so close to the heat generated by the inboard brakes. The seals were originally leather and then rubber but all are prone to ageing and deterioration. Later neoprene replacements fare rather better and make the occurrence of oil soaked rear discs a rarer occurrence.
These units were supplied by the long established British company, Salisbury (later owned by GKN) and came in three distinct variants. Maybe anticipating potential supply problems, a rare mid ’80s interloper was
