Technical Broken front Diff?

[HelioDavid]

In need of a bit of help, got a Panda 4x4 1988, recently, driving on a roundabout I hit a pothole and heard a clunk, straight away the steering got stiff and started to want to go on a straight line instead of turning, (you would have to force the steering into turning, almost as if it was in 4x4 mode with locked wheels) got home and jacked the car up and noticed that both the front wheel would turn together in the same direction with the gearbox on neutral. Going back and forward with the wheels would make it release the wheels and lock again with no noticeable pattern. Tried going into 4x4 and back to 4x2 with no luck. when I rotate the wheels I hear something like a piece of mental loose inside the inner drive shaft or maybe the differential, (I guess the a broken drive shaft wouldn’t affect the other wheel?) On the video attached you can hear the noise. Oh and the other weird thing is that when the car was jacked up I notice the wheels where totally miss alined (like 20 degrees) but when I got the car back on its wheels and drove another 10meters the steering went normal again and the wheels where then aligned again. Not sure if the diff was locking the inside wheels on the roundabout and pushing the steering off? never had this before so a bit clueless about this, thinking about opening the gearbox to check the differential but just thought I would ask you guys to see if you think its something else. Thanks everyone! (already asked the question on the Facebook group so, sorry if you are getting the message twice.)

 

[nitro_warrior]

Something similar happened to me years ago (2009) offroading. I was cross axled and bouncing it by throttling in gear and braking. I heard a clonk and had broken a differential gear. I remember driving home, the steering would some times feel like it jammed, it would want to go in a straight line and generally felt horrible and rattly. I seem to recall it only moved in 4wd but I might be imagining that now. Though it did only have rear wheel drive because I didn't have the oomph to get up a hill to get out the quarry I was in and I had to get out a different way.
Anyway I suggest you drain the gearbox oil, take out a drive shaft, and fish around in the diff with a magnet for bits of differential. I happened to have a spare gearbox I could swap out. Never have got round to stripping the old box down to change the diff gear.

Pic of what remained of my diff.

 

[andyholli]

In need of a bit of help, got a Panda 4x4 1988, recently, driving on a roundabout I hit a pothole and heard a clunk, straight away the steering got stiff and started to want to go on a straight line instead of turning, (you would have to force the steering into turning, almost as if it was in 4x4 mode with locked wheels) got home and jacked the car up and noticed that both the front wheel would turn together in the same direction with the gearbox on neutral. Going back and forward with the wheels would make it release the wheels and lock again with no noticeable pattern. Tried going into 4x4 and back to 4x2 with no luck. when I rotate the wheels I hear something like a piece of mental loose inside the inner drive shaft or maybe the differential, (I guess the a broken drive shaft wouldn’t affect the other wheel?) On the video attached you can hear the noise. Oh and the other weird thing is that when the car was jacked up I notice the wheels where totally miss alined (like 20 degrees) but when I got the car back on its wheels and drove another 10meters the steering went normal again and the wheels where then aligned again. Not sure if the diff was locking the inside wheels on the roundabout and pushing the steering off? never had this before so a bit clueless about this, thinking about opening the gearbox to check the differential but just thought I would ask you guys to see if you think its something else. Thanks everyone! (already asked the question on the Facebook group so, sorry if you are getting the message twice.)

I have some 4x4 diff parts should you need them. Good luck.

 

[DaveMcT]

I had an Austin Metro that suddenly smelled oily while driving. I stopped the car and all seemed well no oil on the floor but it was smelly. Presumably an oil drip onto the exhaust, so I decided to go back home to investigate. That meant taking a right and then going around three left-hand turns and back the way I had come. Part way around the first left-hander curve there was an enormous bang and the car came to a stop with no drive and huge trail of oil and metal parts down the road. The differential pin had worked loose and ground its way the through the gearbox casing (the original oil leak). Working the diff on the left-hand turn had wound it up until something shattered. I scrapped the car.

However while the steering became heavy for a moment before the gearbox exploded there was never any left-right difference in the steering. The broken differential is one thing but wheels pointing in different directions are entirely different issues that need to be sorted out

 

[HelioDavid]

Great news, finally sorted the issue, and thanks everyone for all your help. I did what was recommended and took out the drive shaft. went in with a magnet and found the satellite completely shattered. that was what was blocking the wheels and making that noise.

bit a of a mision to try to find just to satellite so ended up buying a scrappy gearbox from a 4x2 panda and took both apart to swap the satellites from the differential. first time taking a gearbox apart. (luckily there are two Italian guys who did a detailed breakdown of how to do it ou YouTube, although it's only in italian). Good thing I wasn't working over Christmas and New Years because that really took some time. Also putting the gearbox back in really was though. Glad all seems ok apart from a small leak that I'm gonna try to sort with some silicone.
the steering got back to normal after everything was put back together.

There is also a new clicking sound at speed that seems to be from the tachometer, (will try to take the cable out or grease it a bit because it wasn't making that noise before)
also the other day on 2 wheel drive, had on wheel spinning on mud and that made a weird grinding noise (almost like gears grinding) but then everything was normal again so not sure if that had anything to do with what I've done.

oh and as luck would have it, on my last drive the fuel gauge decided to stop working. not sure if fault at the instrument cluster of at the fuel tank on the sender. hopefully something easy to repair

but yeah, so far I've done 200miles and gearbox seems fine which is a big relief.

thanks and happy new year everyone
photo of the broken satellite bellow.

Something similar happened to me years ago (2009) offroading. I was cross axled and bouncing it by throttling in gear and braking. I heard a clonk and had broken a differential gear. I remember driving home, the steering would some times feel like it jammed, it would want to go in a straight line and generally felt horrible and rattly. I seem to recall it only moved in 4wd but I might be imagining that now. Though it did only have rear wheel drive because I didn't have the oomph to get up a hill to get out the quarry I was in and I had to get out a different way.
Anyway I suggest you drain the gearbox oil, take out a drive shaft, and fish around in the diff with a magnet for bits of differential. I happened to have a spare gearbox I could swap out. Never have got round to stripping the old box down to change the diff gear.

Pic of what remained of my diff.