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[biloxi]

I feel I must speak up for halfshafts.

A failed (rear) halfshaft failure should not leave you stranded.

It's not a breakdown. You simply push the yellow lever down and drive on the front axle.
The steering will feel a little heavy but nothing untoward. Can be a bit more complicated if you have FWHs.

The "trick" is recognising that a halfshaft has failed when you're sat in the cab wondering why you're not moving.
One of the "rites of passage" in owning a Land Rover.

You can consider a failed halfshaft a bit like a blown fuse.

When you think that halfshafts could be 50, 60 years old - they've not done bad.
New halfshafts are quite cheap.
Prudent owners travelling away from home on adventurous road trips would carry a couple of spares.

Haflshafts can be repaired in the field - done it my self in deepest France.
All that's needed is a container to catch the diff oil. A tent peg to prise out the stuck end and a paper picnic plate to make drive flange gaskets.

 

I've carried this kit on every 800-1000km or more trip with me for the last 18 years.
2 long half shafts
1 short half shaft
1 length of hard drawn copper pipe, flattened at one end for knocking out the broken bit.
1 short bit of bent copper pipe connected to some rubber hose for filling diff, swivel, gearbox etc.
1 small funnel
All carried in a 1m long plastic down pipe.

[diffwhine]

I bet since you put that lot in the back, you've never bust a half shaft! As soon as you take it out and leave it at hoe, that's when disaster will strike. 

[biloxi]

I bet since you put that lot in the back, you've never bust a half shaft! As soon as you take it out and leave it at hoe, that's when disaster will strike. 

Your right, I never needed it.
.W.

[Wittsend]

I bet since you put that lot in the back, you've never bust a half shaft! As soon as you take it out and leave it at hoe, that's when disaster will strike. 

Quite right - carry the kit and you won't "breakdown".

I too use plastic pipe to store the halfshafts in 

When my halfshaft failed in France I was resigned to completing my trip on the front axle.
However, a Swiss owner lent me his spare shaft and so I did the field replacement - at night, on wet grass.

Since then, when away from home I carry spare halfshafts. Not so much for me, but in case another owner "breaks down" and I can return the favour !

Prudent owners should be carrying some basic spares on board.
To include:-
Fan belt
Points
Rotor arm
Dizzy cap
Condenser
Spark plug
Wiper arm & blade
Rad hoses & clips
Various light bulbs

These are relatively small items.
Even if you are mechanically challenged - the spares will help a good Samaritan fix your vehicle.

No doubt some other parts could be included
Wheel bearings with lock tabs.

etc. etc.

If I venture out of Norfolk then I carry this sort inventory.
Round Norfolk, I don't bother.

To me a breakdown is when the head gasket blows, or the sump drops off, or a wheel falls off and you need the big yellow taxi home - something that can't be repaired at the roadside.


 

[oddjob]

I carry spare halfshafts inside my front bumper. They've been there at least 10 years but are inside bicycle inner tubes so hopefully not too rusty.

My most exciting breakdown day was when my stater motor died at the bottom of a very muddy valley at a pay and play site. It took a chain of 3 Defenders to tow me up the hill. Once we got it bump started I headed back to London. Approaching Hanger Lane roundabout the clutch release failed. So we had to get across the roundabout, through many traffic lights and junctions with clutchless gear changes to get home. Wherever we came to a halt would be where we called the Big Yellow Taxi.
Amazingly, we made it all the way home. It was an exciting trip especially in first gear and a foot on the brake as we crept towards the car in front hoping the lights would change!

Another was at another Pay and Play site when the front axle uj shattered. The bits fell in the swivel so we could turn left but not right  I stripped it down, removed the bits and drove home.

The only times we've needed recovery was for a failed wheel bearing on the M1 and when my front diff poked a hole in my Prima engines oil filter whilst greenlaning.

 

Edit,
Forgot to mention the two rear diffs I've changed at the Dirty Weekends over the years (and the third one where we had to pull the halfshafts to drive home as Nitemare Pete had run out of spare diffs). 

[Peter Holden]

I can tell you are a Yorkshireman, you just dont give up.

Peter

[oddjob]

 

The off roading was hard on the old bus. The 3000 miles round the Alps a few years ago were relatively trouble free.

 

[Smokey 11a]

I carry spare halfshafts inside my front bumper. They've been there at least 10 years but are inside bicycle inner tubes so hopefully not too rusty.

My most exciting breakdown day was when my stater motor died at the bottom of a very muddy valley at a pay and play site. It took a chain of 3 Defenders to tow me up the hill. Once we got it bump started I headed back to London. Approaching Hanger Lane roundabout the clutch release failed. So we had to get across the roundabout, through many traffic lights and junctions with clutchless gear changes to get home. Wherever we came to a halt would be where we called the Big Yellow Taxi.
Amazingly, we made it all the way home. It was an exciting trip especially in first gear and a foot on the brake as we crept towards the car in front hoping the lights would change!

Another was at another Pay and Play site when the front axle uj shattered. The bits fell in the swivel so we could turn left but not right  I stripped it down, removed the bits and drove home.

The only times we've needed recovery was for a failed wheel bearing on the M1 and when my front diff poked a hole in my Prima engines oil filter whilst greenlaning.

 

Edit,
Forgot to mention the two rear diffs I've changed at the Dirty Weekends over the years (and the third one where we had to pull the halfshafts to drive home as Nitemare Pete had run out of spare diffs). 

You forgot to add we all took the Micky while you struggled to change the parts, we would have helped if you got stuck

[Robin]

.
.
Approaching Hanger Lane roundabout the clutch release failed. So we had to get across the roundabout, through many traffic lights and junctions with clutchless gear changes to get home. Wherever we came to a halt would be where we called the Big Yellow Taxi.
Amazingly, we made it all the way home. It was an exciting trip especially in first gear and a foot on the brake as we crept towards the car in front hoping the lights would change!

Between us, my lad & I did over 300 miles in Morocco doing clutchless changes, including stop-start through a couple of towns, and a hairy climb to a camp site in stop-start traffic!!

Needs must - it was our second day in Morocco, so didn't even consider giving up, and I'd done it before with one of my first wrecks cars in the late 70s, so had some experience.
Easy enough to set off, though it probably puts quite a bit of strain on the starter, especially uphill starts! 1st gear, operate starter and away you go.

The rigid pipe from flexi to slave cylinder (S3) had developed a pinhole leak.
Took it off, laying underneath fighting off the ants while the others were being plied with hard liquor by the campsite caretaker! and a local guy brazed it up the next morning   

[oddjob]

The snag was we didn't have a working starter motor either 
It's stuff like this that makes every trip in the Land Rover an adventure 

[Robin]

The snag was we didn't have a working starter motor either 

Ah, of course. Not easy to arrange stops so you're always facing downhill   

[Betsy1969]

I broke down in my Series 3 in 1990 whilst going to the tip without checking  the oil first . Blew a nice hole in the block !

I too have had the gear-lever break off at the bottom in a Series 3 work vehicle back in 1976 when it wasn’t very old or many miles on it . Luckily I was still in the quarry where I worked and had just pulled up where I needed to be so I just left it for the ‘ fitters’ to sort out .

But I’ve had many more breakdowns in our work Ford Rangers, two in quick succession on the same vehicle . We have about 10 on the fleet at any one time and they’ve all broken down at some point. Mine needed a new engine this time .

[Peter Holden]

Series 1 related, my pal had a diff pinion bearing collapse, early S1s had a huge double ball race and spring in Baslow on our way to our cavinclub cottage near Bakewell.  Rear propshaft off, pinion out, blanking plate made from cardboard and plastic fertiliser bag and red hermatite (I remember that bit cos it got everywhere, did I add that it was raining at the time).  There followed an interesting drive for the rest of the journey as being an earlyone it had a "freewheel" gearbox which meant that as we were relying on the front axle for drive every time his foot came of the gas it coasted and he had no hand brake.  Once at the cotteage we pulled the diff  and swapped it for the one from my land rover that was in pieces.  The diff was rebuilt during the week with a new pinion bearing and spring.  We borrowed the diff setting up tools from Crabtree and Nicol tthe Rover agent in Sheffield. For an early diff they were just 2 pieces of machined steel.  these tools were brand new they had had thenm since 1948 and never ysed them, that is why we could borrow them.  The diffs were swapped again the next weekend and my dad measured the tools and got copies made in the toolrom where he worked.

We had some really interesting and challenging times with those early S!s running them on a shoestring.