Propshaft - repair or replace?

[Warb]

Having started the major survey of my 1959 88", I've discovered a few (no doubt not the last) problems that I need to rectify.

The front propshaft had been fitted (according to my workshop manuals) the wrong way around. Both the LR manual and Haynes agree that the splined joint should be at the axle end, but on this vehicle it's been reversed.

Whether as a result of this, or for other reasons, the spined joint is now stuffed - still attached at both ends there is >10mm up and down (or side to side!) movement on the joint.

I can ship a complete new Hardy Spicer shaft from the UK (UKP47 + shipping), source a secondhand one here, use the repair parts from FWD or take it to a propshaft repair company.

What are the recommendations?

[JDNSW]

Which way round the shaft is is not critical, but the splines do wear.

I see no particular advantage in any of the options - I would work out which is cheaper. A couple of points though - it is, in NSW at least, illegal to do any welding on a prop shaft unless in an approved workshop. My experience is that when I got repairs to a 110 prop shaft quoted, the quote was around double the cost of a new genuine part (although not from an official dealer), and the freight quoted for the spline joint and two U-joints from Sydney to Dubbo was a lot more than the freight from Melbourne to Dubbo for a complete rear prop shaft. motto - check prices for multiple options before deciding what to do!

John

[PhilipA]

Buy from UK.
IMHO and experience it is only worth having repairs done on a shaft that is unobtainable otherwise . You get new Ujs also.
Regards Philip A

[russellrovers]

Having started the major survey of my 1959 88", I've discovered a few (no doubt not the last) problems that I need to rectify.

The front propshaft had been fitted (according to my workshop manuals) the wrong way around. Both the LR manual and Haynes agree that the splined joint should be at the axle end, but on this vehicle it's been reversed.

Whether as a result of this, or for other reasons, the spined joint is now stuffed - still attached at both ends there is >10mm up and down (or side to side!) movement on the joint.

I can ship a complete new Hardy Spicer shaft from the UK (UKP47 + shipping), source a secondhand one here, use the repair parts from FWD or take it to a propshaft repair company.

What are the recommendations?r
hi don't forget front prop is 2 inches longer on the 88 jim

[peterg1001]

Buy from UK.
IMHO and experience it is only worth having repairs done on a shaft that is unobtainable otherwise . You get new Ujs also.
Regards Philip A

Yep, that's what I did. See Sorting out the rear suspension (http://www.greenacre.biz/landrover/957_rearsuspension/957_rearsuspension.htm), which ended up with me buying new a drive shaft from the UK. Much cheaper than repair or getting a new one built locally.

If you want to go the rebuild route, I recommend Metropolitan Drive Shafts (http://www.truelocal.com.au/business/metropolitan-driveshafts/clyde), (02 9637 7933).

Peter

[Lotz-A-Landies]

One of the reasons front splines wear badly is because more extreme shock loadings of the front suspension movements and secondly as a consequence of vehicles with free-wheeling hubs producing uneven wear in the prop-shafts natural resting planes.

[Warb]

Which way round the shaft is is not critical, but the splines do wear.

A couple of points though - it is, in NSW at least, illegal to do any welding on a prop shaft unless in an approved workshop.

I couldn't see any particular reason for the propshafts being in a given orientation, but my "official" 1963 Land Rover manual is very insistent that the splined sleeves are at the transfer box end of both shafts. Perhaps if the sleeve is on the axle side it allows water ingression because it would be angled up?

I too have been told that propshaft work needs to be done at an approved workshop, but I've never managed to find any written documentation to confirm this, or to establish exactly what "approval" is required. Whilst I have no doubt (this being Australia) that it is true, I'd like to find the actual legislation, just out of curiosity, and discover exactly what is required!

In this case I've just ordered two new shafts, as the rear one had a fair amount of play in the splines as well - I don't think either had ever been lubricated!

My manual shows only the front shaft having a protective boot on the splined joint. Is there a reason why the rear shaft doesn't have one?

[sisyphus]

There was a great article in LRO (nov. 2010) regarding propshafts their components and how they are constructed from scatch.A field that requiries specialized knowledge and equipment to cut, turn, press, weld and balance to make this humble part .They do come up on ebay from time to time for around $200 new.

[Wallydog]

$175.00 AUD for rear prop shaft from Paddocks UK , thats delivered. Id say a front prop shaft would be much the same. Its worth getting a quote from Paddocks and asking the local players if they will match it. They sometimes do.

[Warb]

I ended up ordering new front and rear shafts, together with all new fittings (nuts, bolts, boots etc.) from LRSeries. Total delivered cost was about $100 less than the best local price that I found.

[peterg1001]

$175.00 AUD for rear prop shaft from Paddocks UK , thats delivered. Id say a front prop shaft would be much the same. Its worth getting a quote from Paddocks and asking the local players if they will match it. They sometimes do.

LRSeries.com have part 553001 from Hardy Spicer for GPB46.99, say $A74. Add $45 for shipping by DHL or FedEx and you're looking at $120.

Seems like a good price to me.

Peter

[peterg1001]

I ended up ordering new front and rear shafts, together with all new fittings (nuts, bolts, boots etc.) from LRSeries. Total delivered cost was about $100 less than the best local price that I found.

Looks like we crossed over in posting . . .

Have you looked at LRDirect.com?

The prices are about the same, but their web site seems to handle Verified By Visa better.

Peter

[Warb]

Have you looked at LRDirect.com?

The prices are about the same, but their web site seems to handle Verified By Visa better.

Funnily enough I was looking at their website only a few minutes ago, I have an axle that has been run with a loose drive flange (no pin in the nut!) and has reamed out the flange and destroyed the shaft.

Equally, I had a problem with Verified by Visa when I ordered from LRSeries, though I've ordered from them before without issue. I contacted the bank who reported that Verified by Visa throws errors regularly for no apparent reason but seemingly only for people who aren't enrolled. After I enrolled it let me pay with no further drama!

[Johnno1969]

I couldn't see any particular reason for the propshafts being in a given orientation, but my "official" 1963 Land Rover manual is very insistent that the splined sleeves are at the transfer box end of both shafts. Perhaps if the sleeve is on the axle side it allows water ingression because it would be angled up?

I too have been told that propshaft work needs to be done at an approved workshop, but I've never managed to find any written documentation to confirm this, or to establish exactly what "approval" is required. Whilst I have no doubt (this being Australia) that it is true, I'd like to find the actual legislation, just out of curiosity, and discover exactly what is required!

In this case I've just ordered two new shafts, as the rear one had a fair amount of play in the splines as well - I don't think either had ever been lubricated!

My manual shows only the front shaft having a protective boot on the splined joint. Is there a reason why the rear shaft doesn't have one?

My Haynes manual for my IIA is adamant that the splined end is "forward" on each shaft... i.e. at the transfer case end for the rear prop and at the axle end for the front prop. The front shaft only is shown with a protective boot, presumably because the relatively lower position of the splined portion is more likely to be exposed to water and grit than that of the rear shaft.

I'm pretty sure that Defender propshafts sit differently: splined portion close to transfer case front and rear. I remember working in another country where having the front shaft on Defenders oriented as I described above for the Series vehicles was all the rage, but I always kept the splined joint at the transfer end as I was working in a very wet environment: constant wading and sand.

[Warb]

Interesting, isn't it? I have a 1st edition (December 1963) LR Series II and IIA workshop manual that states clearly that the splined SLEEVE should be at the transfer box end of both prop shafts. It then shows the front prop shaft as a long "sleeve" with a short male splined shaft at the front axle end - the rear prop shaft is shown as a short sleeve at the transfer case and a long male section to the rear axle. This arrangement puts both joints at the "front", as suggested by Haynes, but still allows both sleeve sections to be at the transfer box end.

However the 1968 parts book, whilst showing the same arrangement for the rear shaft, shows the opposite for the front - i.e. a short sleeve with a long male section, and if the diagram is taken to have the correct orientation, it shows the splined joint at the axle end (as suggested by Haynes) which puts the sleeve on the axle, the reverse of what is stated in the 1963 manual!

My front prop shaft is built the way the parts book states (the short section is the sleeve) but fitted according to the 63 LR manual i.e. sleeve end at the transfer box. The result is that the splined joint is at the transfer box, which all three books state is wrong!

The new one will be fitted with the joint at the axle end....