APT heavy duty drive shaft

[Steve223]

Hello together,

Just wondering whether someone is running the APY heavy duty front drive shaft on its Disco?

My TW double cardan is about to implode so looking for alternatives.

Cheers

Steve

[Vern]

What's wrong with your tw?

[Steve223]

the DCJ is about to implode

[Steve223]

just saw that GBR a Utha also has heavy duty drive shafts does someone have them?

[ozscott]

I do like the look of it...I would prefer there be no boss converter however because on a lifted vehicle in particular this would give an even steeper angle of operation. However Ben has good gear and if it's good enough for him..,
I think the ad used to say that it used F100 uni joints but can't see that now.

cheers

[Steve223]

I do like the look of it...I would prefer there be no boss converter however because on a lifted vehicle in particular this would give an even steeper angle of operation. However Ben has good gear and if it's good enough for him..,
I think the ad used to say that it used F100 uni joints but can't see that now.

cheers


yes agree went with a GBR a Utah, Bill seems to know what he is doing and the components seems to better quality then TW still $500 cheaper then ATP

[Vern]

Iirc tom woods had a dodgy batch of cv's, pretty sure he was replacing them under warranty, send him an email.

[Steve223]

yes spoke to him no luck there, apparently some TW components are the cheaper sort so went with GBR as they are all US made brand components

[Vern]

Fair enough. ☺

[bronson]

Interesting to know, so when should I expect my TW's to go. Thought they were decent gear????

[Steve223]

make sure you grease it every 1000ks

[Slunnie]

Interesting to know, so when should I expect my TW's to go. Thought they were decent gear????
Dont know, since he started making them with greasble centre bearings I haven't broken one (as opposed to one every 12 months), and I run them front and rear with lot of lift and big tyres.

[Steve223]

Dont know, since he started making them with greasble centre bearings I haven't broken one (as opposed to one every 12 months), and I run them front and rear with lot of lift and big tyres.


yea my one was still without the greasable centre bearing.

will see how the GBR stack up

[twr7cx]

Dont know, since he started making them with greasble centre bearings I haven't broken one (as opposed to one every 12 months), and I run them front and rear with lot of lift and big tyres.

How often do you grease yours?

[Slunnie]

How often do you grease yours?
About once per year.

[twr7cx]

About once per year.

Do you remove the shaft to do it?

[Slunnie]

Do you remove the shaft to do it?

No, not at all, the shafts stay installed in the vehicle. I just inject the grease until it comes out from both bearings and then move on to the next. I have never greased the DC centre bearing either. I don't do anything special with them or give any extra service if its been in the mud or water. Some say greasing up so the grease comes out of the seals can damage them, but with the lack of service my shafts get it seems to be ok so far.

[Steve223]

spoke with TW and Bill and you can't overgreas them that's a myth apparently the seals are designed to expel excess grease. as I understand you will shorten the live with a yearly greasing routine but it has little to do with breaking them

[twr7cx]

No, not at all, the shafts stay installed in the vehicle. ... I have never greased the DC centre bearing either. I don't do anything special with them or give any extra service if its been in the mud or water.

Ok, this is what I have been doing to date to. But recently I found the service tools that TW included with the shafts for the centre piece and tried to grease them but found it impossible with the shaft in the vehicle.

I do wonder if I need to drop the shafts and grease that centre bit though?



as I understand you will shorten the live with a yearly greasing routine but it has little to do with breaking them

Are you saying that it should be greased more often than annually?

[Slunnie]

Ok, this is what I have been doing to date to. But recently I found the service tools that TW included with the shafts for the centre piece and tried to grease them but found it impossible with the shaft in the vehicle.

I do wonder if I need to drop the shafts and grease that centre bit though?

Is there a special tool to service the centre bearing? I've never done it because I never was able to and too lazy to improvise. Might see if TW can send me one before it does break.

[Steve223]

yes according to my mechanic and TW it should be greases after every trip with water crossings or every 1000ks given that it takes me 5 mins and a couple of pennies for the grease I increased my routine now to this suggestions. need to get the grease nipple for centre bearing though any idea where to get it in oz? after my VHC trip the main drive shaft nipple took at least 20squeezes to fill up and come out joint so glad I did it again after around 1500k

[Steve223]

my shaft is not breaking but the DC joint is about to eat itself, I never greased centre bearing, don't even know whether I have one to be honest, never visually noticed it. when I spoke to TW he said the service and greasing is very important to get a good live out of DS

[Slunnie]

All DC's have a centre bearing, but it is burried into the middle of it and you cant really see it. Its purpose is to maintain an equal angle balance between the 2 uni joints that make up the DC otherwise it would be flopping around everywhere.

This is the bearing here - it has a white cap in the middle of it to keep the rollers in position and the other side of the DC joint has a pin that goes in to the middle of it.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/11/472.jpg


Tom calls it a CV Socket Flange and the other end of it is the CV Weld Yolk. The yanks call a DC a CV.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/11/473.jpg

[Steve223]

87030

[twr7cx]

Is there a special tool to service the centre bearing? I've never done it because I never was able to and too lazy to improvise. Might see if TW can send me one before it does break.

Yes, it's just a tapered plastic nozzle - service tool Plews-Lubrimatic #05-019. There is a small hole in the centre bearing and you press the nozzle into it and pump the grease in. It is inaccessible when the shaft is fitted, could get to it from the top maybe with some difficulty. Generally the shaft needs to be removed to access.

Have a read of:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/11/466.jpg
http://www.4xshaft.com/maintenance.asp

[twr7cx]

I think with a long flexible hose and a second person actually holding and operating the grease gun I might be able to grease it in place by coming in at the top.

[d2dave]

I have a TW and every service(10,000) I remove it. As for pumping grease until it comes out all four caps, in my experience grease only ends up coming out of one, the one with the seal that has the least resistance.

Once that seal starts expelling grease, there is less pressure on the other three and then grease just keeps coming out of the first one.

[ozscott]

yes agree went with a GBR a Utah, Bill seems to know what he is doing and the components seems to better quality then TW still $500 cheaper then ATP
mate what did it cost for delivery to Oz?

[Steve223]

mate what did it cost for delivery to Oz?


still waiting for invoice should be just shy of $600 US

[d2dave]

I just had a browse through GBR's website and I could not find any info about a big heavy duty tail shaft, only a re-manufactured one.

They also reckon the main cause of failure is heat from the catalytic convertor.

Well we all know this not to be the case as Td5 has the cat on the opposite side.

Coil Sprung Driveshafts (http://gbrutah.com/cs_drivetrain_driveshaft.html#remanfrontd2)

[ozscott]

http://gbrutah.com/cs_drivetrain_driveshaft.html

[Disco Muppet]

1000km is overkill on a quality item like a TW shaft.
Given that good maintenance drills for stock standard shafts is every 5k kms, every service (10k) as mentioned by Dave will be fine IMHO.

[Steve223]

driveshaft arrived and looks good, see sticker serviced every 3000 miles8759687597

[Islandnomad]

Or every 4827 kms

[Disco Muppet]

Round it up to 5000 and you've got the service intervals of a standard prop shaft :)

[Steve223]

the centre bearing grease nipple is pretty well hidden and needs special grease needle

[Steve223]

unit looks pretty good joints are spicer not Japanese, it's more solid the TW unit will see how it lasts 87615
87616

[Vern]

The tw looks bigger and more solid to me, may just be the pics?

[Steve223]

yea looks like it on the pic but reality GBR is heavier, thicker joints, thicker yokes etc

[Slunnie]

These aren't parts that fail though. I think the key parts will be the uni and centre bearings with their seals and lubrication if the shafts are both 1310s. Chatting with Tom, he can make them as 1350's if you'd like, but the increase in weight magnifies vibrations which may be in the system even with the shaft balanced.

[Steve223]

Yea I guess time will tell, will definitely grease my centre bearing now at every service :-) though as previously only did grease nipples not the hidden centre one

[Steve223]

First short drive with new driveshaft is good, drives very smooth 0 vibration will take it out to Gees Arm South on Sunday for bigger test

[feraldisco]

I just bought one of these...seems like a quality bit of kit at a reasonable price...will let you know how I go with it:

1999 2004 Land Rover Discovery 2 Heavy Duty Front Driveshaft Drive Shaft NEW | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/290829080001)

[feraldisco]

just received the above item purchased through Ebay...quality item and good value at $350...shame about the $150 freight... Slightly heavier than original (8kg vs 7kg). On closer inspection of my old one, I think a stone has hit one of the uni joints, broken the seal cover and also chipped the uni body. Very thankful to have had a bit of early warning of vibration under acceleration around town... I'm rather attached to my D2 and didn't really want it written off by a driveshaft flailing around at high speed. It's been going fine around town in RWD, but looking forward to returning to 4WD...

[feraldisco]

cheaper version of the one I bought available here:

Land Rover Discovery 2 II CV Front Drive Shaft 1999 2004 Brand NEW Upgrade | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Land-Rover-Discovery-2-II-CV-Front-Drive-Shaft-1999-2004-BRAND-New-Upgrade-/261695641404?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cee46973c)

this also looks like a good kit to help you grease your drivetrain - particularly the centering ball in the front driveshaft!

Tooluxe Lubrication AID KIT Grease GUN Hose Fittings Zerk Injector Needle 61077L | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/360857280631'ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649)

[Steve223]

this also looks like a good kit to help you grease your drivetrain - particularly the centering ball in the front driveshaft!

Tooluxe Lubrication AID KIT Grease GUN Hose Fittings Zerk Injector Needle 61077L | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/360857280631'ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649)


super cheap auto has similar kit which I bought but just fits commercial grease guns with much bigger hoses so returned it, now bought grease needle trough a friend who is a mechanic

[Bradtot]

[QUOTE=feraldisco;2284109]cheaper version of the one I bought available here:

Land Rover Discovery 2 II CV Front Drive Shaft 1999 2004 Brand NEW Upgrade | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Land-Rover-Discovery-2-II-CV-Front-Drive-Shaft-1999-2004-BRAND-New-Upgrade-/261695641404?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cee46973c)

Yep I bought one of these a few months ago ..its now fitted and I am very happy with it.
It took 2 weeks to get here and it looks good.
The only thing I added was a rubber boot assy between the slip joints so I dont get mud and stuff in it.
No vibration very smooth greasable spicer joints and centre joint and a great price!!:):)

[Islandnomad]

Just bought another D2a TD5, hasn't had a new front driveshaft fitted and has done 160kms.


Any consensus which is the best one to buy yet and at what price? You can pay $1500 for them which is way too much imho.

[Disco Muppet]

With the exception of Steve I've not heard anything bad about Tom woods, and would have no hesitation in fitting one of his shafts.

Sent from my HTC One using AULRO mobile app

[Steve223]

With the exception of Steve I've not heard anything bad about Tom woods, and would have no hesitation in fitting one of his shafts.

Sent from my HTC One using AULRO mobile app


Have a TW in Defender and a GBR in Disco which replaced TW. Comparing both GBR is more solid and has more meat to it. Early days for GBR shaft but at present my choice would be GBR. Bought TW to a drive shaft place to get it re-build and according to them TW uses joints which are at hand still waiting to find a replacement joint. GBR is all Hardy Spice so good quality and easy to source for rebuild if it was required.

[Fluids]

Yep. Tom Woods. Add a gaiter to the sliding join.

Try Jeep Konnection in Vic. They keep them in stock. I think I paid about $600 delivered for mine.

[LR V8]

My new TW turned up during the week.... with a uni binding on one of the axes at the single cardin end. Not very happy with that 'quality' to say the least ....

back it goes...

Pete

[d2dave]

My new TW turned up during the week.... with a uni binding on one of the axes at the single cardin end. Not very happy with that 'quality' to say the least ....

back it goes...

Pete

Did you try giving it a hit with a hammer. I have fitted hundreds of uni joints and after it is all assembled can sometimes be tight.

A good whack with the hammer would usually fix it.

[LR V8]

Mate, i've bought heaps of parts over the years. It's either right as advertised
or it goes back. At near on $700, I do not resort to a hammer just to void the warranty.

[Fast Freddie]

Here's a recent link to what seems to be a TW shaft - if not, it's certainly very similar, with 1310 Dana components. At about $450 delivered, it the same price that I've been quoted by Hardy Spicer in Melbourne to rebuild (and balance) my standard shaft with grease-able 1300 components.
1999 2004 Land Rover Discovery 2 Heavy Duty Front Driveshaft Drive Shaft NEW | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/291351842653?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

[gavinwibrow]

Here's a recent link to what seems to be a TW shaft - if not, it's certainly very similar, with 1310 Dana components. At about $450 delivered, it the same price that I've been quoted by Hardy Spicer in Melbourne to rebuild (and balance) my standard shaft with grease-able 1300 components.
1999 2004 Land Rover Discovery 2 Heavy Duty Front Driveshaft Drive Shaft NEW | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/291351842653?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)
Many thanks. Unless I'm mistaken it's a Bill at Utah special. Have taken a chance and ordered one

[Fast Freddie]

Let me know how that goes. . I don't really want to go up to 1310 but, at the same cost a a rebuilt 1300, you'd have to have a pretty good reason not to. My original has a heap of balance-weight at 12 o'clock at the front and another heap at 6 o'clock at the rear, so I think it has an inherent manufacturing problem. If yours turns out ok, I'll be ordering one next pay day.

[Steve223]

Here's a recent link to what seems to be a TW shaft - if not, it's certainly very similar, with 1310 Dana components. At about $450 delivered, it the same price that I've been quoted by Hardy Spicer in Melbourne to rebuild (and balance) my standard shaft with grease-able 1300 components.

1999 2004 Land Rover Discovery 2 Heavy Duty Front Driveshaft Drive Shaft NEW | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/291351842653?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)


As mentioned that's not TW that's GBR Utah, great price personally would not hesitate purchasing it

[dfendr]

When i click link it says $450 plus Delivery
So about $640 delivered

[d2dave]

Living in Melb you can get a TW for around that price.

[LR V8]

My new TW turned up during the week.... with a uni binding on one of the axes at the single cardin end. Not very happy with that 'quality' to say the least ....

back it goes...

Pete

Update: jeepconnection replaced the shaft without any problems. Paid for courier pickup as well. Top service - well done guys :)

Pete

[d2dave]

It's good to hear that there are still places around offering good service. Glad to here that you got it sorted. Good result.

[ozscott]

Its just such a shame about their trading name! Bet your fingers were shaking when you were placing the order.

Cheers

[Fast Freddie]

When i click link it says $450 plus Delivery
So about $640 delivered
Damn! You're right, the price has gone up.
I shouldn't have hesitated.