How important are U-Joints

[squizzydisco]

Hello all,

I'm looking at buying a 2000 Discovery 2 td5. I'm heading out to have a look at one on Sunday. I've had a good read and believe I'm aware of most things that need to be checked.

Was wondering if the previous owner hasn't replaced the U-joints with grease-able ones, do I walk away ? The car is a 2000 model with 200,000km on it. 16 years is a long time for some thing to have gone wrong with them if they're original.

Thanks for any advice you can offer

Squizzy

[AllTerr]

They've probably been changed at some point. Still, you can always swap them for greaseable ones when you can. Easy way to check is to get under the car and give the prop shafts the ol' wiggle test.

[Slunnie]

It's just a part that can be changed. If it's still got the original shaft then it's probably been treated with a great deal of respect and probably a better buy.

[p38arover]

If you have a reasonable vice and some skill with tools, they are relatively easy things to replace at home. There are sure to be YouTube videos on how to do it. Even if you had them done by a mechanic, I wouldn't expect them to be that expensive.

Buy quality UJs, though.

I was talking to Brad at KLR Auto about this recently and he indicated they've seen quite short life on even some of the better brand names, even Japanese. He did tell me their preferred brand but I can't remember...... :(

Having said that, my P38A had 250+ thousand Km on the originals and they were still good. I did grease them.

[squizzydisco]

Thanks for that. Puts my mind at rest. The car looks like it's been used as a " toorak tractor" with a gentle life. I'd be looking at using it off-road so rims and tyres would be the first upgrade, along with the u-joints .

Getting quite excited for the test drive now.

[p38arover]

I just thought of something. Does the D2 have a double Cardan joint at the front?

Does the rear have a Rotoflex coupling like the D1?

Slunnie, you'd know these things.

[Tins]

I just thought of something. Does the D2 have a double Cardan joint at the front?
Yes


Does the rear have a Rotoflex coupling like the D1?


And yes.

At least, mine does.

[Tins]

Does the rear have a Rotoflex coupling like the D1?



Hang on. Like the D1? My D1 doesn't have one. Did someone pinch it?

[p38arover]

My D1 had a Rotoflex for the rear diff "UJ".

[discorevy]

Diesel d1 rotoflex
V8 d1 u/j, of course these could have been swapped on individual cars over the years
Ron , are you talking about 250000 k out of a d2 original double Cardin ? cause they weren't greasable
Squizzy if the d2 your looking at has 16" rims then you'll only need tyres for off road

[p38arover]

Ahh!

Re the DC, I hadn't thought about that when I said 250K km. My P38A didn't have one.

Aren't the double Cardans problematic?

[Bohica]

One of the things I need to do is grease my U joints. One of the previous owners replace the standard U joints with the grease-able ones. How often should these be done?

Thanks

Julian

[Tins]

Diesel d1 rotoflex


So, someone did pinch it...

Truth is, it's had a number of mods underneath, so I guess it got swapped then. I didn't know they ever had 'em.

[Tins]

One of the things I need to do is grease my U joints. One of the previous owners replace the standard U joints with the grease-able ones. How often should these be done?

Thanks

Julian

Don't know if there's a 'recommended' interval, so I would suggest every oil change, or more frequently if you do a lot of dusty miles, or water crossings, that sort of thing. Most of the failed ones I've seen have been rusty.
It only takes five minutes if you have a good grease gun.

[Tins]

Ahh!



Aren't the double Cardans problematic?

I've been told they are if the car is lifted. It increases the angle that the joint has to work through, and unis aren't good at that, even when there's two at the same end, or so I've been told. That said, mine's been lifted a while with no probs, but... They say if it fails it can do catastrophic damage to the TC.
I've been wondering if there was some sort of conversion, to something like a CV joint. Guess I'll talk to a driveshaft bloke and see.

[squizzydisco]

Squizzy if the d2 your looking at has 16" rims then you'll only need tyres for off road

Yeah believe they are 16s. Going to see the car tomorrow. Any suggestions for a good off-road tyre without going too crazy on the price ? Nothing too extreme needed, I plan to turn it into a family tourer rather than some rock hopper.

[discorevy]

Ahh!

Re the DC, I hadn't thought about that when I said 250K km. My P38A didn't have one.

Aren't the double Cardans problematic?

As mentioned, more so when lifted , but not really a problem with quality greasable uni's


One of the things I need to do is grease my U joints. One of the previous owners replace the standard U joints with the grease-able ones. How often should these be done?

Already answered but just to add that when you grease them just pump the gun until you feel the trigger go hard , if you keep pumping so the grease breaches the seals then if you have a warm / hot uni after say a long run then go through water this can and does draw water / dirt back into the needle rollers shortening their life


So, someone did pinch it...

Truth is, it's had a number of mods underneath, so I guess it got swapped then. I didn't know they ever had 'em.

Some have done this mod , the 200tdi disco's had u/j as well , personally never had issue with rotoflex.
Also re double Cardin , when they let go ,their likely to destroy gearbox and/ or tunnel


Yeah believe they are 16s. Going to see the car tomorrow. Any suggestions for a good off-road tyre without going too crazy on the price ? Nothing too extreme needed, I plan to turn it into a family tourer rather than some rock hopper.

All terrain or mud ?
If your not going to lift it then 245/75/16 are a good size , will make speedo read around 5% slow
Lifted by 2 inch 265/75/16 looks a bit better ( more proportioned)
but speedo now around 9-10% out and a noticeable reduction in torque, but still acceptable, especially with remap

[Bohica]

Yeah believe they are 16s. Going to see the car tomorrow. Any suggestions for a good off-road tyre without going too crazy on the price ? Nothing too extreme needed, I plan to turn it into a family tourer rather than some rock hopper.

I'm going to get a pair of Wind Force All Terrains, The specifications test results and data look good and I get these at wholesale, so at $65 per tyre it's a good price to try them out.

[Tins]

I'm going to get a pair of Wind Force All Terrains, The specifications test results and data look good and I get these at wholesale, so at $65 per tyre it's a good price to try them out.

$65???? About $200 less than my Maxis. Let us know how they go!

[Tins]

Just my two bob's worth on the tyres I have had. My D2 came on Coopers A/T. Standard size things. They were at about 45% left. Now, I have no doubt that I could have driven over lava with them, but the things were so hard that there was absolutely NO grip on wet bitumen. 2.7 tonnes of chipped TD5, in the Dandenongs, in winter. I couldn't get rid of them fast enough, so when Kevin and Wayne gave me $900 for nothing I spent it on Yokohama Geolander A/T's. Very nice, good grip on road, and about what you expect off road from an A/T. Then, like all Yoky's I have ever had, they went off. About 50 k's and they were useless. I could cope with that on the Fiat, but not happy at all on the Disco. Now, both of the cars run Maxis Bighorns, Pretty much standard on the D2, 265 something on the D1.Agressive enough tread for what I do, and , apart from the noise, very good indeed. Now, i know that there are Simex and Mickey T's out there, or BFG's for that matter, but Maxis seem excellent value for money. Did I mention noise? Good thing I'm deaf.