Thread: D2 front drive shaft problem?

Pedro,

I have recently replaced my front prop shaft (99 D2 V8 auto) at 165,000 km. Not much off-road work (several days total) and all pretty gentle. Standard suspension height. Fair bit of moderate towing (maybe 20,000 km).

I noticed a medium to high frequency vibration appearing in the floor and pedals, and immediately booked it in for investigation. Couldn't get it in for several days, and drove it gently for maybe 50 km around town in the time up to it being checked. There was a noticable increase in driveline backlash in that time. It was totally cactus when checked. It was a very rapid deterioration, and I suspect it would have gone like Fenian Eel's front shaft within a few more km.

It was replaced with a new genuine shaft.

Terry

I replaced mine a few months ago (D2 Td5), around 175000 Kms, i am the second owner of the disco, from sevice records previous owner did a fair bit of touring, towing a caravan, some offroad. I put in a 50mm lift and have done some decent offroading.
Rebuilt with greasable uni's at Range Rov - $350.00

Hey all,

I've recently rebuilt mine with greasable joints and a new centre ball kit. All up about 250 in parts and a Saturday of my time. No special tools required and I didn't need to get it rebalanced. I think the trick is to mark everything before you pull it apart and put back the same way.
It all looks new because I actually cleaned all the parts and repainted before re-assembly. That's normal right ?

Here is a photo pictorial of the job:

Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket

Cheers

George

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

I thought a post where we could gather info on the D2 front drive shaft problem would help.

It seems to me as an owner, and AULRO tragic, that these seem to be going bang at an ever increasing rate.

If you have had to replace a front drive shaft please post letting us know the details---

Kays done?
amount of off-road use?
raised suspension?

and your repair,,

genuine?
aftermarket brand?
change of part?

I hope to add this to "The Good OIL"

I'm onto my 5th front shaft in 129,000km
2x Factory shafts
2x Rebuilts with greasable unis
1x 1310 uni joint shaft (Tom Woods)

I get about 1 year or 17-18000km per shaft.

Offroad work... lots. Mix of monthly Tuff Trips, touring and road km's.
4" raised with combination of 33" (road and touring) and 34/35" tyres (tuff trips)

What I have noticed is that dust from touring can be a killer.

High impact driving is a killer. When I was regularly doing the monthly tuff trips I would consume 1 shaft per year (17-18000km). I think that this high impact driving was the biggest contributor in my case. Now that I'm doing fewer, my shafts are lasting significantly longer.

Greasable unis dont last any longer than OE shafts.

It is always the DC combination that fails first - never the single uni at the front. Interestingly, these unis are the same size, so I can only assume the loading on the unis from the DC is also a factor.

I have upgraded to 1310 unis now, which are bigger. So far no problems, but I haven't put a years worth of TT's onto them yet, though they have done touring without drama.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

....................

It is always the DC combination that fails first - never the single uni at the front. Interestingly, these unis are the same size, so I can only assume the loading on the unis from the DC is also a factor.

......

I think it is probably not the fact that it is a double cardan joint, but the fact that this joint is the one with most angle to deal with - the pinion shaft points pretty much towards the transfer case, so the joint there has little angle to deal with. Most work is done by the joint at the transfer case even though it is shared between two joints. It is likely that any wear on the centering mechanism of the DC joint will allow additional rapid oscillation of the joints themselves, but again, this wear is a direct result of the angle the joint is working through.

And this consideration also means that the biggest factor in reduced life would be a suspension lift.

John

I have done 3, first one was around 90 to 100,000ks next was around 500ks later after it was found they rebuilt it with the wrong or incorrect fitting of the unisthe next went at 150,000ks i have the greasable unis in now.

Chipped, bigger tyres and a 3" lift

Alot of touring and towing

Alot of offroad and towing + tuff stuff

Alot of onroad and towing

We average over 30,000ks a year.

Hey Slunnie, it must be the way you drive

Baz.

I am just about to change one.

2" lift, chipped and intercooled; 175k on the clock. This is the first to my knowledge.

It would be interested in hearing where people are getting the parts from also on this page as sourcing these things can be a challenge.

Regards

Just been over to Harder Spicer at Moorebank. They had all the bits and will reco my drive shaft (including balancing). I should get it back friday and will advise as to how it goes.

I purchased the uni's from CBC bearings first (they were Hardy Spicer) but it turns out when I went to Hardy Spicer for the Ball Joint kit, the bearings that CBC gave me were the 1300 series p/n K5-L4R (greasable and normal duty). For the disco they recommend the K5-A757 (non greasable and heavy duty).

BTW
CBC charged 14.50 for the K5-L4R
Repco wanted $111 for the K5-A757
& HS wanted $~50 for the K5-757
The Ball Joint kit from HS p/n SCV-82B was $77.
I also noticed in their catalogue that they have the rubber drive coupling.

If I had the inclination to do they job myself I could have come away from the with change out of $120 (using the non heavy duty U/J's).

Depending on how this build goes, if it breaks again I shall put in the HD U/J's next time.