Thread: DII: Front Drive Shaft (daft question....)

if the shafts are loose....it will be the four bolts on each end.....
grab your 9/16 spanner and make sure they are tight.....


to check the uni joints.....chock the wheels and put the box in neutral.....
now grab the tailshaft and check for movement in the uni joint itself.....
move it up and down then left and right in line with the cross of the uni joint.....there should be no movement.....

do this to all four joints......

That test is not good enough to determine the health of the double cardan joint.

You can have practically siezed unijoints and they still won't have any "slack" in them.

You need to disconnect the tailshaft from the transfer case output flange and then manually flex with your hand to see if there's any seizure or slop.

Re the "vibration" when accelerating, check also the condition of your engine mounts and gearbox mounts. Sometimes it is hard to see a crack in the rubber blocks so you need to look carefully.

When I had my car serviced last week at Coopers I asked about this. They said mine was fine, but it's usually the V8's that suffer a little more from this as the heat from the exhaust over time gets the shaft out of shape.

Originally Posted by tempestv8

That test is not good enough to determine the health of the double cardan joint.

You can have practically siezed unijoints and they still won't have any "slack" in them.

You need to disconnect the tailshaft from the transfer case output flange and then manually flex with your hand to see if there's any seizure or slop.

Re the "vibration" when accelerating, check also the condition of your engine mounts and gearbox mounts. Sometimes it is hard to see a crack in the rubber blocks so you need to look carefully.

Thanks Tempest... Is disconnecting the tailshaft a fairly easy job? I seem to remember doing something similar on an old Ford Escort I used to own back in the UK, and ended up with lots of bits left over when I put it back together!!!

Also, the issue on acceleration is less of a vibration, and more of a hesitation or judder as it shifts from 1st to 2nd... It feels the same as it would on a manual car if you, on the up-shift, you released the clutch slightly, depressed it again, and then released the clutch fully. Only happen occasionally as well... I'll check the mounts out but any other suggestions greatly appreciated!

Thanks folks,

Greg

Removal is very easy and anyone capable of using a couple of sockets and spanners can do the job.

A lot of people have upgraded their front driveshafts for greasable ones. As standard the front UJ is greasable but the DC is not. It's this one which fails, and unfortunately not only on the V8's. As a wonderful design feature LR have located the a/c drain right over the DC. Add to this the dunking it gets when used off road a few times and water does get in. The first sign usually is when the steel shroud over the rubber seal shows a degree of brightness compared to the others. If you pick this up it's time to rebuild.

There are a variety of options should you want to go down this track but be prepared...it aint cheap! but a lot cheaper than a flailing drive shaft damage!