Disco II front prop shaft question

[Wideheavyload]

I am the proud owner of a slightly used 04 Discovery SE. It's bone stock at the moment, and appears to have been well maintained considering it is at 98k miles.

I'm under no illusions here. I'm expecting to have to take care of maintenance issues with this truck, but I wanted to get things started on the right foot and address any known problems right away.

I've seen on this and other forums that the front prop shaft is basically guaranteed to fail, it is just a matter of when. So my question is this: How can I tell if this has already been addressed on this truck? If it is still the stock piece, can I extend its lifespan, or should I just go ahead and get it replaced with an after-market shaft?

Being a Land Rover noob, I don't know how to differentiate between the stock and an aftermarket shaft. So any advice there would be great.

If there are any other things I can do to the truck to prevent catastrophic failure (other than the standard maintenance), please let me know. I have big plans for this truck

 

[Colorado David]

There are some good threads here and on other forums about checking the universal joints. Just because the prop shaft is the original equipment doesn't mean it hasn't been maintained. Do a search for the other U-joint threads and then check yours out. As for me, I just went ahead and bought a Tom Woods front prop shaft and swapped it out. I kept the original one with the intention of rebuilding it and keeping it for a spare. Things like the prop shaft are easy to anticipate. Other things like my starter and power steering pump just up and quit.

 

[Antichrist]

Read this:
http://www.landroverforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29302

 

[Paladin]

There is no reliable way to inspect a shaft a know that it is good. One of the first tell-tale signs that it has been worked on, is if the two universal joints in the double-cardan have grease nipples. If they do, it has had work for sure. If they do not have nipples, either they are the original joints, or the they have been replaced with original joints. No way to know.

I would say, with a used truck, with those miles, you should assume you are at risk. If there is no record of the shaft being fixed, and no grease nipples, go ahead and do it now. Just do it.

You don't have to buy a Woods. And you don't even HAVE to buy greasable joints. Just change them, record the milage, and do it again at some point.

The problem with the shaft is that when it goes, in the best of cases, it can go fast. I probably got 100km out of mine from the first sense of vibration. Other people, whether they don't feel the vibration, or there is no warning I don't know, but they let go, and take out the transmission.

 

[Wideheavyload]

Thanks!

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm going to inspect it this weekend more closely. If there's any doubt, I'll get it replaced. Wouldn't want to lose a transmission in my first week of ownership.

Edit: Just went back and checked out the link from AntiChrist. That was perfect.

 

[Paladin]

Yup, good post... and another Forum I didn't know about.

 

[rovertech]

Just to emphasize, make sure that the flanges go back the way they came off or you will have a vibration. I have local driveline shop build and balance the D2 front prop shafts for me and they are very reasonable. It wouldn't hurt to call around and see what you get quoted.

Great link BTW Tom

 

[Paladin]

Might as well ask here. When I was rebuilding my rear shaft, I accidentally pulled the slip joint right apart, and hadn't marked it for orientation. I thought... uh oh. But I found the splines really only went back together one way. I tried every permutation of possible rotation of the spines. Only one worked. The others would start, but then bind half way. Only one orientation assembled cleanly.

Is it machined that way, or just wears in that way?