Just got back from a road trip Almost to Iowa, to pick up a complete front axle off a 97 Discovery 1. I needed the parts to replace the Pivot *****, pins, and CV joints on my Disco 1. I had to use my Disco with the trailer to pick up the axle, and found that it has deteriorated to the point where any speed over 60-65 MPH and you get the W.O.D. I got down there OK, (slowly) and back. Ran across a few sleet storms and a bit of white along the roads in Rochester....

Anyhow, the axle is sitting on the trailer in the back yard awaiting me to start wrenching and then add good parts onto my Disco1. The donor truck was a 97 SE that was missing the motor, trans, transfer case, most of the lights, and the front end (bumper, grille, etc.) Most of the body looked pretty good, 2 sunroofs were still there. Interior was trashed with leftover parts from pulling the motor.

Now the fun begins... I think I'll wait a day or two for a little warmer weather.

 

have you located the cause of your w.o.d?

 

It is probably easier to swap over the entire axle verses just some parts.

 

Check the joints on the steering shaft that runs down from the wheel to the steering box.

 

I found a few weeks ago that I had some play when grabbing the tire at 12:00 and 6:00, not so much at 3:00 and 9:00. which indicates pivot pin bearing wear. and have noticed some noise from the CV joint on the drivers side. When I checked for grease, it was empty and i could see rust on the CV joint. I checked wheel bearings and they were a little lose too. I added grease, which is now leaking because of corrosion on the pivot ball faces, and the cv joint got a little quieter. Pass side has just a bit of play, probably from the wheel bearings, but was also leaking oil and corroded Pivot ball. The joys of Minnesota and their desire to keep the streets covered in salt for the winter.

I know I need swivel ***** on both sides, and pivot pin bearings on drivers side, plus a cv joint on drivers side, and the shock stop bushings are in bad shape. The steering shaft looks to be in good shape. I did have my findings verified by a LR mechanic! (thanks Eric)

I got a complete front axle with good pivot ***** and bearings from a (sort of ) local salvage yard for $200!! Driving down to get it, I found any time I got over about 65 MPH, I would get the vibration. The replacement axle still has grease in the Pivot *****, and they look to be in great shape (what you can see) I have seen that I can remove the whole axle end at the flange inboard of the pivot ball and transplant it on my truck fairly easily. I will then most likely use my rotors and calipers, and should be done in a relatively short time. I will have the center of the front axle left over so if anyone needs gears...

Of course I will have to get a new shock too... Then I should be in good shape!! Right now it is snowing outside...

P.S. Hopefully this will solve my ABS light being on all the time and my anti-lock brakes constantly being activated when I hit the brakes ( pulled the fuse for now) Theory is that the sensor is getting a bad reading from the rusty CV joint, or it is getting moved from the cv joint bouncing around. Time will tell.

 

Swivel Pin Bearing Housing. I'm not even going to take this a step further.......

If your experiencing Death Wobble and you say it's 12 and 6 it's more than likely the bearings/pins and Railco bushes that need replacing...... or just a few shims removed to increase bearing preload which is described in the Rave and on the web (with Torque Wrench) and not a fish weight scale. Weight scale method is for solid pins - pre ABS. More times than not it's actually tie rods that need replacing over swivel pin anything....... I understand your CV's and housings are not the best so your headed in the right direction and like fish said rebuild the entire front axle then plunk on your truck.

 

Bad CV joints have no bearing on death wobble.
Do you know for a fact that the axle you bought is good in the swivel pin/swivel bearing dept?

Read this:
https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...-wobble-55586/

 

The death wobble usually emanates from the swivel and hub bearing pre-load, adjust those and i bet most will disappear. Also check the panhard bush as these tend to wear especially if you have a leaking steering box.

 

Panhard checked out OK, I assume the pivot pin bearings are toast as that side looks to have been run without lubrication for awhile. The Swivel ***** being scarred so badly caused the lack of lubrication, so that needs to be addressed before anything. The CV joint makes noise when I turn in that direction, again most likely from running dry. If I just adjust the bearing preload, and the bearings\pin are shot, it will return quickly, and without being able to keep lubrication in there , is just going to continue to get worse.

Everything goes back to being able to keep the grease inside the axle ends.

I did check the axle before it was removed from the truck. It still has grease in it, ***** looked good, no movement and the CV joints sounded OK. No real way to know until I get it apart for inspection. Definately better than what is on my truck right now.

I have watched a few Youtube videos on tearing down the axles and adjusting them correctly. That was one thing I noticed was using a torque wrench instead of a fish scale. I feel better about that method anyhow. I did make sure the replacement axle has the ABS sensors too. the ***** appear to be the teflon coated ones too. My truck has the earlier chrome ones.

 

Just thought I'd add a video of them getting the Disco1 out of it's resting place and closer to the shop to pull the front axle for me. WARNING: Not for the Faint of heart!! The Disco looks to be in good shape but it had the drive train removed, as well as most of the interior, and had damage across the front. it looks better than it was in person. click on picture to see video




Then my battery went dead in the camera. Got to start carrying spare batteries!!