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I was buying and re-selling discovery 2's and found most of them had bad front U-joints. I was very paranoid after my dads disco 2's transmission got smashed to pieces without any warning at all because of front driveshaft failure. I found my own disco 2 was on the verge of breaking as well. No signs, no noise, no vibrations. Just a smiling mechanic who wanted to charge me 800.00 for a new shaft. Fortunately I caught it early so I had it rebuilt for 200.00. But that didn't end my paranoia. I wanted a permanent fix. I couldn't count on myself to keep it lubed every 5k miles or every 3 months, and it wasn't dealing with the issue of the condensation constantly dripping on the joint. So after a lot of research and thought, I developed this:
"There is no substitute for the original stock shaft. The original shaft is the best shaft for the discovery 2. The newer, "better" shafts do not address the leaking condensation that dries out your u-joints, leaving your vehicle unprotected"
That's just a tad misleading. Some of the aftermarket shafts are excellent products, and better than OE.
Also, it's not the AC condensate that dries out the DC, it's the heat from the cat combined with the inability to lube it.
"The picture depicted is not the loop you will receive. That is an early prototype that needed reconfiguring but it gives you an idea of what to expect."
WTF? Why would you not have a photo of the actual product?
__________________
Tom Rowe
Four wheel drive allows you to get stuck
in places even more inaccessible.
I beg to differ. The water from the condensation does damage the joint. I have seen a LOT of these joints and I have spoken to a couple of differential shops which more or less looked at it and confirmed with a "definitely". Most of the joints have a rust spot because of the constant raining down of the condensation. I've been through a dozen discovery 2's and they all had the rust spot. In my experience its always the u-joint that is being rained on that goes bad. I've been through a lot of these cars man. Notice the reddish hue next to the bad u-joint. Haven't you ever heard of Chinese torture? A drip doesn't seem like a bad thing. What can it hurt? But let a drip hit a mans forehead over and over again and eventually water will come out his ears! Here's the bad joint and the noticeable rust:
the new shafts are fine products but they are overpriced and unnecessary. The best thing you can do with your shaft is put in a high temperature grease. Lucas makes a red grease that will withstand 560 degrees. All other greases will melt out from the heat from the cat. As for the condensation.......I guess we have to agree to disagree?
Is there a market for head shields? Exactly how would that work? I don't have an updated picture because i don't think there's even a market for the loop I've made, which appears to be the case with the replys I've received. If one sells then I'll photograph it after I make it. But you should get the gist of it from the picture. Surely. That model bolted to the frame and the loop bolted down around the front joint. If it fails then you are woken up by a major "Clanging" sound. Not pieces of your transmission falling down behind you on the freeway!
Here's another shot of a shaft with evidence of rust. Both pictures ive posted from my own discovery 2 that i took into a diff shop to install my loop. The car was driving like a dream. I had no idea the shaft was bad. When he took the shaft out it was bad (the first photo i posted shows the condition of the joint). 2 weeks prior to this removal i discussed the idea of the loop with my regular mechanic. He's a regular mechanic, not a land rover one, but he's nothing short of brilliant. He looked at the shaft while it was still in the vehicle and said "its fine, i wouldn't worry about it so much". It is really really hard to tell if your joints are going bad unless you physically remove it from the vehicle. The diff shop wanted to sell me an $800.00 after market shaft and actually told me you can't rebuild them! (part of the reason why i'm not into the aftermarket stuff!) I was polite and had it rebuilt elsewhere for 200.00 and haven't had a problem since. That was 18 months ago. Here's the pic:
Next time you park at the grocery story on a hot day take note at how much condensation pools under your car after running the AC. Now imagine the U-joints spinning around while the vehicle is moving and this water constantly hitting the joints as they spin. The joint is essentially washing itself clean of grease.
But preservation of the joint is secondary to the safety of the vehicle. Which is what I aimed to do and achieved with this loop.
Thats all I'm going to say on this matter. I'm selling it cheap and you have 14 days to return it. Its being sold through paypal so you can easily get your money back if your not happy or you want to be a d*ck and copy it and send it back. But for a hundred bucks you'd spend more time and money doing it yourself that it wouldn't be worth it. I know you guys are DIY'ers but a hundred bucks!? Really!?
okay, it's Saturday and I didn't want to do this, but I went under my discovery 2 to take pictures of the loop. This is the prototype installed, and has been for 18 months. The difference in this loop to the new one that you will receive is that there is no lip that LOOKS dangerously close to the tranny (though it is not). Its never touched the tranny and i've even carried 40, 60 pound bags of concrete in the back and i've never had a problem with it touching the tranny. But rest assured, the new model doesn't even have this lip, and i've designed it without compromising the strength or integrity of the loop. Also, this one bolted to the frame with 1/2 inch bolts, the one you will be receiving mounts with 1/4 inch self tapping screws with an idiot proof bracket. As I've stated, if you know your way around a car, you can have this installed in 15 minutes. If you are interested buy it from ebay and send it back if you're not happy. Its through paypal so you're money is insured, but I will be delighted to give you your money back if you are not satisfied.
If you don't want to buy it from me then I suggest building one yourself because this rids your rover of its "Achilles heal". But why build it yourself when i'm selling it so cheap!
End front prop shaft paranoia
