So, after reading quite a few threads about the dangers of a failing drive shaft on a Disco II, I'm paranoid about avoiding the problem. I have a 2002 Disco II with about 60K miles, so from what I understand I'm right at the point where this may become an issue, though I've seen no signs yet.

I talked to my local Land Rover mechanic shop, East West Motors in Santa Barbara, and though they were well aware of the problem with the OEM drive shafts, they were not aware of a good alternative solution--they just replace a failed drive shaft with a new OEM version. However, they were interested in knowing about alternatives if they exist, and will of course do the work for me if I bring something in. It seems as though quite a few on the board have taken preemptive steps to avoid this problem, but I don't know enough about auto mechanics to understand exactly what steps to take.

Can one of you who has gone through this answer a few questions? Disco Mike, particularly since you know the shop in question, I'd appreciate your input.

1. Should I replace the whole drive shaft or is it possible/advisable to just replace the u joints?

2. If just the u joins can be replaced, what specifically do I need and where can they be obtained? I need as much detail as possible here, since, again, you're talking to a novice.

3. If there are non-OEM replacement drive shafts that are available/recommended, where do I look for those?

4. In doing the work, issues/tricks/problems that I (or the repair shop) should be aware of?

Thanks in advance--I really want to take steps to avoid this issue, but feel helpless in actually doing anything at the moment. This seems to be a serious enough issue that a sticky thread with instructions might be a good idea--maybe this thread can be the start of that...

 

The least expensive way to handle it is find a drive line shop and have them replace the 2 u-joints and the centering ball kit that is inside the double cardon housing.
You don't nee to spend the extra money to buy another shaft.

 

Andrew, If your Disco is used for general driving just locate a driveline shop that can rebuild your shaft. You can either buy the parts and take them in for installation or the shop can get the parts for you. I recently had the work done and my shop charged me $40 to remove and re-install the drive shaft and $50 to rebuild, balance and paint the shaft. I picked up the joints and centering kit for around $80 at auto-zone and dropped them off with the truck. Total cost was about $175.00 and my shaft looked like new when it was completed. You can save money by removing the shaft and re-installing it yourself after the rebuild. If you have your local Land Rover shop do this for you they will most likely take it tothe drive line shop themselves, you will just be paying them to be the middleman.Do a search and locate the parts then call a shop and see if you need to make an appointement. The shops around here are very busy. If your Land Rover shop is like mine they will act ignorant and try to sell you a new shaft for 400 to 600 bucks...Notnecessary. This isan easy choice - the sooner you do it the sooner you'll enjoy peace of mind!

 

i just had this done myself and putting the d/s back in tomorrow with a mechanic friend. total cost. 300 bucks.

at risk of sounding like a know it all, there are a million posts on this already on this forumj and if you do a search and read all of the posts over the course of an hour or so you will learn more then you'll ever need to about u-joints! but seriously. go get it done. i'm going to rest easier now that i've had em done on my LE w 70k miles

 

Thanks for the responses. And J. Toronado, you're absolutely right...there are many threads on this already. I've spent a lot of time reading them, I just need the whole thing spelled out for me--in my ignorance I'm having a hard time piecing it all together. There's a place called Coast Driveline about 45 minutes south of me that I intend to call tomorrow to see if they can install the greasable u-joints.

I'm worried because I've read that a knocking or thudding sound when shifting from neutral to drive or reverse is a bad sign for the drive shaft. I've noticed that on my Disco. Should I be worried? If so, is simply having a driveline shop replace the u-joints enough?

If I need to replace the entire drive shaft, I can get a Hardy Spicers aftermarket replacement for a decent price from British Pacific nearby...but it's not greasable. Or I could order the rebuilt greasable version from Rover Connection...

 

let me know what thay charge you. i live near ventura and i was thinking of installing
greaseable u-joints and a centering ball at coast driveline too.

 

The u-joint part numbers are:
Neapco 1-005
Spicer 5.4x
Precision 344
Of the three I prefer Neapco because the zerk fitting is on the end cap which makes greasing them much easier, which you should do every 3,000 miles.
I don't use Spicer because the 5-4x u-joints aren't actually made by Spicer, and so I don't know what I'm getting.
You also need a centering kit, (also known as ball and gimble), Neapco 7-0081NG or Precision 617. I've used both and see no real difference.
After you get your driveshaft rebuilt, make sure you grease it well. The grease that comes in the u-joints is just for mfg, and not all drive line shops grease them when done.
Like I said before, grease it every oil change, or 3,000 miles. If you don't change your own oil, make sure your lube shop knows to grease it (their book won't say to since OEM they aren't greasable). If you don't grease them, they won't last as long as sealed u-joints.
I actually have a spare newly rebuilt shaft, but with shipping it would probably cost you more than getting it done locally.

 

Well, my call to Coast Driveline was not very helpful. The guy I spoke to didn't know much if anything about Land Rovers (asked if it was 2 or 4 wheel drive), and told me I would need to track down the parts; labor he estimated at $300.

I'd love to be able to just drop the truck off somewhere and be confident that this was going to be done right, but Coast didn't give me that confidence, though perhaps it would be different if I actually drove to their shop. Unfortunately it's 45 minutes away...as far as I know, there's no driveline shop in Santa Barbara...

 

Sounds like you live up around Santa Barbara, if you are going to Ventura, check out Drive line Services also at 983-1366 alongh with Coast Driveline, they both do great work.

 

I have had my centering ball go bad in under 500 miles TWICEafter having the D/S rebuilt by a reputable shop. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a complete D/S from Tom Wood's. It showed up in under a week ready to go. It has heavy duty, greasableu-joints and greasable nipple for the slip yoke. It took 20 minutes to mount it up. Shipped to my door complete for $309.00. Total peace of mind. JF