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Front drive shaft spacer??

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Old 06-01-2013, 09:48 PM
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Default Front drive shaft spacer??

Hi all,

I recently purchased a Terrafirma 2" lift kit for my 1995 Disco as the suspension was fairly worn out.
This week I got to install it. However, the is an apparent problem with the front drive shaft. The mechanic says that now the car is too high and the shaft doesn't reach by about 1/2 inch. Is this possible to happen with a 2" lift? Is the mechanic doing something wrong (or not doing)? He is recommending a spacer, what are the consequences of doing this? I never wanted to do any big mods to my truck and in fact I only bought this kit because it doesn't need any modifications to the drive train. Please, any advice?

Thanks

P.s: I searched for this specific topic in the forum but couldn't find anything similar.
 
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Old 06-02-2013, 07:20 AM
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Never heard of that. Sounds like the propshaft isn't extending all the way.

Edit to fix typo
 

Last edited by antichrist; 06-02-2013 at 10:16 AM.
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Old 06-02-2013, 08:24 AM
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I know people running stock front drive shafts on 3" RTE springs. You shouldn't need a spacer. The slip joint prob just needs some grease and persuading
 
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Old 06-02-2013, 09:49 AM
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So what do you suggest I do? The truck is parked at the shop waiting for the spacer. The guy says the drive shaft is fully extended already and this is the only solution.
 
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Old 06-02-2013, 10:10 AM
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Is it even necessary to remove the drive shaft to install the suspension?
 
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Old 06-02-2013, 10:14 AM
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I've had springs and shocks in and out many many times and never removed the drive shaft for that reason
 
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Old 06-02-2013, 10:18 AM
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Originally Posted by den_85
So what do you suggest I do? The truck is parked at the shop waiting for the spacer. The guy says the drive shaft is fully extended already and this is the only solution.
Is it the OE propshaft? The stock propshaft doesn't need a spacer, whatever he says.
It's possible an aftermarket one might.
 
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Old 06-02-2013, 10:38 AM
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With a 2" lift you should NOT need a spacer. Is it possible a D90 or RRC shaft is installed and possibly shorter? IDK?? I had 2" RTE springs and some small spacers and I will say that my stock DS was just about out of splines.
No one runs a DS spacer on a stock DS. The reason is that by the time you lift enough to require a spacer your geometry will require a Double Cardan DS. Many say that Rover went cheap *** on the front shaft right from the factory in that the DS is installed equally out of phase or something when really a Double Cardan should have been used like on the D2.

So here's what you should do. Call your mechanic and tell him to forget the spacer, don't pay for one. Lock the CDL and drive your truck home in rear wheel drive. With the front shaft on the ground take a small punch and put an alignment mark on each part of the shaft. Grease the slip joint, this often causes the DS to extend. If it doesn't try pulling the two parts apart to see exactly how much shaft you have left. You may have to put one end in a vise or whatever and tap the other end away from itself.
Once you've determined how much shaft you have left you can either run it or proceed with a Double Cardan one(D2 front, Tom Woods, GBR).
 
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