I was reading through the "u-joint" nightmare thread- I did not want to jack the thread so I thought I'd start my own.

I have an 02 DII with 83,000 mi. Can the U-joint be inspected? I gather it cannot be greased. When does it become a good time to replace it as preventative maintenance?

 

All you need to do is visually inspect the 2 u-joints in question, if they don't have grease fitting they should be removed ASAP. My first ones failed at 33,000 and change. This is not a wait a see thing, they will fail, they can cost you a tranny, it's your call.

 

Evertime that I have found a bad u-joint it has made noise so I knew it was going out.

Is that not the case with the Disco II's??

 

Where are the two joints in question located? Also, I have another mechanic- he is not an LR guy but seems to be able to handle gardern variety repairs- been a mechanic for 25 years, and is reasonable. Is this something a LR mechanic should handle or can a general mechanic handle this repair. I am somewhat mecahnical, but I'd rather have a professional handle it.

 

I would have a driveline shop do it. A regular mechanic can do it, but a driveline shop can balance the shaft, which I would recommend doing. YOu are adding zerks, which adds weight to a fast spinning shaft. The u-joints in question are on the rear of the front shaft in the double cardan joint. The centering ball in that joint is what makes it a little more tricky.

Call around and find one. Should be less than $200 for them to pull it, rebuild it and put it back in. It will be less if you pull it and take it in, just make sure to mark the hubs when you take it off so you can put it back on the same way.

 

Okdiscoguy-

$200 for both or for the whole deal?

 

In the other thread somebody said you can get the u-joints for $15/each. Does anybody know where you can get them that cheap? Also, where can you get the centering ball kit?

 

In replacing the 2 u-joints in the front double cardon, you must also replace the centering ball kit, made by the same manufacture that makes the u-joints or it will fail again quickly.
If you can find a good shop, that does lots of these repairs and they charge around $200, then go for it. A driveline shop or a tranny shop are a good way to go.

 

My local O'reilleys carries the u-joints but they are not sure about the centering ball kit.

 

I paid jusr a little over $120 for both of my shafts to be re-built and balanced with me pulling them. Mine are different, but you should be looking at $200 to $250 for all 3 u-joints on the front shaft with centering ball, balanced. Google some shops and call around.