Hello everyone,

I have a discovery series 2, and I replaced the front drive shaft about 6000 miles ago. I replaced it in June of this year, but just but just recently I have done a cross-country trip. everything ran fine until the second half of the cross-country trip when I was coming home, and I started to feel Driveline vibrations. These vibrations would only occur under acceleration up to 60 miles per hour, most noticeably at 30 miles an hour. After inspecting the drive shaft everything looks fine except for the rubber boot on the CV joint which looked as though it had been partially torn.

So today I greased the driveshaft on the front and rear yokes to no avail, the vibrations are still happening. Am I going to need another freaking driveshaft?!

 

Where'd you get it? There's probably a warranty.

 

Advise you remove it completely for a thorough inspection if it is what you suspect. Only with the DS removed can you run the joints through any range of motion and see any movement between the yoke and bearing caps.

 

Did you grease the driveshaft before you first installed it? 6000 miles doesn't exactly make it ancient, but it's not "brand new" either. If you didn't grease it when you first put it in, then greasing joints that are already worn will have little effect. As has already been mentioned, if you think the front driveshaft is the problem, remove it and check for play at the joints.

Most often, a speed-dependent vibration that goes away at a certain point has more to do with wheel balance than drivetrain, though it is possible that a weight balancing one of your driveshafts has been thrown off as well. In my experience, drivetrain vibe issues only get worse and worse with speed.

 

Agreed. Sorry it took some time to get back. I talked with Erik from Lucky8 and he said it was the lift. 2 in lift with stock driveline parts is the issue here apparently. I didn't think 2 in would make all that difference. But since that was the 2nd lucky8 driveshaft I've burned through, he recommended the heavy duty shaft.

I'll have to grease the driveshaft before install? It probably sounds like a dumb question now but still good to have a definitive answer

 

If the "lift" is causing the problem you can also use a 15mm drive shaft spacer > PROPSHAFT SPACER KIT RNA512 - Rovers North - Classic Land Rover Parts

" I'll have to grease the driveshaft before install? It probably sounds like a dumb question now but still good to have a definitive answer "

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1st put whatever driveshaft you get on the bench and be sure the U joints are moving freely in the yokes. If not tap the yoke with a hammer (you DON'T have to go crazy) and the U joint will get full range of motion. 2nd, back to the grease..... Check the zerk fittings are tight and then pump in some grease until you see it coming out of the 4 caps.

 

Thanks I will now do that with each and every driveshaft! That was most definitely a definitive answer

 

Just to reiterate, yes, most definitely grease the joints on a new driveshaft before install.


For what it's worth, I've been running one of the Lucky8 shafts on a 4" suspension lift for the last ~10k miles, with no ill effect. Prior to that, it was an OE shaft with 100k+ miles on it. I only replaced it because I wanted to be proactive and keep it for a backup. Maintenance is key.

 

front vibration then stopped and road good