i was driving my 1999 disco 2 (101,000 miles) approx 30 miles per hour on a city street with my two small children when i heard what i can only describe as an exploding noise under the hood. i pulled the car over to a parking lot and realized that even if i wanted to drive on i could not. when i pushed on the gas, the engine revved but i did not go anywhere. i was shaking all over, it obviously scared me and my kids. after i got a ride home, we had the truck towed to our local land rover mechanic and he said the u joint broke which in turn broke the drive shaft which in turn put a hole in the transmission. cost 4500. ouch. he said he has seen this many many times. my husband found a used transmission and a cheaper drive shaft which helped with the cost, but the repair still cost half what the truck is worth!
after reading on line, i see i am not alone in this issue. i am wondering how common this problem is and why has land rover not recalled this part? it is such a simple fix. it is infuriating to know that our repair could have been avoided with an inexpensive part. if you know what to look for in these forums, you can see that the ujoint should be replaced to avoid this very dangerous problem. i am so thankful i was at a place where i could pull over quickly and was not in heavy traffic. i have told all my friends who drive discos to get the ujoint replaced now, before it breaks causing major problems. i wish someone would have told me. i am a mom, and i bought the car because it seemed to me to be indestructable and the safest car for my family. after all the problems we've had, i am nervous to drive across town!

 

Yes that is a cheap "pre-emptive strike" fix IF you know about it, many do not. Why is it that way? Only BMW can tell you because that is when this method started being used, after BMW bought Land Rover, Ford didnt change the design when they bought the brand because they didnt care. Ford wanted to make a quick buck and they didnt, instead they ran the brand into the ground.
$4500 was a pretty cheap price, normally it is $7000.
These trks are VERY reliable IF you take care of it, use the proper grade of gas, do the proper maintence as scheduled and never neglected your trk.
You are your kids are safe and thats all that really matters, isint it?

If you want to save yourself some more money and headache then make sure that you get the cooling system and brake fluid flushed every two years.
Read your owners manual, take it to work with you and during break or down time read it, cover to cover.
You will never need to buy another SUV if proper care is taken with your Disco.

 

Nomatter what brand of car or truckthey willhave there weak points.


Ford did fix the problem,, they made the LR3 and the New Range Rovers and updated the Defenders.

 

First, thanks to the OP for bringing up the subject, as I was really not aware of this being a typical weakness for Disco II's. I am guessing here that it was the front u joint based on the decription of the damage. Can someone here knowledgeable of this situation go into greater detail as to why this is a weakness i.e. flawed material of construction, design, lack of lube access etc??

 

Car companies save millions of dollars a year not putting grease zerks in moving fittings. I have an 05 1 ton dually (chevy), and they replaced the rear driveshaft 3 times under warranty due to failing u-joints that I couldn't service. I finally re-built the shaft for 1/3 of the price the dealer was going to charge.

It isn't just L/R, everyone does it. When BMW bought Rover, they did away with the rotoflex coupling on the rear shaft. There was a greasable u-joint in it's place, but they shifted to non greaseable along with almost everyone else when the market changed...

Check the drive shaft on anything that you buy.

 

The reason is because of the catalytic converter running a few inches away from the driveshaft. It bakes the grease inside the u-joints and without a zerk you can't get new lube in there. Eventually the u-joint will seize and break apart (usually at highway speeds). Typically it's the double cardon joint at the transfer case that fails. The tranny is right next to it so a nice hole is made in the case.

 

It is a flawed design componded by the lack of a lube point. It could go at anytime too, no warning, just BAM and you are done.
If you take your trk to a shop and have the double cardon joint rebuilt with a greasable one it will cost you around $300, then you just grease it every oil change and you are good to go.

 

doomed, sorry to hear about your U-joint problems. I've been planning to change mine and you just reminded me I need to do it ASAP. I stopped by the local parts store today and they have one of the U-joints for the front drive shaft (I forget which one front or rear u-joint) Does anybody know if they are the same? price is $23 each and they are geaseable.

 

All 5 u-joints are the same, you will also need the centering ball kit.

 

still just 4 They went back to the rotoflex on the D2.3 in front and 1 in back.Pretty sure to knock out driveline noise.