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- Discovery II (https://landroverforums.com/forum/discovery-ii-18/)

- - broken ujoint nightmare (https://landroverforums.com/forum/discovery-ii-18/broken-ujoint-nightmare-14715/)

RE: broken ujoint nightmare

They are not going to recall the double cardon. If I dont replace the timing belt on my Volvo and it breaks and destroys the engine are they going to recall that? NOT!!
If you read your owners manual there may be a service interval for the double cardon. Or if the trk was always serviced by a Rover mechanic he would know what to look for and tell you when it should be replaced.
Bottom line it is a stupid and flawed design. And no, a broken driveshaft will not catapult a car end over end.

Quote:

Originally Posted by doomed (Post 69310)

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!

Im in the exact same boat! After.dumping in over 3000 in new heads, air bags, radiator, and several other parts my husband (whom isnt a land rover fan) is my mechanic. He has pretty much breezed through all the repairs thus far but now we have ordered a used but excellent condition tranny. Also new u joints. However he has finally said Im done take it to a LR shop I cant do this work. Im so sad as my lr disco has been my favorite car even tho it also is my worst.nightmare :( Wondering what ELSE I'll need to buy so fix the tranny and drive shaft besides u.joints and the tranny itself.

Have to admit the cardan is a crap design but at 100K it should have been rebuilt or replaced. Lack of zerks is a common feature of later vehicles (my '95 Pajero has all greasable joints everywhere) The problem is also lack of true fundamental maintenance by knowledgeable LR people or garages. Oil and filter changes don't replace routine maintenance on ALL systems and many opt for basic servicing to save money. There is another issue where people don't take recognition of warning signs and sounds as maybe they aren't mechanically minded and then drive on regardless and things then go bang and the bills are huge. Without maintenance every vehicle is destructible sooner or later. It's good on this occasion no-one was hurt and the end cost wasn't too bad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by doomed (Post 69632)

oops. my husband just informed me that he spent over 4500.00 on our repair. (with used tranny)
i am still in denial.

If you are really nervous fit a 'broken propshaft arrestor' they are marketed online. I am making my own version at present as we travel at far higher speeds often and 1000+ miles on a motorway trips. That'll grenade the propshaft at 80mph.:eek:

Ask SuperSport to repost his photos of a driveshaft arrestor I'm sure he'll oblige.

My non-greasable shafted lasted 130k. I had it rebuilt then it failed after it was rebuilt (because the guy who rebuilt it sucks, though). THEN I bought a BPutah hd shaft; super beefy. They used the wrong c clips in the driveshaft causing the joints to bind. I went to a driveline shop to get a new Spicer joint for my shaft and they gave me a non greasable joint, I did switch it for a greasable joint, but they swore that it was a far superior joint.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dane! (Post 460141)

You're right, mine had done 120K miles and were still good even after a hard life towing. But I would have rather have been safe than sorry as I had a vibration so rebuilt both shafts using OE GKN parts all round which are now greasable. To be on the safe side I would certainly recommend that if a truck has done 100K on the original shafts they should be rebuilt/replaced as transmissions are damned expensive if the shaft fails. I have still to do some of the other parts on the truck to eliminate the vibes completely but have another project at the moment - the Pajero diesel injection pump seals, new s.steel fuel lines and starter motor. So I'm busy for a few days with that and then back onto the D2 with about a week or two's work. Happy days :rolleyes:;) Done the new rear air springs though :D;)