Hello ladies and gentlemen,
I recently discovered that my Disco has developed the front propeller shaft issue, and have been looking about for a replacement for it. I have come across three different shafts that look like they would work as a replacement, and am wondering if anyone has experience/recommendations regarding these parts.

Genuine-most expensive of the bunch, and from what I've read will still have the u-joint issue in another 60-70,000 miles or so if replaced with this part.

Proline-I can't tell if this part has greaseable U-joints-anyone out there have one that they can comment on?

ToddCo Suspension-has a rebuilt shaft, again, can't tell if this has greaseable U-joints or not.

I understand that the high rate of failure is commonly caused by the inability to lubricate the U-joints in this drive shaft. Anyone out there have some feedback on these parts? Thanks!

 

I went with Drive Shafts, Universal Joints items in Dynamic Driveline store on eBay! I think it was 299.99 New with greasable ujoints.

 

Tom Woods or Great Basin Rovers drive shafts. The original Land Rover drive shafts are garbage, they don't have grease nipples and are the cause of so many failures.

 

Unless yours is damaged, just rebuild it with greaseable u-joints and lube it on schedule and correctly.
If you are a hard core rock crawler, or yours is damaged beyond repair, then yeah, a TW or GBR would be the way to go.

In the 11 years I've had my Discovery I've never broken one. I don't do rock crawling, but I'm also not particularly gentle off-road either.

 

I recently purchased and installed a new Tom Woods front shaft this past month as my original LR shaft was to damaged to be rebuilt. For the price I felt that the Tom Woods was the best deal. I am very happy with my purchase. The whole expereience with talking and ordering from Tom Woods was very good. Part got here when they said and looked great. Dropped right in and has been working great since. I have no wobble or vibration at speed either. When I get another Disco, I will be putting a Tom Woods in it.

 

In just a few posts, the opinions have ranged from "stock = garbage" to "rebuild the stock unit." You'll find this elsewhere on the forum as well. As an engineer (though admittedly not an automotive specialist), I've never understood the concept of a drive shaft without grease fittings. It had to have been an economic decision made by a bean counter, not an engineer or designer.

I bought a Tom Woods, and the experience was painless. I did have a mechanic install, as I didn't have a jack with enough travel to get the truck on the jack stands. This too was painless, just $50. I figure that if I'm going to go through the trouble to replace (and I agree it is necessary), I'm going to go with something completely new and engineered for longevity and serviceability.

Just my humble opinion...

 

It's pretty simple really. The vast majority of people don't like vehicle maintenance.
A u-joint with grease fittings obviously needs to be greased. If it's not, which many people either just skip, or are clueless on how to do correctly, then it won't last as long as a sealed u-joint.

Here's typical internet misinformation about greasing a propshaft (post #2):
https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...391/#post56348

 

I'm down with sealed fittings for many modern components, but question the application in this instance.

 

If it weren't for the chunk of the drive shaft collar that got busted out between the two rear u-joints, I'd likely be thinking more about a rebuild. Not too many Discos in my part of the country (nearest dealership is about 300 miles away) on the roads or in the junkyards. Thought about welding it, but seems that this part can cause some pretty serious damage if it has a catastrophic failure (mine didn't, it held together, barely), so I'd rather upgrade it to one that's heavier duty if possible.
Just bought the Disco a little over a month ago, love it, so does my wife! I foresee more financial expenditures coming up (hopefully more on additions instead of repairs).
Looks like the general consensus so far is the Tom Woods or GBR, thanks for all of your input on this so far gentlemen! I guess I should have added "other" to my survey.

 

That's a nice propshaft. How is it working for you so far? How many miles have you put on it? I'm seriously considering buying it so your experience would be appreciated.