Well, last night, my mechanic and I were able to check a few things off of the 'to-do' list. First, the oil separator. What a pain in the butt. It was completely clogged. Took about 25 minutes to get the nipple off , pry out the old one, clean it all out and reinsert the new one. Then new oil and filter. Second, was the steering damper. Pretty straightforward. Took about 10 minutes. Unfortunately , noticed the drivers front wheel bearing is shot. That would explain my mild steering issues. What do I need to replace? The whole 'hub assembly' complete with ABS sensor and all , or can I just replace a bearing? Then the fun began. Driveshaft rebuild. I used the Neapco parts that were listed on several posts here. A rather difficult procedure to say the least. 3 new U-joints and centering ball took approx. 3 hrs. I do have some observations though.

The old 'factory sealed' joints that I replaced looked brand new and had as much grease in them as the new greaseable ones that replaced them. Wierd. After reinstall, I dove 50 miles back home and everything is super-smooth until I get near 80 mph. Then she starts to shake. The old shaft parts had zero vibration or shaking up to 100+ mph. Very annoying. I know I did the right thing rebuilding the shaft, but I really don't like the vibration. Gonna call the 1 driveline shop within a million miles of here today and see if they'll balance it.

Thanks for any replies,


Aaron
2003 Discovery II SE7
104,000 miles

 

yes... it needs to be balanced. now dont forget to grease those u joints at every oil change

 

You need to replace the entire hub. New ones are spendy and come with an ABS sensor that requires you to solder it directly to the SLABS unit (or is it the BCU, I forget). You can splice it to your old connector though. If you are cheap (like me) you should be able to find a low mileage used one for $125 shipped with the old style ABS connector.

 

Thanks, I was afraid of having to do the entire hub assembly. It goes in tomorrow @ 7:30 a.m. for new a$$embly. Shaft balancing to be done Saturday or next week. Hopefully, this will be it for a while :-)

-Aaron
2003 Discovery II SE7
104,000 miles

 

Replacing a hub is about as easy as doing the brakes, just 5 more bolts to undo then use a $10 3 legged puller to pop it off.

 

Do not drive the vehicle without lubing the u-joints. The grease that comes in them is not for use in service, it's just to retain the needle bearings and has some extra additives to prevent rust while they are sitting on the shelf.
U-joints should be greased with new grease before installing (you have tape or something so the caps don't shoot off).
If that wasn't done, don't worry about it now, just grease it well now.

 

Thanks Anti. We greased those suckers until they about popped! :-) and we took out the hex screw on the shaft, inserted the zerk, and greased the heck out of it too!!

Aaron
2003 Discovery II SE7
104,000 miles

 

ok, as long as you see new grease coming out from around all 4 seals on each u-joint, you're good to go.