With the Rover approching the 100K mark the next project on my mind is the ever important replacing the front drive shaft u-joints. Something I've been pondering is since this double cardon is giving us all so much trouble what's the logic behind Land Rover using it in the first place? I've read on here that the older ones don't have it and dont have these problems eithers. So why fix something that isn't broken Land Rover? Anyone know the pros and cons of this troublesome part?

 

You're much more likely to have vibrations without it especially if you lift the truck. That's why most 4x4's have oneon the front driveshaft sinceitis usually much shorter than the rear shaft and the u-joint angles are pretty steep.It lets you get away with not having to keep the angles at the tc and axle joints parallelas well if you lift it, (may not apply on a Disco). I'm not sure how a D1 gets away with not havingone.Just replace the joints and center ball and there will be no cons.

 

Well, I was curious so I did some research:

http://www.fourwheeler.com/techartic...des/index.html


"Weak Link: Front Driveshaft
Models Affected: All
What Happens: First-gen Discoverys have some odd front driveshaft geometry that can create problems with even minor suspension lifts. The U-joint angles are unequal, the differential and transfer box are offset, and the U-joints are clocked 40 degrees out of phase. Land Rover solved the front driveshaft geometry problems on the D II by adding a double-cardan (CV) front driveshaft. Unfortunately, they created an even worse problem. The new driveshaft is not serviceable, is in close proximity to the catalytic converter, and the air-conditioning compressor drains onto the shaft. In other words, the catalytic converter bakes all of the lubrication out of the shaft and you can't add any more. Unfortunately, the shaft will frequently break completely in half with very little warning and will usually knock a hole in the side of your transmission.
Sturdy Fix: Custom-built double-cardan driveshafts are available from Great Basin Rovers. These solve the vibration problems in the Discovery and are completely serviceable for the D II. Great Basin Rovers also sells a driveshaft service kit to upgrade the D II front driveshaft to fully serviceable if you want to save money and install the parts yourself.
Contact: Great Basin Rovers"

 

It's not the double cardon itself, it's the sealed-for-life u-joints that are the issue.