'03 Disco II, 63K miles.

Yesterday I started to get a slight vibration around 30mph but it would go away after I accelerate beyond that. Today, it was slight, but it is still there. I'm assuming from previous posts I should check the drive shaft. Am I correct that the '03 has has the flex joint?

I won't have a chance to climb under it until Thursday. Any other culprits I should check?

Thank guys.

 

i would stop driving it until you replace or rebuild the drive shaft.

 

rebuild the entire shaft or just the connections?

 

Replace the u-joints in the front drive shaft if you have not done it yet. The factory drive shaft had 1 serviceable u-joint at the diff end and 2 unserviceable u-joints at the transfer case end, plus a centering ball joint. You need to replace all with greasable u-joints and grease them every time you change oil.

 

If I crawl under should I be able to see any wear? replacing the u-joints was on my To Do list but it looks like I'll be replacing them on my Rover's schedule rather than mine! Any recommendations on U-joints or are they all basically all the same as long as they're greasable?

Thanks.

 

do a search on this forum. there are about 1 million posts about this

 

You got that right hilltoppersx. This topic is probably one of the most (if not the most) discussed topics on here. A good search will tell you what to look for, how to rebuild, part number, etc. Good luck. Sounds like you need to get it done asap before driving again.

 

Could also just be a wheel out of balance... Coming back from a 350 mile trip to get a brush guard I found on Craigslist, I noticed a severe vibration at 70MPH. I slowed to 60, and it was much less. I was freaking out, waiting for my front shaft to explode and ruin my transmission. Luckily I was only 10 miles from home. Upon reaching home, I noticed that my right rear wheel had thrown a weight. Slowly drove to work, rebalanced that wheel, and test drove: vibration gone. The wheel was only out of balance .50 oz. Something that slight caused a serious vibration.

After that scare on the highway, I rebuilt my front shaft the following weekend, just to play it safe.

So, check the balance on all wheels, and get the shaft rebuilt just as preventative maintenance.

 

Look under "Write ups" and "How To"

 

I also thought about getting my tires checked/balanced. But like my earlier post stated, I've been meaning to replace the u-joints anyway, looks like I WILL be doing it now.

Thanks everyone.

-Ug