Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

 

If you had addressed your faulty front prop shaft BEFORE it exploded, because there's literally sticky posts about this on EVERY LR FORUM EVER, you wouldn't be replacing a transmission... Just so ya know.

 

You know, the thing about the prop shaft is that is isn't faulty. It just has a limited lifespan and needs to be address at a particular point in time during the life of a DII. You can't really fault Rover. They design these trucks to work but also provide detailed information to both the owner and the tech regarding important parts that need service at specific points. Whether the owner or the tech (especially if he isn't a Land Rover trained tech) follow that detailed information is entirely a different matter.

If someone bought a DII and had it serviced per the manual, he would have, no doubt, changed out the prop shaft at the stated intervals, thus making the exploding u-joints a non issue. Instead, most people buy these trucks (CHEAPLY I might add) and never bother to go back over those areas stipulated by Land Rover and then are surprised when something goes wrong.

One pet peeve of mine is that Rover calls for flushing both the coolant and the brake system at regular intervals. Buy a truck with no service history and what are two things you should immediately do???? But, how many people actually do this?

Instead, they happily motor along until something catastrophic occurs. Then it's all Rovers fault for making an inferior product. A series of owners who neglected various parts of the truck over ten or fifteen years has nothing to do with??? The truck should go on forever, never needed anything according to some people who post on this board. Not likely with as complex a truck as the DII.

Hopefully, this guy will get his truck sorted and sell it off to someone who can really appreciate it. Clearly, he bought a truck that was a mistake, a truck that needed more than he was willing to put into it and he's over it. I see it all the time and, in fact, buy trucks like that all the time for $500 or so.

 

with all that money saved on your 50/50 tranny, you should splurge on a helmet that really advertises your persona.
suggestion

 

You should have posted a 'spoiler alert' on this thread Dusty as I was eating my lunch while perusing the forum.. good thing this isn't a scratch n sniff site (where's the regurgitation/gag emoticon?)

 

You make a good point, although Rover could've splurged on a propshaft with grease zerks and required regular greasing as part of standard maintenance instead of replacing/rebuilding the damn thing... I can't imagine the factory propshaft was reasonably priced, especially not at the dealer.

 

The last thing LR should have done was added zerks. No consumer has ever thought to grease a driveshaft that buys a Rover. The sealed ones last longer

Only to enthusiasts like us is that a good idea!

 

All vehicles are built to a price point be it a Chevy Swift or a new Range Rover LWB.

Apply your statement to General Motors where a $1 fix per car would have rectified the problems associated with the ignition switch recall. People were killed thanks to a problem that was deemed by the corporation to be too expensive to justify a preemptive repair. It makes you think about a couple of zerk fittings a little differently.

There isn't a car manufacturer who, with minimal cost, couldn't make their vehicle last longer or require less maintenance. Instead, budgets are pushed, decisions are made and cars wind up with identifiable weaknesses (some less deadly than others).

It's my opinion that there was a time in the not so distant past when manufacturers would have been far more careful about the crap they sell to consumers. These days, there is little protection for the consumer and very little is done to keep the manufacturers feet to the fire to insure a quality product.

Look, GM sales are up amidst continuing revelations that decisions were made by the corporation that put people's lives at risk. Why should they be careful and make certain to manufacture the best product they can when the customer doesn't seem to care either.

It's like when people vote against their own self interest. Instead of making your dollars count and spending them with businesses that are consciously doing (or at least trying to do) the right thing, we reward corporations that couldn't give a damn about us.

Zerk fittings are, to me, an example of the need to judiciously pick your battles. There are far greater wrongs being perpetrated against the consumer than zerk fittings or their absence.