I've been reading through the posts to see if anyone has had this similar problem and I haven't seen anyone with the same issue as this....while I begin accelerating from 0 to around 35mph, my entire disco II is vibrating and "shimmying" so bad it feels like the vehicle is going to fall apart. I have no idea where to begin diagnosing this issue. I've seen other posts about vibrations at higher speeds and drive shaft issues, but nothing starting out from a stop and accelerating. It's had to pinpoint where it is coming from since, seriously, it feels like it going to come undone. I don't feel safe even driving it until I can get this issue resolved. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

 

Have a look at engine/tranny mounts

 

Is your check engine light on?

Any codes?

Random misfire due to lean condition will cause the symptoms described under acceleration from a stop.

 

So....it appears my mounts are okay I guess...short of them hanging off or sheared, wouldn't know if they bad or not..lol. Anyways, while I was underneath looking at the mounts, I noticed this, I'm guessing this is not normal?! What part is this and how difficult is it to fix? It appears the bolt or whatever is holding it together sheared off....

 

Nevermind...found it! Front propeller shaft. Any ideas what would cause that to fail? Short of I believe my disco was a northern vehicle due to the rust...looking at the D2 workshop manual it appears relatively easy to change out. Yes/No?

 

Obviously, STOP DRIVING UNTIL FIXED IMMEDIATELY!!!! This is a common failure item on D2s. Consider yourself lucky to have found it before it came apart completely and knocked a hole in your transmission!!

It is an easy to change out part if you just replace the entire drive shaft: just 8 nuts. Rebuilding it is a bit more difficult, and that may not be possible if the shaft has been damaged where the u-joint cap is missing.

Call Justin or Erik at Luck8. I have heard they have the best prices on the front drive shaft recently.

 

It's absolutely shot. Good you found it now as if it had let go the cost of a new shaft might have paled into insignificance compared to the cost of the transmission damage it could have done.

The cause, lack of maintenace and greasing assuming there are grease zerks in the UJ's. Driveshafts last about 100K miles max, particularly the originals, because they never had grease zerks. Ensure the new shaft has grease zerks fitted. Also do the rear shaft and Rotoflex at the same time as it'll be close behind the front for condition. Ensure you get Hardy Spicer or GKN UJ's fitted and a genuine GKN Rotoflex coupling.

 

Thank you all for the responses and getting me pointed in the right direction. Lucky8 did have the cheapest front propeller shaft, thank you for that. Some PV Blaster, propane torch and 4 hours later, old one out and new one in. Thank you all again.

 

I don't know if I've ever seen that shot of a prop shaft still working

 

You are one lucky SOB! That thing was moments away from venting your transmission.