General question just trying to learn. When I pull mine, I am going to mark all components but I am curious as to why it needs to be done. Will it bind if you do not? If you are replacing, do you need to make sure it goes on with the joints are aligned in the same way?

 

In theory, in a new truck it makes no difference on the assembly line, otherwise it would be keyed so it could only go one way. But as with a lot of things, a long marriage makes you used to certain wear and tear. Put things back in and you may discover that vibrations come up that were not there before.

 

I think we should let TriarII answer this one..

 

When you install a new one the u-joints can only align one of two ways and it doesn't matter. If removing and reinstalling it conceivably could make a difference, but I don't worry about it on my own vehicles.
When rebuilding you want all the yokes oriented the same way to lessen chance of vibration if you can't get it balanced right away.

 

It takes less than 2 minutes to take afew pics and mark the shafts original position on the truck before dis-assembly. Remove the shaft, and re-install the way you found it. Will save you many pain staking hours and lots of frustration. I did not take the extra time to mark the position and I did not take any pics, consequently Ive been working on the rear propshaft for about a week now. Stripped 2 bolts/nuts, shaft came off the spline, nipple on the u-joint broke off and the truck fell off the jackstands and almost crushed me in the process.....

Anticipate the worst case scenario and consider ordering new nuts and bolts as well as a new rotoflex coupling kit(if working on the rear shaft) and u-joints. Make sure you install the rotoflex the correct way if working on the rear shaft. Front shaft is pretty self explanatory.

 

a good resource if you are preparing to work on your D2 rear propshaft.
Northwest Overlanding | Land Rover Discovery 1: Flex Coupling Replacement

 

There is no reason to make the orientation of the shaft to the truck. The only thing you should be concerned about is the orientation of individual parts of the shaft, so that you have a better chance of it staying balanced when you put it back together.

 

WHAT???!!! The rear shaft is about the easiest thing to deal with on the whole truck! Getting the center bushing out is a bit annoying but even that should only take 20 minutes or less. Plus the rotoflex even has arrows on it showing you how to put it in so you can't screw up. Dude, you are killing me. Of course, once get this worked out you should be ready to install your ACE system.

 

The problem Triar2 had was when removing his driveshaft was that the front
yoke slid out of the shaft. It only goes back together ONE way. He did not know this
and proceeded to force it together. Then had to get it back apart and find the correct location etc..
Had he taken a photo or marked the driveshaft he would not have been in the
situation he's in.
One of the first lessons I learned as an apprentice was.

If you don't remember how it came apart, how do you know you put it back together right??

 

That certainly makes sure the job takes longer. I actually just pulled my propshaft off of the splines when I did the rotoflex so I didn't have to mess with anything at the transfer case end. You can see that there is an index spline if you take a quick look. That is typical for most driveline parts for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation. Also, keep track of how things feel when they come apart. If they slide off with little to no effort, chances are they will go back together the same way. If things feel different on reassembly, stop and look over the pieces very carefully to make sure you aren't missing anything. Dinging up things that are intended to slide smoothly will usually end up making Land Rover ownership even more costly.