My 98 disco has developed a slight jiggle... the sort of thing only the owner would notice but it seems to be getting a little worse. Seems to be a slight wobble or jiggle rather than a vibration. It slows and speeds up in relation to highway speed. I though it might be a balance weight on a rear tire but no sign of a missing weight. I checked the front wheel bearings and did discover some play in the passenger side which I tightened up and got rid of but the jiggle continues. I jacked up the rear end and ran in gear but see no wobble in either rear wheel so my hunch is, it's the u-joint at the rear end of the drive shaft. I have tried to wiggle the u-joint by hand and find it tight except for a very , very slight end play in one direction. the other joint has absolutely no play so my best guess is to replace the joint. Surely someone here is expert enough on the subject to steer me in the right direction? Is it imperative that there be zero play in the u-joint?

Thanks for your help
b c

 

Also consider the rubber pad that isolates the rear drive, called a flex coupling. May develop cracks and splits. COUPLING REAR PROP SHAFT DISCO I+II, RANGE ROVER CLASSIC, RND196, TVF100010 - Land Rover Parts | Rovers North

 

after installing the new u joint, the jiggle /wobble/vibration is still there. Not sure what rubber pad you are referring to other than maybe the sleeve at the tranny end of the shaft. I'll take a look at that but I doubt it is the culprit.

Any other ideas? by the way ...this is deffinitely NOT the fabled 'death wobble'

thanks
b c

 

Savannah -I clicked the link you provided and saw the part but have to admit while changing the ujoint i didn't notice a rubber coupling like that.
Where does the thing go? front end of shaft?

 

There's a diagram of the rear propshaft in the Propshaft rebuild thread in the sticky section.
There should be no play whatsoever in a u-joint, but you can't do a proper inspection with the shaft in situ.

As for the "jiggle" there are a number of things it could be and it's difficult to say without a better description.

 

antichrist- thanks
what the heck is the sticky section? also, I now see I didn't post this in the disco 1 section as I had thought. Oops

 

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