Needed - Front Driveshaft for a Disco 2 *sigh*

[SupraLux]

Has anyone got a spare D2 front shaft lying about??? Mine was caught trying to escape...

[Marco Polo]

Crikey!! How did that happen?

[SupraLux]

It's a typical Disco 2 failure. I got lucky, most people who see this also see bits of their transmission lying on the ground beside it.

[Marco Polo]

Sorry to push this thread in the wrong direction, but since I have been considering a Disco TD5 as a family bus, how typical is "typical"? do you get any warning? Is it a design weakness and is there a cure? Sorry for all the questions, I hope you do find a replacement.

[Chopper01]

I got a couple floating about some where

[Hawkertempest]

Sorry to push this thread in the wrong direction, but since I have been considering a Disco TD5 as a family bus, how typical is "typical"? do you get any warning? Is it a design weakness and is there a cure? Sorry for all the questions, I hope you do find a replacement.

The front drive shaft on a disco 2 should be serviced every 150,000 kms. Sooner if you subject the vehicle to heavy off road use.
It is imperative that if you drive your vehicle through water crossings or play in mud pools that you clean and grease your drive shafts afterwards.
Normally you will hear a chirping sound if the shaft is about to let go, similar to a fan belt slipping. Mine went about a month ago at 266,000 kms.
I purchased a brand new shaft from Tom Wood in the USA http://www.4xshaft.com. These are competition grade double cardon drive shafts that are about 4x stronger than the original Land Rover shaft and mine cost me NZ$950.00 including customs and GST delivered to my door by UPS Express in 3 days. The service from Tom was fantastic, beware aftermarket shafts are Chinese or Taiwanese poor quality knockoffs which are being sold for around NZ$900.00 and the genuine shaft is being sold for NZ$1,900.00 + GST.
You can get the "ball kit" for the double cardon from the UK on eBay to service your genuine drive shaft. This "ball kit" is not available from Land Rover http://www.island-4x4.co.uk/propshaft-f ... 27255.html.
If you grease your UJ's regularly and replace the "ball kit" at 150,000 kms you should have no problems with the front prop shaft of a Discovery 2.
Treat the drive shaft as a normal service item at 150,000 kms.
I also have a Nanocom Evo Diagnostic Computer for resetting any fault codes for the TD5 Discovery 2 if any members need to clear their fault codes or "3 amigos" without having to visit a dealer.

[SupraLux]

Sorry to push this thread in the wrong direction, but since I have been considering a Disco TD5 as a family bus, how typical is "typical"? do you get any warning? Is it a design weakness and is there a cure? Sorry for all the questions, I hope you do find a replacement.

It happens on them quite a bit from my research. They didn't (at least not the early ones) have grease nipples so can't be greased, and some people also blame the air con water vent which drips onto the shaft - although on mine it doesn't really hit the UJ's... so I'm not convinced thats a problem.

You can buy replacement greasable UJs and rebuild them.

The warning sound for me was a clunk between drive and reverse. I checked it, thought it was coming from the TC and ignored it for a couple of weeks... thats all it took. Don't ignore clunks in the drivetrain of a Disco... lesson learned.

I looked at the Tom Woods shaft, but it was simply too expensive. There are other US-made shafts for half that... so thats what I'm going to buy. I don't run 36's any more, and I don't do that much offroading.

Simply put, if you keep the shaft serviced then it won't (shouldn't) happen.

[SupraLux]

...snip... I also have a Nanocom Evo Diagnostic Computer for resetting any fault codes for the TD5 Discovery 2 if any members need to clear their fault codes or "3 amigos" without having to visit a dealer.

Handy to know... does that allow you to do all the hydraulic bleeding (brakes, ACE, etc) as well?

[Hawkertempest]

...snip... I also have a Nanocom Evo Diagnostic Computer for resetting any fault codes for the TD5 Discovery 2 if any members need to clear their fault codes or "3 amigos" without having to visit a dealer.

Handy to know... does that allow you to do all the hydraulic bleeding (brakes, ACE, etc) as well?

YES INCLUDING SLS.