Front Drive Shaft U-Joints

Just came back from the dealer where I was told that my front drive shaft is falling a part and needs to be replaced with a new one for $700 plus $200 for labor. Since a drive shaft is just metal and u-joints my thought is to rebuild it myself. I have been able to find one of the U-joints and read on a earlier post to get the lubeable joints. My question is does anyone know what size U-joints I need and where to get them? I have worked on drive shafts before and it has never cost me $700 for one. For that money I should be able to put a rock crawler drive shaft in and never have to worriy about breaking it,

you can get the u joints here
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php?catalog=46&partnum=344&a=FR46-344

Thanks for the link. I just crawled under my Disco and the drive shaft seams tight to me. I tried moving while in park and had absolultly no movement. My concern is that the shop said front drive shaft but meant from axle. I am getting alot of vibration while over 50MPH. It seams to be coming form the front passenger side. I first thought bad balance on the tire and when in the shop yesterday to have the ABS ECU recall done they tole me that the drive shaft was "Falling out" of the truck and was the cause of the vibration. Any thoughts???

What year and model of Disco? Disco 1 and my Defender are almost identical under the skin, Disco 2 I know a lot less about.

Front prop shaft UJ's would cause vibration at around that speed - unlikely it would feel like it was from one side or the other.

Could be they mean stub axle?  Again, if it's a Disco 2 I'm not sure here but there's no way that's a $700 part for a Disco 1, in fact you could probably buy 10 of them including shipping from the UK for that much if it's a Disco 1.

99 Disco 2    121K

Seems tight, doesn' cut it when it comes to u-joints. If you don't have grease fittings on those two u-joints in the constant velocity houseing, them replace them or get ready to buy a new tranny which will be the next step when your shaft fails.

Mike,
I agree, there are grease fittings on the front but not on the back. I have already ordered the new u-joints all around, but I am concerned about the front drive shaft now, because the words "Falling out" from the tech at the dealer. Can you check the front axle by jacking it up and checking for play? Do you have to replace the whole axle or is it usually a bearing like most cars? If so do they have to be pressed out and back in or will a slide hammer do the job?

Call me and in the mean time, I can show you how to drop the drive shaft, engage your CDL and drive on the rear shaft only till the repairs are made.
303-862-7680

I am in the same boat with regards to my front shaft.  I was wondering,

Do you need any special tools to change out the U joints?
Should the front joint on the rear shaft be changed at the same time?

Jeff Krebs
99 D2 112K

Jeff, How often do you have you drive shafts greased, should be once a year. If they don't get greased often, you may have some warn out u-joints in which case I would replace them as opposed to waiting for them to fail.
If you have never replaced u-joints before, you would need a pair of pliers that are designed to remove the C clips which hold the u-joints in. As for the double pair in the constant velocity joint, you don't want to tackle those if you have never done then before.
U-joints are not expensive, call around to different shops, especially tranny shops and get a quote on replacing them.

The slider was just greased, but the u joints do not have fittings.  Could be the origional units at 112K

I have not rebuilt a CV joint of this type before.  What is the tough part?  No tranny shops for 100 miles, local Chevy/Dodge dealer.

I have Circlip pliers, internal and external..

I had my U-Joints fail on my Disco, I got the new ones at a advanced auto for like 4 bucks. They are not that hard to change. I had never done them before until then, took a couple of hours with help. Taking the DS out was easy. I just drove the truck up onto a curb and climbed underneath it. Now I grease them every few oil changes due to the dusty conditions.

Sorry, they were about 14 bucks a piece.

Just bought 3 performance U-joints at NAPA with grease fittings.  Won't be about to mess with it till next weekend, but I'll take Pictures.

For the DII you will also need a Precision 417, or Neapco 7-0081NG, center kit to go in the double cardan joint. Which can be a PITA to replace.
For buying u-joints, the best for the DII are Neapco as they have the zerk fitting in the end cap making it much easier to lube, which should be done every at least 3000 miles if you off-road so just do it when you change your oil. The Neapco's are also made in the US if that matters. The PN is 1-0005. The Neapco labled one's are about $25-$30 but you can get the same joint at Advance Auto for $15, boxed as PDQ (but this is just for the 1-0005 joint, other PDQ labled joints are outsourced by Neapco)
Spicer PN is 5-4x but Spicer doesn't make them so you don't know what you're getting. They outsource them.
The last time I checked NAPA DII u-joints are made by GMB in Japan.
I don't know who maked the Precision u-joints, but they have the zerk fitting in the valley of the crosses so not as easy to grease.
If you go with Neapco, which I highly recommend, replace the zerk with a button head zerk.

As for checking your propshaft, if a u-joint is seized, which will cause vibration, you can't tell just by checking it in situ. The only way to properly inspect a prop shaft is to remove at lease one end. That's the only way to tell if you have free movement of both u-joints in all direction.

When greasing them (I use Castrol Pryoplex blue) you should have grease coming out around all 4 seals. Also, when installing new ones grease them well once installed. The grease that comes in them is just manufacturing grease so they don't rust, it's not meant to be used in service.

Antichrist,

Thanks for the info.  I canceled the NAPA joints (they hit me with restocking)  and ordered the Neapco joints and centering unit.

I'm geting staged to do the front prop shaft joints on my 99 D2 with 118K.  i ube the joints religiously until we moved two years ago, and sure enough i have a killer vibration from 30-55mph now.  If  I'd continued to lube them i'd probably still be motoring. Anyway thanks for all the part info, its given me the confidence to clean off my bech and tackle the job.

I also found a good picture post here that details replacing the U-joints as well as the ball&socket bearing.

http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech/doublecardan.php
http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech/doublecardan.php

I have been reading these posts for U joint replacements and I am worried sick.  I have 165,000 miles on my 2001 disco II and have not replaced my u joints.  I have a little play when I switch from Park to Reverse, but no noise of vibrations.  Nock on wood.....
 
I found this helpful link:
 
http://static.scribd.com/docs/tkatf9q0q2q1.swf?INITIAL_VIEW=width
 
and have a few questions:
 
1.  From what I can tell it should be pretty easy to do.  I am assuming that I will need three joints to complete the job???  I plan on using the NEAPCO 1-0005 grease-able joints.  Please confirm  the qnty and that all three are the same.
 
2.  Which is better the Precision 617 Replacment Ball Kit or Neapco's center bearing kit #7-008NG?
 
3.  What about replacing the bolts?  Does anyone know the grade or tensile strength of these bolts?
 
4.  Can someone confirm if the grease fitting (plugs) on the slip yoke joint are metric or SAE threads....and what size.
 
5.  Should I replce the Roto Flex at the same time?
 
Anyone have any good sources for the parts?..... Let me know if I missing anything from my parts list....
Thanks for the help.
 
 

Have no fear marshman.  i did this job in one day on my first try... woohoo!  Having a 6" vice on a bench and few socket wrenches larger than the diameter of the U joint bearing races really made it easy to squeeze the joints off the shaft.   My reward is smooth acceleration, no more undercar vibration whatsoever, all the way up to about 75mph when somehting else starts vibrating (tires probably).
 
- Don't forget fresh grease (the good stuff), and grease gun, paper towels for the mess, a stack of old newspaper (to keep the huge greasy mess you are about to create off your bench), and a box of vinyl gloves to keep the greasy mess that would otherwise accumulate under your finger nails off of your wife's new table cloth. 
 
- You will also need a stout needle nose pliers to get the c-clips out.  I purchased a handy set of c-clip pliers that were too small and didn't work nearly as well as the hefty needle nose pliers i already had.
 
- A dremel with a cut-off wheel and HUGE flathead screwdriver and hammer were also very helpful to get the old center bearing race out.  Other than just cutting that bugger out, I really didn't see an easy way of extracting it.  Took about 10 mins with the dremel method.  Be very careful not to cut into the shaft.
 
- also pick up a jug of simple green and 4-5 brass bristle toothbrushes.  Those joints are filthy and will take a lot of scrubbing to get 165K miles of crud off them.  Clean the nuts BEFORE attempting to break them free, since it's easy to strip them when dirty  (dooh).
 
- when you pick up the u-joints just pick up the grease nipples for them too.  I bought the nipples with 1/2" extensions built-in to make lubing the joints easier once fully re-assembled, which it has.  They're SAE, like everything else on the Landys. 
 
- My shaft spline had a tiny plug instead of a grease fitting, so I picked up a few extra small length nipples for that purpose.   Don't forget to thororughly lube the spline shafts, front and rear, while you've got the shafts OUT and can lube their full range of motion.  I was amazed at how much more of the spline i could grease this way.
 
-  the bolts/nuts on my joints where in excellent shape after 120K miles, i re-used them no probs.  I wouldn't expect yours to be much worse unless you have been wading in salt water.
 
-  by rotoflex, if you mean the rubber flex joint on the back shaft... go ahead and replace it.  My old one was very soft after 120K miles, easily flex'ed with hand pressure.  The new one was impossible to flex with bare hands. 
 
- I have no preference on parts worth more than my time sunk to research the subject,  and prefer to spend my money locally.  One u joint supplier is japanese, one is USA, both are 1000% better than your old ones with 165K miles on them, and will last for years as long as you keep them bathed in fresh grease.  I like easy.. I just went to my local Napa and asked the guy behind the counter to look it up, and they actually had everything I needed in stock except the rubber flex joint on the back, which I googled and found easily as well.
 
- Another thing to consider is that you can purchase a fully assembled replacement cardon shaft, reman, for a few hundred bucks with a trade in.  That's darn near the cost of all the parts, supplies, and tools, with a lot less brain damage and filthy mess.  I wanted to tackle the job on the first go around, but would likely just trade in for the reman and spare the weekend away from family on the next u-joint job.
 
- one last consideration... there's a seal on the input shaft to the front differential.  I discovered mine was leaking a bit when putting the shaft back in.  I didn't have the parts on hand to replace that seal while I had the front shaft off, so didn't replace it and it's going to bug me until the next u-joint job.  You'd be wiser than I to check it now and get yourself a new froont diff shaft seal before starting the job. 
 
Have fun with it!!

You can get a new one from Atlantic British for 399.99

I noticed that most places (Atlantic British $399 plus core and Rover Connection $395 plus core) only sell the front drive shaft.  It looks like Rover connection already takes care of the grease fittings that Mike reccommends doing, so that is the one I would get.  Does anyone know if the rear shaft is available or does it not have the same issues at the front shaft?

So  it looks like the costs would be compared as follows:
(3) u joints at $39.00 ea. = $117.00
(1) Precision 617 Ball Kit = $25.00
plus labor...my guess is $200.00
for a total of approx $345.00

So I say the drive shaft from Rover Connection is not all that bad of a deal. ...or try it yourself and burn up a Saturday and grease all over the work bench.  I prefer the swappin out of the parts. 

I'll plan on picking up the flex coupler kit with the bolts from rover connection for $95.00l.  I just need some help with what to do with the rear shaft.  I can pick up one U joint from Rover connection, but wasn't sure if they are all the same size? 

Am I missing anything here?...... Or Should I be good to go with buying: 1 front shaft assembly, 1 flex coupler kit, and 1 greasable U joint...?

no you're not missing anything, u pretty much summed it up.  You are not very likely to need new bolts unless you've been drving in extremely corrosive environments, inwhich case the ujoint bolts would be the least of your problems.  I read on the forums that the rear UJ lasts ALOT longer than the front cardon shaft joints.  Sure enough I found that my rear UJ was indeed in terrific shape thanks to regular greasing.  I replaced it anyway since I was there, & it took all of 20 minutes after the on the job training i got changing out the 3 UJs on the front shaft.  You could swap out the front shaft assembly easily in 2 hrs start-2-finish, see if that fixes your problem, and then do the rear shaft joints later as needed.  Enjoy!

yes, the rear UJ is the identical part as the front 3 UJs.

quote:

I noticed that most places (Atlantic British $399 plus core and Rover Connection $395 plus core) only sell the front drive shaft.  It looks like Rover connection already takes care of the grease fittings that Mike reccommends doing, so that is the one I would get.  Does anyone know if the rear shaft is available or does it not have the same issues at the front shaft?

Shall I assume that TVB000110A same item # for the 03??  On Rover Connection the item states that it is for 99~02.  But you know what happens when you assume!!!!!!!!  Please advise!

Well.....I took the advice of the forum and avoided a disaster.   I replaced all of my U joints and Flex rotor this weekend.  (BTW - I had 168,000 miles on the original joints).....Not hard to do at all if your are a gear head and know your way around the car.  My question is this....
 
Prior to pulling the drive shaft(s) I marked everything to ensure things went back the way they came out.  But,  during the process of the rebuild I lost a couple of the marks on the the matting surfaces between the drive shaft and the weight on the T-case.  I am 50% sure I put it back the way it came out since the bolt pattern(s) only allow it to be off by 180 degrees......
Now I have some slight harmonic vibration at about 55 - 65 MPH only....nothing at lower or higher speeds. This vibration is ever so slight, but yet I don't want it to cause other damage or trouble down the line. 
 
Is there an easy way to fix this w/o having a multiple of trial and error sessions of pulling the DS and putting it back until it goes away?