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Leaf-sprung models

maintenan Propshaft
ropshaft wear shows itself through vibration and, a occasionally, clunking sound while starting off from a stop. Neither vibration nor clunking was part of the design brief in a SeriesLand Rover,so it is important to diagnoseany potential will problem. Land Rovers often continue to move along with tremendous wear in drivetrain components.Their verY strength hides the problem from you. with On LandRovers four-wheel-drive selectable (so the Stage1 V8 is not includedhere)the rear most of propshaftreceives it the wear because does most of the work - unless operatein you regularly However, four-wheel-drive. are both propshafts quite similarin termsof maintenance. jointssit insidecircular yokes; one on eachend permitsthe shaftto be bolted to the transfercase and to the differential. the outout from the caseto reachthe transfer lt reardifferential. must be strongenoughto take powerfrom the engineand yet transmission, flexible e n o u g ht o p e r m i ta x l ea n d So wheelarticulation. Land which Roverpropshafts, look likeone long pieceof in are steel, actually two sections. ends One shortsection i n a s p l i n ew h i c h i n t u r n , on fits into a splinedsleeve The the secondsection. can be greased splines t h r o u g ha n i p p l eo n t h e outer casingof the shaft.At eachend of the propshaft, jointspermitthe universal shaftto move freelyin all The universal directions.

jointsor the lf the universal splinedshaftrun dry of grease, they will wear far a m o r er a p i d l y n d w i l l f a i . . Youwill feel the resultin the form of a harsh propshafts will Series under generally havethree grease vibration,particularly or deceleration, will heara nipples one that puts s c l u n k i n g o u n dw h e n t h e shafts grease into splined shaftmovesup and down at eachof the and one over a roaoway. front and rearuniversal For safety,chock the joints.They shouldbe vehicle's wheelssecurely, greased everytime you changethe oil, every3000- engagethe parkingbrake Then 4000 milesor at leasteverY and selectneutral. the crawl underneath Land three months.Figure1 Rover and feelfor showstheir locations. movemenr. It is bestto usea hand Thereshouldnot be any gun as the Pressures grease c u n d e rw h i c h h y d r a u l i g u n s movementin either propshaft. operatecan be too high for lf there is movement, i . o l d e rs e a l sP u m pg r e a s en checkthe boltsthat out until it seeps from joint connectthe propshaft aroundthe universal yokesat the front and rear; out end caps,or it seePs of they may just be loose. nippleitself. the grease

2OO2 enthusiastDecember LAI|0R0VER

Whileyou are checking, be certainthat any movement at the front of the shaft (transmission brakeend) stopsat the shaft itself.lf the yoke alsoseemsto wigglewithin the transmission brake assembly, then you may alsohavea looseoutput shaftnut which can be easilytightened by removingthe propshaft from the transmission brake. The yoke at the front usesboltsthat run throuqh the transmission brake assembly while the rear yoke bolts to the differential flange.These were Whitworth-sized bolts originally,but by now may have been replacedwith SAE 9/16-inchbolts. Theywill be tight and challenging remove. to First,they are torqued hard and the clearances either at end permit the use of open-endspanners only. Secondly, nutsshould the be Nyloc nuts at the rear. Thesenuts havea nylon lining in the threads that preventthem from loosening undervibration. Youshouldplan on replacing them any time you removethe propshaft. ##@sffi# Hlnt 1: When removingthe propshaft, removethe differential end first.Then you can manoeuvre the propshaft out of the way and usea socketand extension loosenthe to

bolts on the transfer case yoke. Hint 2: When separating a propshaft,you should first scribea line across both (seeFigure2). Upon halves reassembly you can match the two halves,thereby avoidingpotentialbalance problems. Hint 3: Onceyou remove the propshaft, you will see the output shaftcastlenut and a cotter pin insidethe transmission brake assembly. there was lf movementat this end of the yoke, check to see if the output shaftnut is tight (the entire arrangement looksvery similarto that of the axle half-shafts). output The shaftnut shouldbe torquedto 95 lb ff you w i l l n e e da 1 - i n c hd e e o socketto completethe job. Hlnt 4: When you remove the propshaft,twist it at the splines checkfor any to movement.Again,there shouldbe next to none. lf the splines too worn, are you will haveto replace the slidingjoint of the propshaft.Most owners find it better to replacethe propshaftbecause replacing slidingjoint the requiresthe services a of drive-line specialist. The resulting labourcharges for w e l d i n ga n d b a l a n c i n g often exceedthe price of a new shaft! The real advantage fitting the to

latestCenuineParts propshaft the redesigned is slidingjoint which gives longerservice.

es#@*#
lf the flange nuts were tight and there was still movement,you will probablyhaveto replace joint.While that universal joints can be the universal replacedin the field with only a few tools, it is much easier do if you have to access a bench vice, a to pair of circlippliers and a narrow drift. Land Roverusedtwcr different-sized universal joints in the Series models. Cenerally, differences the emergedbetweenthe Series and Series llA lll models.Howevel sincethe propshaftyokeswere identicalat the point where you bolt them to the front or rearflanges,there has been plenty of interchanging parts. of Measuring from the bearingcap,or trunnion ends,of the yoke, the dimensions be either2 will 1 5116in or 3 7132 in (see Figure3). You need to removethe two circlipson the oppositesideswhich hold the end capsin place; the circlippliers makethis much easier. Sincethey sit in a groovewithin the yoke, you shouldcleanany dirt out first. Then, unscrewthe greasenipple (Land Rover supplies new grease a nipplewith each universal

joint). Place yoke in a the vice and tap out the bearingcapsusing a soft drift or an old socket;it shouldn't takemuch strikingto move them out. A secondtap with a drift will removethe universal from the yoke itself.Repeat the sequence the final for two bearingend caps,and you can now installthe new joint. universal Installation requires you to removethe bearingcaps (do so gently to avoid losingthe needlebearings inside)on oppositeends. The Land Rover Workshop Manualsuggests you removethe bearingcap downwardsto avoid dropping the roller,or needle,bearings(seeFigure 4). Install universal the loint in the yokeand reinstall the bearing caps. With the bearingcapsin place(you may haveto use some force),installthe circlips.Be certainthat the circlipshavesnappedinto their grooves;you may haveto tap them in with a thin drift. When the joint is assembled universal within the yoke,you should havesmooth movementin any direction,with no binding. Depending when the on propshaftnuts were last removed,the whole job will take 1-2 hours.lf you keep jointsand the new universal slidingjoints greased, you shouldenjoyyearsof driving beforerequiring replacements. I

December 2002 LIIIDR0VER enthusiast