Defender TD5 90 - Play in front Prop Shaft - DON'T WANT TO DRIVE!

Hi All,

I have not been having the best of luck with my 2006 TD5 90 recently, the most recent issue being that I have play in my front Prop Shaft.

This is causing issues while driving, with vibration upon depression of the clutch and at times jolty acceleration, as well as wheel wobble when breaking in gear. (From little research this would be expected due to failing UJs either side of the shaft). Simple solution to which would be to take off and replace both Prop Shafts.

However I have gone underneath and given it a wiggle by hand and found that the shaft has about quarter of a turn of play and causes an audible knocking at the transfer box side, making me believe it's an issue from there rather than a UJ issue as there's no visible play in the UJs)

Would be great to hear if anyone has any ideas of what I can check further or if my description confirms a greater issue than just replacing the shaft. (Don't want to be spending money I don't have)

Many thanks
Joe

You can usually get a good idea of anything serious being wrong by draining and examining the transfer box oil (I had square roller bearings falling out of one of mine).

A fair bit of rotational play is pretty common though, any axial or sideways play at the output flanges of the t box, and likewise the inputs of both diffs? How much twist can you get at the sliding joints?

JoeCoutz said:

as well as wheel wobble when breaking in gear.

Click to expand...

a prop uj failure would not cause this, if it only happens under breaking that suggest something is amiss with the brake system, possible a warped disc, but again not the usual symptom

As above rotational play is normal and to be expected with the slack being taken out of al the drive components. it is lateral movement in the UJ's which is the problem. You could remove one prop and go for a drive with difflock engaged, if vibration gone the issue is with the prop removed, if not then replace and repeat with the other prop removed. it is also far easier to inspect the prop thoroughly when off the vehicle.

Could be the hand brake sticking on some. Symptoms are as you drive the drum warms up causing some feel of drag. Then when the clutch goes in you get the vibration and rattle. To check take for drive, stop after some vibration and leave hand brake off. Chock wheels, get under and see if drum moves freely [ slack in drive allows some movement]
No movement or you have burnt your fingers trying then that's the issue.

Some disc and pad combinations can yield an unsettling vibration under under hard braking. For example a few years ago I put EBC discs and pads on, having been seduced by all the advertising about better braking performance. All was fine for a couple of years and then they started juddering. Oh no, I must have got a warped disc. The discs seemed to be fine at least judging by rotating the hubs by hand and using a dial gauge clamped to a concrete block. New pads and all was well again. At the moment I'm on a second set of discs (think they might have been Bearmach) and LOF pads, and there's a bit of a judder sometimes braking between 70-50 mph, such as approaching a junction on a dual carriageway, but it's never been bad enough for me to do anything about and Mr MOT man has never said anything. If there's a steering shimmy, there could be a variety of issues. Is there any movement in the panhard rod bushes, or the various ball joints? Could the wheel bearings be loose? Is there any play in the steering swivels? I've found the biggest improvements in handling can be obtained from renewing the swivel bearings in the steering swivels. Even when they're not actually loose, the rollers can indent the races in the straight ahead position which can make the handling feel funny. Oh, and don't forget the radius arm bushes, and the associated nuts for tightness.

When all that lot is nice and fresh and new, the Land Rover's steering and handling can feel surprisingly smooth and steady all the way up to the national speed limit and beyond.