front drive shafts??

are the front drive shafts on a 1.8 freelander the same length??? seem to remmember someone saying they were,but cant be sure,my inner o/s/f is worn and making a noise on roundabouts,and scrappy says he only has n/s/f but he thought they were different lengths?????

Its not good practice to swap sides with drive shafts. As the majority of loading comes in foorward motion, especially during acceleration the shafts become "wound up". Moving them to the other side effectively changes the direction of the maximum stress, causing a large increase in the range of the applied stress. This lowers theeir resistance to fatigue which will cause failure. Its more likely to happen if the car has covered a large mileage.

You can buy new drive shafts for under £60 from a guy on ebay.I wont spam his site any more.
The 2 front drive shafts on my '98 2ldi are the same length.

I went through the same problem when I needed a new (second hand) n/s shaft last year. Held side by side, left and right, they look the same even though the Haynes manual says they are unequal length. Good advice re the wind up stress, I would always stick to keeping them to the same side however if all you can get is what is available then you go with that. After all, a pair of reconditioned shafts, unless they are marked left and right will most likely be wrapped together and you just put whichever on whatever side. I suppose getting them 'mixed up' would only show up under the most arduous of conditions as regards the winding/ unwinding. Think of them like a piece of thick rope - grab each end and twist then turn it backwards.

ok guys,thanks,where can you get the drive shafts new for £60 ive been on ebay and can only find them for £99? can you not get inner cv on its own like the outer? i would rather get a new shaft as i might end up with same problem again with second hand part alough no round abouts on arran so it aint bothering me to much at the moment lol

I didn't post the link because I've been accused of spamming but here goes LAND ROVER FREELANDER 4WD DRIVESHAFT (BRAND NEW) on eBay (end time 25-Feb-10 09:46:50 GMT) I spoke to Lee there ,rang lunchtime Sunday,shafts arrived Wednesday morning in the south of Ireland. Because I ordered over the phone he did the shipping for £12.
Total cost for 2 drive shafts was £121 inc. vat and shipping.All with a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty.
Yep just checked the site £54.95,each.

thanks,thats great will go for them as theres a two year warranty aswell,and some scrappys wanting about £40/£50 for second hand shaft