Propshaft proper shafted

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
F

Fentoozler

Guest
Driving along happily yesterday afternoon in my 1989 90, god awful noise
from underneath, pulled over to the side of the road, looked in wing mirror
and saw a dark object in the road around 30 yards behind me - yep, it was my
front propshaft.

The propshaft itself seems fairly unscathed bar a few scratches. The UJs
have been obliterated though.

Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop off?!
Q2: Is it unreasonable to simply reattach with new UJs, or is there some
underlying fault which caused this to happen?
Q3: Should I have been able to select 'Low Range' on the 4x4 gear stick and
drive home - because I couldn't and thought I should have been able to (or
does the vehicle have to move forward to engage this gear)?

TIA, Angus


 
Fentoozler wrote:
> Driving along happily yesterday afternoon in my 1989 90, god awful
> noise from underneath, pulled over to the side of the road, looked in
> wing mirror and saw a dark object in the road around 30 yards behind
> me - yep, it was my front propshaft.
>
> The propshaft itself seems fairly unscathed bar a few scratches. The
> UJs have been obliterated though.
>
> Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop
> off?! Q2: Is it unreasonable to simply reattach with new UJs, or is
> there some underlying fault which caused this to happen?
> Q3: Should I have been able to select 'Low Range' on the 4x4 gear
> stick and drive home - because I couldn't and thought I should have
> been able to (or does the vehicle have to move forward to engage this
> gear)?
> TIA, Angus

In answer as them falling off. I once hit a truck propshaft at 70mph on the M1 near JC31. It utterly
destroyed my car on the nearside as i did try to get over as much as i could as it end on ended down the
very busy road! The coppers dragged my car off lane 1 & shoved it onto the hard shoulder. The lorry it
dropped off was 3 weeks old!!! It was a fecking huge long lorry, not a tractor unit, it ripped the centre
crarrier right off!! Was a mess i can tell you & that was just my pants!

Nige


--

Subaru WRX
Range Rover 4.6 HSE (The Tank!)

WANTED: Series, 90 or 110 Project but must be runner with MOT

'"I don't remember asking you a goddam thing"


 
Fentoozler <nospam@mapson> uttered summat worrerz funny about:
> Driving along happily yesterday afternoon in my 1989 90, god awful
> noise from underneath, pulled over to the side of the road, looked in
> wing mirror and saw a dark object in the road around 30 yards behind
> me - yep, it was my front propshaft.
>
> The propshaft itself seems fairly unscathed bar a few scratches. The
> UJs have been obliterated though.
>
> Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop
> off?! Q2: Is it unreasonable to simply reattach with new UJs, or is
> there some underlying fault which caused this to happen?
> Q3: Should I have been able to select 'Low Range' on the 4x4 gear
> stick and drive home - because I couldn't and thought I should have
> been able to (or does the vehicle have to move forward to engage this
> gear)?
> TIA, Angus

UJ do fail... when was the last time they were greased?

To gain traction you would need to switch on your diff lock, not just put it
in to low box.
I've not driven a 90 but guess it involves moving the Hi lo selector sideway
rather than to the Lo position.


Lee D


 
Fentoozler wrote:

> Driving along happily yesterday afternoon in my 1989 90, god awful noise
> from underneath, pulled over to the side of the road, looked in wing
> mirror and saw a dark object in the road around 30 yards behind me - yep,
> it was my front propshaft.
>
> The propshaft itself seems fairly unscathed bar a few scratches. The UJs
> have been obliterated though.
>
> Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop off?!

Not unheard of, but invariably due to poor maintenance, either loose bolts
on the flanges or badly worn u-joints.

> Q2: Is it unreasonable to simply reattach with new UJs, or is there some
> underlying fault which caused this to happen?

If the ears on the shaft are in good condition simply replacing it with new
U-joints is acceptable - but it is unlikely this is the case.

> Q3: Should I have been able to select 'Low Range' on the 4x4 gear stick
> and drive home - because I couldn't and thought I should have been able to
> (or does the vehicle have to move forward to engage this gear)?

You should have been able to engage the centre diff lock and continue
driving. Low range is not necessary.

Note that before parting company the shaft is likely to have done
considerable damage underneath, which could range from a few panel dents to
substantial damage to body, chassis, engine, front axle and transfer case
and gearbox. In particular, even if no damage is obvious, there is likely
to be damage to the transfer case output bearings and seal and to the front
axle pinion bearings and seal.
JD
 
"JD" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Fentoozler wrote:
>
>> Driving along happily yesterday afternoon in my 1989 90, god awful noise
>> from underneath, pulled over to the side of the road, looked in wing
>> mirror and saw a dark object in the road around 30 yards behind me - yep,
>> it was my front propshaft.
>>
>> The propshaft itself seems fairly unscathed bar a few scratches. The UJs
>> have been obliterated though.
>>
>> Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop off?!
>
> Not unheard of, but invariably due to poor maintenance, either loose bolts
> on the flanges or badly worn u-joints.
>
>> Q2: Is it unreasonable to simply reattach with new UJs, or is there some
>> underlying fault which caused this to happen?
>
> If the ears on the shaft are in good condition simply replacing it with
> new
> U-joints is acceptable - but it is unlikely this is the case.
>
>> Q3: Should I have been able to select 'Low Range' on the 4x4 gear stick
>> and drive home - because I couldn't and thought I should have been able
>> to
>> (or does the vehicle have to move forward to engage this gear)?
>
> You should have been able to engage the centre diff lock and continue
> driving. Low range is not necessary.
>
> Note that before parting company the shaft is likely to have done
> considerable damage underneath, which could range from a few panel dents
> to
> substantial damage to body, chassis, engine, front axle and transfer case
> and gearbox. In particular, even if no damage is obvious, there is likely
> to be damage to the transfer case output bearings and seal and to the
> front
> axle pinion bearings and seal.
> JD

Bugger. The engine stills runs sweet as a nut, and I can't see any obvious
damage - I guess it would make a large difference which end broke off first,
so the propshaft would have either dragged along, or, worse, been pushed
along.

BTW, the UJs were examined around 6 months ago and regreased with a
compressor-grease-gun, everything seemed tickety-boo then.

They appear to be the longer-cup UJs - are these a standard UJ? My mate has
some spare short ones, but these obviously won't fit.

Angus


 

"Fentoozler" <nospam@mapson> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "JD" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Fentoozler wrote:
> >
> >> Driving along happily yesterday afternoon in my 1989 90, god awful
noise
> >> from underneath, pulled over to the side of the road, looked in wing
> >> mirror and saw a dark object in the road around 30 yards behind me -
yep,
> >> it was my front propshaft.
> >>
> >> The propshaft itself seems fairly unscathed bar a few scratches. The
UJs
> >> have been obliterated though.
> >>
> >> Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop
off?!


It's my guess that the front must have let go first. If the back UJ had let
go first then it would just have dragged along the road surely? That means
that the shaft must have dug into the road and been torn off the rear end
which must have done some damage to something. Or am I talking out of my
tailpipe?
TonyB


 
TonyB wrote:

>
> "Fentoozler" <nospam@mapson> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> "JD" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> > Fentoozler wrote:
>> >
>> >> Driving along happily yesterday afternoon in my 1989 90, god awful
> noise
>> >> from underneath, pulled over to the side of the road, looked in wing
>> >> mirror and saw a dark object in the road around 30 yards behind me -
> yep,
>> >> it was my front propshaft.
>> >>
>> >> The propshaft itself seems fairly unscathed bar a few scratches. The
> UJs
>> >> have been obliterated though.
>> >>
>> >> Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop
> off?!
>
>
> It's my guess that the front must have let go first. If the back UJ had
> let
> go first then it would just have dragged along the road surely? That
> means that the shaft must have dug into the road and been torn off the
> rear end which must have done some damage to something. Or am I talking
> out of my tailpipe?
> TonyB

If the rear end let go first, the shaft would have been confined by the
crossmember, chassis, engine and floor (to the detriment of all these!) -
and the front probably would not have let go. So I think you are probably
right.
JD
 

"Fentoozler" <nospam@mapson> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Driving along happily yesterday afternoon in my 1989 90, god awful noise
> from underneath, pulled over to the side of the road, looked in wing
> mirror and saw a dark object in the road around 30 yards behind me - yep,
> it was my front propshaft.
>
> The propshaft itself seems fairly unscathed bar a few scratches. The UJs
> have been obliterated though.
>
> Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop off?!
> Q2: Is it unreasonable to simply reattach with new UJs, or is there some
> underlying fault which caused this to happen?
> Q3: Should I have been able to select 'Low Range' on the 4x4 gear stick
> and drive home - because I couldn't and thought I should have been able to
> (or does the vehicle have to move forward to engage this gear)?
>
> TIA, Angus
Count yourself as lucky mate had the front end dug in parts of your diff
and maybe back propshaft could have been lying in the road with it. I saw a
big yank tank do similar and dislocate the back axle
Derek


 

>
> It's my guess that the front must have let go first. If the back UJ had
> let
> go first then it would just have dragged along the road surely?

Given that it would have been doing something round 2-3000 rpm at the time,
and continued to be spun round until it broke off, the last thing it would
be doing would be being dragged along, regardless of which end came off
first. More like it would have been flailing about wildly, knocking 10 bells
of slit out of anything in the vicinity.


 
In message <[email protected]>
"Fentoozler" <nospam@mapson> wrote:

> Driving along happily yesterday afternoon in my 1989 90, god awful noise
> from underneath, pulled over to the side of the road, looked in wing mirror
> and saw a dark object in the road around 30 yards behind me - yep, it was my
> front propshaft.
>
> The propshaft itself seems fairly unscathed bar a few scratches. The UJs
> have been obliterated though.
>
> Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop off?!

It's reasonably common amonst owners who ignore the symptoms! Not having
a pop at you, but UJ's give plenty of warning when they are unhappy.

> Q2: Is it unreasonable to simply reattach with new UJs, or is there some
> underlying fault which caused this to happen?

If the yokes are undamaged - you'd be lucky if that is the case.

> Q3: Should I have been able to select 'Low Range' on the 4x4 gear stick and
> drive home - because I couldn't and thought I should have been able to (or
> does the vehicle have to move forward to engage this gear)?

It's not low range you need (that's Series vehicles)- it's diff-lock -
push the high-low gearstick away (towards the left) from you.

>
> TIA, Angus
>

Richard

>

--
www.beamends-lrspares.co.uk [email protected]
Running a business in a Microsoft free environment - it can be done
Powered by Risc-OS - you won't get a virus from us!!
Boycott the Yorkshire Dales - No Play, No Pay
 
Angus wrote:

> Q3: Should I have been able to select 'Low Range' on the 4x4 gear stick and
> drive home - because I couldn't and thought I should have been able to (or
> does the vehicle have to move forward to engage this gear)?

And when you get your propshaft fixed, unseize your range transfer
lever as well, you should be able to access the seized bit through the
middle seat access plate.... as others say, you should have pushed to
the left, not forward to get diff lock. You aren't driving a series
;-)

Regards

William MacLeod

 
On or around Mon, 6 Mar 2006 08:40:37 +0000 (UTC), beamendsltd
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>It's not low range you need (that's Series vehicles)- it's diff-lock -
>push the high-low gearstick away (towards the left) from you.

I've a theory (not about to go out and try to prove it) that using low-1 to
descend the slippery hill that I went off the edge of the other day was a
mistake, would have done better with low-2 or low-3 even - low-1 makes a lot
of engine braking which may have caused the front end to lose grip and
caused no steering. 's possible that appliction of power would have got it
back on line, but there's a limit to how much wheelspeed you can get in
low-1 to catch up with the ground, so to speak.

Mind, the old rangemaster radials don't seem much good in snow - not enough
sideways grooves, I reckon.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
Appearances: You don't really need make-up. Celebrate your authentic
face by frightening people in the street.
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.
 
In message <[email protected]>
Austin Shackles <[email protected]> wrote:

> On or around Mon, 6 Mar 2006 08:40:37 +0000 (UTC), beamendsltd
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
> >It's not low range you need (that's Series vehicles)- it's diff-lock -
> >push the high-low gearstick away (towards the left) from you.
>
> I've a theory (not about to go out and try to prove it) that using low-1 to
> descend the slippery hill that I went off the edge of the other day was a
> mistake, would have done better with low-2 or low-3 even - low-1 makes a lot
> of engine braking which may have caused the front end to lose grip and
> caused no steering. 's possible that appliction of power would have got it
> back on line, but there's a limit to how much wheelspeed you can get in
> low-1 to catch up with the ground, so to speak.
>

You did have the diff-lock in (and working)? I ask as not disimilar
things happened to me last winter when I'd forgotten to engage it -
the front and rear wheels were trying to go in opposite directions!

I went back up the hill and did it again with the diff-lock in and
walked it.

Driving in slippery conditions without the diff-lock off I find very
alarming.

> Mind, the old rangemaster radials don't seem much good in snow - not enough
> sideways grooves, I reckon.

I've found them very good in snow an ice.

Richard

--
www.beamends-lrspares.co.uk [email protected]
Running a business in a Microsoft free environment - it can be done
Powered by Risc-OS - you won't get a virus from us!!
Boycott the Yorkshire Dales - No Play, No Pay
 
On 2006-03-06, beamendsltd <[email protected]> wrote:

> You did have the diff-lock in (and working)? I ask as not disimilar
> things happened to me last winter when I'd forgotten to engage it -
> the front and rear wheels were trying to go in opposite directions!

ISTR a thread in here within the last 12 months saying that engine
braking with the diff-lock on can cause the wheels on one side of the
vehicle to rotate in one direction while the wheels on the other side
go in the other; I suppose you have to pick your poison ;-)

> Driving in slippery conditions without the diff-lock off I find very
> alarming.

Try preventing yourself from refusing to avoid using the double
negative..

--
Blast off and strike the evil Bydo empire!
 
I
>Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop off?!
>Q2: Is it unreasonable to simply reattach with new UJs, or is there some
>underlying fault which caused this to happen?
>Q3: Should I have been able to select 'Low Range' on the 4x4 gear stick and
>drive home - because I couldn't and thought I should have been able to (or
>does the vehicle have to move forward to engage this gear)?



I would recommend a trip to the Doctor and get your hearing checked.

You should hear a problem on a propshaft long before it drops off !!!

--
Marc
 
"Marc Draper" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I
>>Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop off?!
>>Q2: Is it unreasonable to simply reattach with new UJs, or is there some
>>underlying fault which caused this to happen?
>>Q3: Should I have been able to select 'Low Range' on the 4x4 gear stick
>>and
>>drive home - because I couldn't and thought I should have been able to (or
>>does the vehicle have to move forward to engage this gear)?
>
>
>
> I would recommend a trip to the Doctor and get your hearing checked.
>
> You should hear a problem on a propshaft long before it drops off !!!
>
> --
> Marc

Around 6 months ago I was getting an intermittant rattle from near the front
of the vehicle which was suggested to me as a possible UJ problem. We had
the propshaft off, the UJs were inspected by a 'landy expert' who said they
were sound and simply needed a re-grease - which was duly done. The rattle
disappeared and I had no probs until Saturday.

Angus


 
On or around Mon, 6 Mar 2006 14:46:12 +0000 (UTC), beamendsltd
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>You did have the diff-lock in (and working)? I ask as not disimilar
>things happened to me last winter when I'd forgotten to engage it -
>the front and rear wheels were trying to go in opposite directions!

series III...

and yes, the front drive was working.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
"Would to God that we might spend a single day really well!"
Thomas À Kempis (1380 - 1471) Imitation of Christ, I.xxiii.
 
On or around Mon, 6 Mar 2006 19:30:09 +0000, Marc Draper
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>I
>>Q1: Is this fairly unheard of, or do propshafts 'occasionally drop off?!
>>Q2: Is it unreasonable to simply reattach with new UJs, or is there some
>>underlying fault which caused this to happen?
>>Q3: Should I have been able to select 'Low Range' on the 4x4 gear stick and
>>drive home - because I couldn't and thought I should have been able to (or
>>does the vehicle have to move forward to engage this gear)?
>
>
>
>I would recommend a trip to the Doctor and get your hearing checked.
>
>You should hear a problem on a propshaft long before it drops off !!!

I dunno - I've had one get quite far advanced in the wear department on a
300 TDi disco and not be noisy. Vibration, yes; noise, not especially.
eventually it got noisy. Mind, it didn't get any where near falling off,
but it had got to the "destroyed the needle rollers" stage.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
"Would to God that we might spend a single day really well!"
Thomas À Kempis (1380 - 1471) Imitation of Christ, I.xxiii.
 
Austin Shackles wrote:
> On or around Mon, 6 Mar 2006 08:40:37 +0000 (UTC), beamendsltd
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
>
>>It's not low range you need (that's Series vehicles)- it's diff-lock -
>>push the high-low gearstick away (towards the left) from you.
>
>
> I've a theory (not about to go out and try to prove it) that using low-1 to
> descend the slippery hill that I went off the edge of the other day was a
> mistake, would have done better with low-2 or low-3 even - low-1 makes a lot
> of engine braking which may have caused the front end to lose grip and
> caused no steering. 's possible that appliction of power would have got it
> back on line, but there's a limit to how much wheelspeed you can get in
> low-1 to catch up with the ground, so to speak.


I'll agree there Austin - I'd never tackle a slippery downhill in low-1
as the result is normally exactly what you experienced. Low-3 is what i
use in my series with high ratio diffs and a Holden 6 cylinder that
gives silly amounts of engine braking - I'd reckon that was about right
for a standard 2.25 and 4.7 diffs too.



--
EMB
 
In message <[email protected]>, Fentoozler
<nospam@mapson.?.invalid> writes
>Around 6 months ago I was getting an intermittant rattle from near the front
>of the vehicle which was suggested to me as a possible UJ problem. We had
>the propshaft off, the UJs were inspected by a 'landy expert' who said they
>were sound and simply needed a re-grease - which was duly done. The rattle
>disappeared and I had no probs until Saturday.
>
Too much torque wrench on the bolts when it went back on?
--
Mark Roberts
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Hexonxonx
1970 SIIa Ex mod Marshall Ambulance
2
Replies
30
Views
7K
DanClarke
DanClarke
xDParis64
Freelander 1 Skid Plate Bolt Sizes + Engine Compression
Replies
19
Views
3K
J_D
J_D
stumpyj
TD5 Defender 90 front and rear propshaft recommendations
Replies
3
Views
2K
stumpyj
stumpyj
M
2014 Freelander 2 - 3 parking sensor questions
Replies
15
Views
5K
Nodge68
Nodge68
xDParis64
Right...
Replies
9
Views
2K
pwood999
pwood999
Back
Top