Freelander 1 Replacement drive shaft

Hi, I have a 2003 land rover 1 facelift model and have just replaced the drive shaft on the front drivers side however the new one has a ring with square grooves in unlike my old one and now the abs sensor isnt working does anyone know if this is the wrong drive shaft for my car or not? and would this be the reason for the abs not working?

Yes it is the wrong shaft. You need the later shaft without the reluctor ring. The ABS gets it's signal from the wheel bearing on the later car, so shouldn't be affected by the ring on the replacement shaft. However I don't believe there's enough room on later hub to fit the shaft with a ring, which can prevent it from turning. It still shouldn't affect the ABS though, unless you damaged the sensor while taking it apart.

A word of warning on cheap shafts too. Basically they are garbage and often cause more vibrations than the old shaft they replaced. This vibration soon causes gearbox or IRD output bearing failure, so only buy OE or genuine shafts.