Safe to run without fromt prop?

The UJ on my front prop is knackered. I cant replace it till next weekend. If I run around for the week on the road with the whole front prop removed will it cause any damage - like uneven load on the box etc ? Any advice on good quality parts apreciated too , thanks

It'll be fine , you need to put it in diff lock, also take it easy at first as they handle different, but you soon get used to it .

Thanks for the advice. Excuse my ignorance but what's the reason I should put the diff lock on ?

well try moveing the landy when its not engaged then your find out

Maybe I'm a bit too cautious, but when mine snapped I only drove it a very short distance to a mates workshop, then parked it up.

Also I would reccomend replacing both the front and rear prop as well, along with all the nuts / bolts. Last thing you want is a prop snapping at motorway speeds.

Yeah thanks, I took it out for a spin without. It was one of my shorter trips!

Not a pleasant drive then I assume:

my uj is fooked on the ft prop, but if u put lots of grease in it! with a brush and a gun and do it regular it will be fine for a few weeks, (months) lol, am on my 3rd uj in as meany months, so onse i can be botherd to get on my back ill replace em both, just dont do aything to starn it, or u will enjoy the ride lol

Disco Moneypit said:

Maybe I'm a bit too cautious, but when mine snapped I only drove it a very short distance to a mates workshop, then parked it up.

Also I would reccomend replacing both the front and rear prop as well, along with all the nuts / bolts. Last thing you want is a prop snapping at motorway speeds.

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Why spend hard earned money replacing something if there's nothing wrong with it?

I drove my 90 all the way from newcastle to birmingham at motorway speeds without even knowing the front prop was in the boot....good old ebay.

i didn't know, as it turned out the gearbox was knacked, still managed motor speeds tho with the diff lock on

I'm with Hugsey,

IF the rear prop is ok needs checking then grease it and leave alone. Also check the output flanges on the transfer box for any damage i.e collapsed bearings caused by the failing front prop. It obviously hasn't been greased and its likley that the sliding joint also had not been greased putting strain on the input flange on the diff and output flange on the transfer box. Running in difflock locks the center diff so you can drive with one propshaft. it is fine and you can drive like this for aslong as you need. It will be fine unless other components are already faulty or on their way out.

Do not try and drive with difflock out you will go nowhere and risk damaging your center diff as the power will go to the output flange with least resistance i.e the one with no load thats not attached sending the center diff billio. hope this helps Jai

hughesy said:

Why spend hard earned money replacing something if there's nothing wrong with it?

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You've got a heavy and sharp metal object spinning around at 3000-3500rpm. Your floorpan, (assuming it isn't typically rotton, like most are), is only what, 2mm thick?

Over the weekend I gave mine a proper valet for the first time since mine failed a few weeks ago, and when I removed the drivers rubber mat, (no carpets), the damage done to the floorpan when the prop snapped at just 20mph was quite alarming.

The torque is split 50/50. If the front has snapped / failed, then the rear aint going to be far behind it. A thought that was confirmed when I removed my old rear prop, re-filled it with grease, and the UJ's were still stiff.

The total price inc VAT for new front & rear props from my local LR main dealer was £460, so for the sake of argument lets say that a rear prop is £230. If anyone on here thinks that their life is worth less than a couple of days wages, then by all means leave your proberly already knackered old prop on untill that fails as well.

Just don't forget the consiquences of it failing at 70-80mph and ripping through the floorpan and the vehicles occupants like a hot knife through butter.

Personally I consider my life, or at the very least the cost of replacing the floorpan, (again), to be worth more than the price of a couple of brand new props and assiciated nuts & bolts.

I did say IF it is in good condition an easy check by a land rover mechanic will confirm this. I would say that if the front has got that bad then the back is likley to be bad if it has had the same lack of maintainance but on the other hand it could be perfectly fine.

Plus I understand you Like genuine parts etc but Personally I would never pay anything like that for a genuine or non genuine Propshaft. You can get much stronger HD propshafts from around £60 each from my local Specialist that are supposed to be good for 400+BHP, stupid torque figures and silly RPM. Used by many Comp safari guys one with a big block chevy so they can take the power. I cannot really justify spending £400 on Propshafts when a £60 item is as good if not better. I doubt you could find much differenct between a good quality pattern part and genuine if you looked. I don't mean the usual crap you get from Britpart either. Plus propshafts don't just go, they make silly noises for some time and usually feel some drag or tell tail signs before they fail especially on the road at high speed. If Propshafts are regularly greased, maintained and checked there is no need to replace them until they are worn or and or damaged. everytime you go offroading you should regrease them. everytime you cross that deep ford you should grease them. Its only when things get neglected they fail so spectacularly. I see that like buying a new car when the tyres are wear out. I take your point on saftey and we all have to be saftey consious as our landys get older but buying a pair of Props even if the rear one is prooven to be good does seem a bit mad to me anyway. on the other hand I do suspect that the rear one is likley to be faulty when checked if it has not been looked after tho. Jai

Disco Moneypit said:

You've got a heavy and sharp metal object spinning around at 3000-3500rpm. Your floorpan, (assuming it isn't typically rotton, like most are), is only what, 2mm thick?

Over the weekend I gave mine a proper valet for the first time since mine failed a few weeks ago, and when I removed the drivers rubber mat, (no carpets), the damage done to the floorpan when the prop snapped at just 20mph was quite alarming.

The torque is split 50/50. If the front has snapped / failed, then the rear aint going to be far behind it. A thought that was confirmed when I removed my old rear prop, re-filled it with grease, and the UJ's were still stiff.

The total price inc VAT for new front & rear props from my local LR main dealer was £460, so for the sake of argument lets say that a rear prop is £230. If anyone on here thinks that their life is worth less than a couple of days wages, then by all means leave your proberly already knackered old prop on untill that fails as well.

Just don't forget the consiquences of it failing at 70-80mph and ripping through the floorpan and the vehicles occupants like a hot knife through butter.

Personally I consider my life, or at the very least the cost of replacing the floorpan, (again), to be worth more than the price of a couple of brand new props and assiciated nuts & bolts.

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TBH mate I think you're over dramatising the whole idea somewhat. And where the fook did you get those prices from? But then in your other thread you were going to take your motor to a garage to have your bonnet release cable fixed so I spose I can see where you're coming from. If your propshafts are looked after there is absolutely no reason for either of them to fail in such a way.

hughesy said:

TBH mate I think you're over dramatising the whole idea somewhat. And where the fook did you get those prices from? But then in your other thread you were going to take your motor to a garage to have your bonnet release cable fixed so I spose I can see where you're coming from. If your propshafts are looked after there is absolutely no reason for either of them to fail in such a way.

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If you think that I am over dramatising things, take a look at the state of a floorpan on a Landy that has suffered even a low speed, (sub 30mph) prop failure. Then try and imagine how bad that damage would be at 60-80mph.

As Jai has already stated, when one of the two props gets so bad that the UJ's snap, the other one, (if it is the same age / mileage), aint going to be far behind. I didn't know the tell tale signs, (faint grumbling), were prop related. I thought that it was gearbox. In fact I had even bought fresh box fluid to put in just before my went. Now I know different.

As for the bonnet cable, if you or anyone else can tell me how to get the bonnet open when the cable has snapped then there is no need for me to pay someone else to do it. But even though over 50 people had viewed my topic asking for assistance, none of them had come up with an idea that has worked. If you know different then I'm all ears?

My front prop has been off for weeks, so far I went from surrey to gillingham towed a horse back and then went to norfolk and then to Watford, it just behaves a little light in front, its great but your landy doesnt know