Prop Problem S3

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Hopper78

Member
Posts
19
Location
UK
Hi, just after a bit of advice - will post in the introduce yourself section once I've got this problem sorted!

I'm new to Land Rovers and recently bought an S3 after looking at various ones and finding one with the least amount of rust for my budget, neither me or the previous owner realised it had been left in 4WD Low (a stupid mistake to make) after driving for 20 mins or so at 25/30 I heard a bang and pulled to the side of the road... pic below! I took it off and limped home with just the front axle working. Is it just a case of replacing the whole prop or just the UJ - and should I be checking anywhere else for damage? Thanks for any advice.

VmM6Tc8.jpg
 
Id say it depends on what value you put on your time and desire to fix stuff. A new prop with new uj's is about £90. I've never found replacing uj's easy so I'd rather buy a complete prop than muck about for a couple of hours. Also it saves you worrying about the state of the prop. The uj's are the weakest link so probably no other damage.

Col
 
When the UJ let go, did the end of the prop drop onto the road, if so, which end? If the front of the prop drops it can damage the rear axle if it digs into the road.

Col
 
Thanks Col - think will go down the new prop route, much simpler.

It was the rear end of the prop that dropped on the road
 
I suffered vibration for a few months which I narrowed down to the front prop. I simply replaced both props.
Saves a lot of faff.
 
As it was the rear prop I would suggest 4wd was not the cause. It would have gone in 2wd as well as that would still be driving through the rear. I have become quite adept at changing uj's due to the mileage I do in the 110, but they only tend to last me 1-2 years so are not rusted into place like these will be. I would go for a new prop, but depending on what you get would consider swapping the UJ's on said new prop. Last time I replaced a prop I got a cheap britpart one which had good write ups for the prop but bad reviews on the sealed for life uj's. I fitted it with no problems but the uj's last me about 3 months. I then changed them for greasable GKN ones and had no problems since. On a new prop changing UJ's is very easy as it does not take much force to press them out in large vice (or even knock them in/out with a hammer if you are careful).
 
Looking at the rust on the UJ journal, that had been gone for a while. Notice how that cup was completely dry of grease.
 
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