Have you ever tried to remove a propshaft from under a LR of any type while it’s still on the ground on its wheels? Especially one that hasn’t been taken off since it was fitted 21 years ago & the nuts aren’t overly keen on coming undone because there simply isn’t room for you to get any leverage on the spanners.
Yes, the rear joint on the front shaft sheared, I took it off in the work car park and drove home on the diff lock.
You’re absolutely right about access, but if its tight for a couple of spanner’s, I doubt that theres room to get an impact driver in there.
Unfortunately my D2 doesn’t have a diff lock - they were only fitted as standard to the pre-facelift ‘Series 2’ badged ones although at run out some of the last ones got them, alas mine didn’t! I’m well aware of the ability of running in 2wd with a locked diff & prop removed.
As far as I’m aware, the lock is there on the gear box, only the linkage is missing? Or so I was told. Mine was an automatic with the lock. A friend has a similar model ( late facelift) without the lever, but the link is there on the box.
I’ve done ‘a few’ UJ replacements over the years & yet to find any need to get them rebalanced - maybe I’ve just been lucky?
If you’ve done it before, you know what you’re about, replace the bearings and UJ’S and put it all back together exactly the same way as you found it and there should be no problem, but it rotates at a fair old rate, any imbalance is not good. From memory I had one fully rebuilt one for less than 100 quid while I wandered around the tractor grave yard.
The Parkside impact wrench (without battery or charger) I saw in Lidl yesterday has a 5 year warranty not 12 months - it was £24.99 & if they’d had batteries (£24.99 for a 4ah one) & charger (£7.99) I’d have taken the risk for <£58! In fact, after Xmas I think I’m going to go & get one even if I end up having to wait to be able to get a battery & charger!
If I still had a disco I’d buy it, worth it just for the comfort of not throwing your back out changing a wheel with that useless short lug wrench.
As an owner who has been turned into a mechanic, I’ve been spannering on LRs of one sort or another for nearly 35 years, I’ve rebuilt two from chassis up (one twice after it got rear ended by a 7.5T truck), rebuilt engines, replaced transfer boxes, all the usual stuff. Alas I no longer have access to a twin post lift & a warm dry workshop so anything that makes life easier while I’m lying on my back underneath the thing gets my vote
Carry on the good work, I had 4, now that they’re gone I’m constantly amazed at how much spare time I have, how clean my clothes are and how clean my fingernails remain. I never had the nice warm workshop or the lift, but you’d be astonished at what you can accomplish lying on your back or standing one legged on a milk crate hanging over the radiator.
It was always raining, often dark, and I was always under pressure to get it done.
The D2 TD5 is probably the best “lifestyle” vehicle that has ever been produced, its comfortable, cruises at motorway speeds, is good off road, parts are cheap and economy is fair. Its head and shoulders above the Defender for everyday use in my opinion, biggest downside, its an absolute pig to work on…
