front prop shaft play 2a 109

[glbft1]

hello,
had my rig on the lift today and noticed alot of play when I twisted my front shaft 1/4 turn back and forth, the guy guiding me in to the bay noticed a thump thump when I drove in( in 4 wheel drive) I might of been riding the clutch a little pulling in also he thought a u joint might be loose but inspection found nothing amiss... this normal or is something on its way out??
Many thanks
greg

[Jeff Aronson]

I know it sounds silly, but do check the nuts and bolts that connect the propshaft to the drivetrain. There is a slider joint in the shaft, too. Does it have a grease nipple and have you injected grease in there?

Take a look at your manual to see the portions of the front drive inside the swivel balls. You''ll see that there are pieces that could wear in there, too.

Do you have locking hubs in the front, or permanent hubs?

You will hear a "thump" when you are in 4 wheel drive on a cement floor, especially if the wheels were turned.

Jeff

[glbft1]

the play seems to be inside the front dif you can turn the shaft by hand left to right and it is able to turn 1/4 before it meets resistance , everything is nice and tight as far as connections go, and it was on a cement floor locking hubs engaged,

[jac04]

You will always have some play if trying to turn the front driveshaft by hand due to the backlash in the diff gearing and the splines in the axles. A full 1/4 turn seems a little excessive. I just checked mine and I definitely have less than 1/8 turn (actually a little over 1/16 turn). However, I noted no wear on any of my front drive components during my recent rebuild. If your components are worn, the amount you can turn the driveshaft will be greater.

[Jeff Aronson]

When you bring it to the Downeast Land Rover Club's shop day that you have helped organize, you can compare it to other Series Rovers present that day.

You have few miles on your 109 so differential wear seems rather unlikely. Front differentials rarely wear out on vehicles that are used on-road, too. The only time I ever saw a front axle assembly break was at a Maine Winter Romp on Bruce Fowler's 109 - but he predicted it would break and had been pushing the Rover to its limits so it would break and he could repair the unit .

I had to replace my front propshaft about 12 years ago when the inner splines wore out, so you can check that at the shop day.

Jeff