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custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20468

Thanks for the tips re the wipers.

I'll look at it very soon only a bit tied up with various things at the moment.

Hopefully tonight I'll upload a couple of pics and things, even though I meant to last night.

Wipers aside, I went out last night and the UJ's are perfect, nice and tight and feels much better than it has for a while.
Will do the front in a couple of weeks as well.

I think Salisbury Plain finished them off in Autumn! But I definitely will keep a closer eye on them from now on.
I also replaced the slider grease nipple whilst I was at it, I thought it would be best to do a full overhaul and everything fitted perfectly.
Even though I did need to get a 1/4" torque wrench just to achieve the 8nm.

I gave 5 pumps of grease into the slider with the pistol type grease gun so as not to over do it.
And I used Castrol High Temp Lithium up to the correct spec.
I didn't remove the slider at all only just a little and looked in good condition and quite clean. No heavy wear, corrosion or contamination.

**Later edited**
I've been on a fairly decent length of ride out and at all speeds and all is perfect.
The transmission wobble. (Mainly seen though gearstick) is largely gone as well.
Handbrake is tighter as in there is less transmission play, and of course I cleaned the handbrake drum out as well when I did have the chance inc fitting a new screw there as well.
Handbrake shoes were in good condition, and no leaks from the flange in the vicinity either.

Click image to enlarge

The front will need doing though, which I will within the next couple of weeks hopefully.
All fixings are new, as I already bought them especially for the job only the original transferbox flange bolts remain but they are in perfect condition anyway.

So over all very pleased! Plus now have a new large vice, 1/4" torque wrench, propshaft bolt tool, and a few spanners and circlip pliers. All added to the toolkit.
Those circlip pliers are pretty good too! Better than any I've used before, in fact I may get the larger ones too.
They are on Amazon US Pro I think they are called.
Dynabeads are also working well in my tyre's, all seems nice and smooth.

Now I'll have to take a look at the wiper set up soon, the puller arrived today just in case I needed it.
The wiper arms are fading a bit anyway..

No Guts, No Glory.
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26th May 2018 11:25am

custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20468

UJ's and props all still good, bearing in mind I haven't quite got the front UJ's done just yet hopefully with in the next week or so. (Bought and en-route as we speak until I can get around to fitting.)

I do have however still a bit of wobble from both gearstick and transfer box stick thus the transmission, but it's much better than it was.
I'm wondering if the failed rear prop UJ has loosened the transfer box rubber mounts, or worn them somewhat.

Shall I consult the WSM check and tighten them up to spec or get them replaced?

As I mentioned, I haven't done the front prop UJ's yet and the wobble type effect is much much better and no symptoms other than you can see a bit of wobble from transfer box stick and gearstick.

Curious to hear views on this, and the mounts aren't very expensive but I wonder if they might be worth checking they aren't loosened as the failed UJ was pretty bad.

I think when I pulled the transfer box about a bit to check them a little they did seem a little soft, but can't quite remember but no doubt caused by the seized rear UJ. No Guts, No Glory.
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29th May 2018 9:28pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17458

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey

By a strange coincidence I was doing a pre-MOT check and service on my Defender on Saturday (MOT was on Tuesday) and when I took the front propshaft off to grease it (the nipples are completely inaccessible on mine due to underbody protection, besides as I have said before it is the only way to articulate the joints when greasing) I found that the front joint was stiff and notchy on one axis. Typically the joint is also not a size for which I have a spare.

In the I had to dismantle the joint and, for the stiff bearing, clean and polish the spider, the cup, and all 28 of the rollers, before reassembling with fresh grease. Fortunately nothing was damaged, and although I will replace it soon it was as good as new afterwards. It is, however, the first time I have rebuilt a propshaft UJ's bearing rather than just replace the joint.

It did strike me as something of a coincidence though that this happened just after your UJ exploits, Steve.

31st May 2018 7:52am

custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20468

Very strange indeed, I have all the parts to do the front on mine but will probably complete Monday onwards due to commintments.

Out of interest which UJ cups, rollers and spider parts were affected?
On mine in was the yolk side of the propshaft not the flange.

I know the front on mine will be pretty worn, it's bound to be but will be interested to know his much.
My guess is it'll be fairly loose with wear wear as the back was tight.

It was I'm pretty sure that rear UJ on mine that caused both the rear diff oil leak on mine and the transmission movement as well as it had pretty much seized.

My best guess is a lot of the issues with them is probably due to contamination, and that binds the rollers and makes them effectively slide on the spiders surface instead of roll.

Also, especially on the failed UJ I had the grease was pretty black and smelt burnt so was evident it was getting pretty hot!
It was that which gave it away, I checked them in situ a couple of times and all felt fine.

I cane back one day after a trip and though I'll get under and just feel if they are hot or anywhere under there was.

Checked front prop, all seemed normal sane with the rear until I got the the rearmost UJ and diff nose.
Pretty hot, and definitely hotter than the rest.
Then I knew it was the problem, so that's something to bear in mind.

I also found the UJ nipple on the rear prop closest to the rear missing and the UJ nipple nearest the transfer box missing so this is also a reason why I'm changing them.
Heat is definitely a give away though..

No Guts, No Glory.
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31st May 2018 1:49pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17458

It was one of the trunnions on the front flange. There was actually very little wear and the UJs are the originals (in fact all four UJs are the originals) which have done 225,000 miles, so they haven't done badly.

There is no doubt that the problem is due to insufficient regularity with the greasegun in this case, and therefore totally my fault. The front prop is a pain due to the fact that you have to remove it to grease it and the nipples are very inaccessible on these at the best of times and due to the underbody protection on my truck they are totally inaccessible. To remove the propshaft is not easy since it has to be taken out forwards over the axle, and the long and the short of it is that it tends not to be greased as often as it should.

If you don't grease the UJs regularly the old grease dries up in the internal galleries and new grease can't reach the journals, and the result is inevitable.

After some thought on this I have actually decided to upgrade, and have order a heavy-duty DC prop from Gwyn Lewis. This has massive journals (33mm IIRC) with the grease nipple in one o the journal caps, where it should be easily accessible, and also has a number of other implrovements such as better shielding on the splines, a DC joint at the transfer box end, and is larger diameter and of heavier construction. It is not a cheap upgrade, but should outlast several standard propshafts.

The moral, if there is one, is to remember that you should grease your nipples regularly. Once the grease dries out, you will either lose the joints or will have to dismantle them to clean them.

31st May 2018 2:08pm

Retroanaconda

Member Since: 04 Jan 2012
Location: Scotland
Posts: 2656

I try and grease mine after a run so the grease is warm and the new stuff has the best chance of getting through. The problem is though that it always take the path of least resistance so once one gallery blocks up it will never receive fresh grease unless dealt with. One way of doing this is to g-clamp the 'free' cups so that the grease is forced down the other ones. The other is to dismantle, clean and refit as above.

I ground down the tip of my grease gun and it fits into the standard UJ yokes fine.

A nipple in the end of every cap would be the ideal solution for greasing, however they would be more vulnerable to damage there.

31st May 2018 2:11pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17458

Warmth is great for softening hardened grease, and that suggestion is a good one. It is also possible to apply heat with a hot air gun or similar and have the same result.

A thin tip can reach the standard nipples, but the underbody protection on my truck limits both access and the angle of attack to the extent that it is not an effective option.

It will be interesting to see how vulnerable the end nipples are on my GL prop when it arrives, but it is likely that I wil remove the nipples and plug the holes and just put the nipples in to grease them. The end of the UJ should be accessible enough for this not to be onerous.

31st May 2018 2:28pm

custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20468

Let us know how it goes with the GL versions.

No Guts, No Glory.
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31st May 2018 3:59pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17458

It's arrived, it's nice! Shiny, shiny, yum, yum! Almost too nice to stick under a Defender! The nipples actually don't stick out much since the caps are well recessed, so no issues there. I might have to trim my Entreq undershield a little, the prop is quite chunky.

Back on the subject of stale grease, many people forget that if they've not greased their nipples for a while and the grease in the UJs is stale, then probably the grease in their greasegun is also just as stale. There's no point trying to pump stale grease in to replace stale grease.

31st May 2018 5:19pm

custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20468

What grease are you all using? I’ve used Castrol high temp lithium. It meets required spec and a brand I trust No Guts, No Glory.
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31st May 2018 7:22pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17458

I use Castrol LM Grease, now called Castrol Multi-Purpose Grease, for propshafts, wheel bearings, and in fact everywhere that doesn't need molybdenum disulphide. An excellent general purpose high melting point grease.

31st May 2018 10:00pm

custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20468

I’ve got some Moly of the same brand too.
All good stuff.
When I get around to sorting the wiper wheel boxes I’m guessing lithium will be best option for them No Guts, No Glory.
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1st Jun 2018 3:31pm

custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20468

I'll add a few parts to this page I went with P/N's if and when I get time.
I don't have the grease nipples P/N's to hand right now but I will find them shortly.

The UJ's I went for are these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVC500010-Land-...2749.l2649
And I can confirm they are genuine GKN, as were the originals I took off.
It appears Hardy Spicer & GKN are now merged too.

I was going to go to Dingocroft but this seller was faster and easier to order and pretty much next day delivery.

Whilst I was at it I replaced the slider grease nipple for genuine and the UJ nipples are new that come with the UJ's as well as I have spares.
Too many in fact, if anyone wants any GENUINE UJ nipples let me know.
I'll add the P/N's for all items to THIS post this evening hopefully if I get time.

The GKN UJ's are the price you see, LR charge approx £53 each.

For a set of four UJ's for both props there is a £96 saving there and if you did buy all the UJ's in one go a slight saving on that too.
So basically £100 off on a mark up fir the same thing!

LATER EDITED AS PROMISED. **********************************************************
The following applies for a 2.4 Defender 90. (110's are different on the rear.*)

Propeller Shaft Universal Joints. GKN OEM MANUFACTURER Identical To Genuine GKN: TVC500010 (4x REQ.)

Universal Joint Grease Nipples Genuine: TVK500490.L8 (4x REQ.)

Propeller Shaft Splined Slider Grease Nipples Genuine: 234532 (2x REQ.)

The above is assuming you require parts for both Prop shafts. No Guts, No Glory.
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2nd Jun 2018 12:46pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17458

Gwyn Lewis propshaft compared with standard TDCi front propshaft. No comparison really, the GL shaft is about twice the weight of the standard one, has much bigger UJs, is a DC shaft, and is easily greasable even with an Entreq undershield fitted. My G_Coupler greasegun fitting now easily fits on all the greae nipples on my vehicle!

The DC joint is noticeably smoother on the TDCi and, as others have argued before, LR really should have fitted one as standard given the misalignment between flanges.

An expensive but in my view worthwhile upgrade.

Click image to enlarge

4th Jun 2018 9:57am

custom90

Member Since: 21 Jan 2010
Location: South West, England.
Posts: 20468

I assume you’ll do both over time? I would expect the larger dia. would increase inertia also and at increased speed smoothness also. As well as being stronger also. No Guts, No Glory.
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4th Jun 2018 10:28am

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