Anyone got a real quick answer.......please

[johnjcoyle]

Hi,

Sorry to bother you at this time of the evening, however I am just about to replace my rubber dougnut that joins the rear propshaft to the diff, however the parts will not arrive until friday and the rubber doughnut on my Disco 1 has just started to disintegrate.

It is obviously out of balance and the vibration and sound is getting worse, I dont want to causer any long term damage and was wondering if I could remove the rear prop shaft and drive only a short distance as a very temporary measure until my bits arrive ?

if you have any input please rsvp,

My best regards,

John.

PS : I am constantly amazed at the sheer strength and determination of these excellent vehicles to continue to work even when the parts start to catastrophically fail !!

[John C]

You can remove the rear DS put you will have to engage the center diff lock (in High obviously) or just leave it unlocked and apply the emergency brake.

You'll get better mileage and the truck will feel like a car.

You are going to replace it with another rotoflex? Why not convert it to a u-joint type DS? You can do the conversion for around $150-180. Just a thought.

[johnjcoyle]

thanks John,

I am going to do this this evening, I have some parts arriving from paddock spares in England, but If this happens again I will for sure convert to a solid link,

PS : same name John C

Once again thanks for the quick reply!

[John C]

Actually my name is Giampaulo Cinquegrana (John Paul in english) but most people find it easy to call me John C.

Good luck,

[01001010]

Juan Carlos (John Charles in english I THINK) hence...another JC

[pavel]

John C that's an interesting idea - take off the rear drive shaft and apply the emergency brake. But I'm thinking, in that case won't the centre diff be transfering all the torque to the front and if you drive a good distance could it not really heat up? Of course if you lock up the diff instead, then the 'bevel' gears wont be turning which would put much less stress on the unit... is my logic here OK?
Hey my son just had another idea/question - if you use the emergency brake route, wont the front drive shaft turn much faster (twice as fast?) and therefore wont you effectively get a different gear ratio sent to the front axle?

[onslow]

Originally Posted by pavel

John C that's an interesting idea - take off the rear drive shaft and apply the emergency brake. But I'm thinking, in that case won't the centre diff be transfering all the torque to the front and if you drive a good distance could it not really heat up? Of course if you lock up the diff instead, then the 'bevel' gears wont be turning which would put much less stress on the unit... is my logic here OK?
Hey my son just had another idea/question - if you use the emergency brake route, wont the front drive shaft turn much faster (twice as fast?) and therefore wont you effectively get a different gear ratio sent to the front axle?

No because the diff is locked it effectively is a straight drive and it wont move if the handbrake is applied either,and the slush diff wont take that sort of abuse for long without going bang but i can see your way of thinking

[onslow]

Originally Posted by johnjcoyle

thanks John,

I am going to do this this evening, I have some parts arriving from paddock spares in England, but If this happens again I will for sure convert to a solid link,

PS : same name John C

Once again thanks for the quick reply!

If you got the right bits sent ill be amazed in 13 years of ordering with paddocks I have never recieved a full correct order!!!

[John C]

Originally Posted by onslow

and it wont move if the handbrake is applied either,

really? mine moved around just fine. I wouldn't recommend it for long hauls but if you need to move the vehicle around a short distance it should be fine.. Maybe I miss understood your reply.

[frickjp]

Originally Posted by John C

really? mine moved around just fine. I wouldn't recommend it for long hauls but if you need to move the vehicle around a short distance it should be fine.. Maybe I miss understood your reply.

The handbrake is a very bad idea. When you apply the handbrake, all the power goes forward through that very tiny centre differential. There are no bearings in that unit, and you'll destroy it in short order. When you pull either shaft, you can lock the centre diff and drive it 'till your heart's content without hurting anything. They handle a bit strange with only front drive, so be careful. If you pull the rear shaft, you either need to remove the handbrake drum or put the nuts back on that retain the driveshaft. You'll need some washers, as the studs are not threaded all the way in. There is one screw that holds the drum in place, but it is not intended to hold it while driving without the shaft in place.
One more detail often overlooked. When you install the new Rotoflex, there are arrows on the outside perimeter. These arrows will point to the flange ears. There's only one proper way to install it. Install it wrong, and it will not last.

[John C]

Handbrake will work for very short distances (moving it around in your driveway, etc).

[frickjp]

Originally Posted by John C

Handbrake will work for very short distances (moving it around in your driveway, etc).

But why would you if you have a diff lock? Why would you even bother? That's what the diff lock is for. On a D2 with no CDL, fine, it'll get you off the street. But to suggest doing so on a truck with a CDL is silly.
At any rate, the initial question was if the truck could be run with one shaft. WTF des the handbrake have to do with this question? Try your handbrake routine, and you're not even going to make it a mile before you now need a rotoflex AND a transfer box.

[johnjcoyle]

looks like I opened a can of worms on this subject.

Ok so here is what I did.

I did remove the rear prop shaft, I put the hand brake on and did drive a short distance, 20kms in total at slow speeds.

No problems to report, except I found out that my diff lock is not functioning !!

No surprise there, so now I will post a new topic asking for the best ways to get the difflock de-siezed and functioning, and I will also do a new post on British parts suppliers............................

Thanks for all of your responses on this one, stay tuned.

John.