Unique Front Prop Shaft of Discovery 2

The Discovery 2 has a unique front prop shaft connecting the transfer box to the front diff. It has a “cardinal joint” on the transfer box end – two universal joints right next to each other. This allows for a greater range of movement with a lesser angle on each universal joint.

The problem with these is that when they wear out, they let go, and all manner of evil happens under the car. The end of the shaft whips around until it falls off, things do fall off, and as we can see, damage to important parts of the car then occur. This unfortunate vehicle has had the gearbox casing cracked, there is a mysterious clunk in the transfer box when you try to push the vehicle, the high low selector cable on the transfer box has been destroyed, and holes have been bashed through the floor and through the chassis rail. There was a lot of force required to knock that hole through the chassis rail.

This is not a cheap repair that will be required to fix the biggest problems here, being the gearbox and transfer box. The prop shaft in itself is a $1000 part, add to that the other problems and you have damage that is approaching the market value of the car.

We charge $395 for a minor service in our shop, which includes the oil change, oil filter, air filter, and this thing we call a “safety check”. That safety check, which we insist upon being done thoroughly, will check things like brakes, oil leaks, suspension bushes, air suspension compressor and air springs, steering, and things that only a Land Rover specialist shop is going to know – e.g. that front prop shafts in Discovery 2s fail and cause thousands of dollars worth of damage to your car’s nether regions. Anyone who charges more than that amount for this service has over the top pricing, but someone who charges $200 is going to change your oil, oil filter, and air filter, and that’s it. Easy to be penny wise and pound foolish as they used to say when it comes to general maintenance.

Come and spend a day in your Nation’s Capital, Canberra, and be a tourist for the day as we take care of your car. Or, drop your car off to me at home in Goulburn, and let us look after it properly. I want to do more services, and less catastrophic failures. I want my customers to be safe and happy.