For those looking for our strongest propshafts we have our 2020 MEGA props.
Do I need a Wide Angle or a Double Cardan Propshaft :-
A Wide Angle Propshaft is mainly used on and off road when you have fitted longer travel suspension with more axle drop out and your original propshaft is binding on the joints, they can sometimes help with vibration problems, but if they can’t cure the vibration problems a Double Cardan may have to be used. The wide angle propshafts are easier and cheaper to repair than a Double Cardan.
A Double Cardan propshaft is mainly used on road to help prevent vibration problems when driving on road. They are also wide angle to cope with long travel suspension. That is the reason they are the most expensive Propshaft we have available. Propshafts can sometimes fail due to the angle they are running at, if this does happen to a Double Cardan, they are very difficult and expensive to repair.
Wide Angle and Double Cardan Propshafts on Land Rover vehicles will require regular maintenance and repair due to the angles they are used at, especially with a suspension lift. For example, every inch of lift will roughly add 3 degrees on the average front Propshaft angle.
3 degree castor correction will roughly add around 1.5 degrees to the propshaft angle, 6 degree castor correction will roughly add 3 degrees onto the propshaft angle.
To check your propshaft angles, you can download an angle app to your phone. Zero the device on your handbrake drum, transfer box or drive flange and measure your propshaft angle. Please be aware the steeper the angle the more wear and problems your propshaft will have.
Engines today can produce much greater power and torque, especially once tuned, with upgrades in Differential, Axle, Gearbox strengths and with large diameter aggressive tyres this is putting much more demand on your propshafts.
To better cope with this, we would recommend you go for our 2020 MEGA propshafts over our 1310 EXT.
Our 2020 MEGA propshafts use Universal Joints which are 81.8mm x 30.2mm (a 1310 is 81.8mm x 27mm)
One advantage of a larger cap diameter means it has thicker trunnions which can cope with increased power and torque loads but with the joint still being 81.8mm across it remains compact.
Our 2020 joints are cap greasable which gives very easy access to get your grease gun onto the joint for greasing, you also have the choice of greasing via the centre lube in the middle of the UJ body.
If you are putting your vehicle through more extreme off-road use then there is the chance that you can knock the grease nipple off the cap. If this is a risk then you can remove the nipple in the cap and replace it with the plug we supply, you can then either grease through the centre lube or refit the cap nipple when you need to grease. Cap greased nipples must seal to hold the grease in the cap.
These propshafts are made to a very high standard, please don’t compare these to cheap import ones.
Fitting advice :-
Please note these propshafts have heavy-duty round flanges, when fitting make sure you clean up all flange faces as they should not sit on top of dirt or rust.
Brush grease onto flange faces this will help prevent rust.
The Slider goes to your transfer box flange, for a Double Cardan propshaft the DC end goes to the front transfer box flange.
You must ensure all UJs and the slider are fully greased on fitment and are regularly greased during use.
After greasing cap greased joints, you must make sure the grease nipple does not allow grease to leak back, they must seal after greasing. If you have dirt in there, they will not seal. If this is the case the grease nipple must be replaced or capped with our plug.
Always make sure your propshaft can still turn with your axle at full suspension drop out, long-travel suspension can allow the axle to drop down too far causing the joints to bind and break.
Propshaft Wear:-
Propshaft universal joint wear and vibration is a problem on Land Rover vehicles, on lifted vehicles, this can be more of a problem as it steepens propshaft Universal Joint working angles to the point where they overheat and vibration problems can become an issue. Caster Correction also steepens UJ working angles so can cause more vibration and overheating problems, we recommend not to over caster correct as this will steepen the propshaft angel even more, especially on a Discovery 2 as the diff angle is already quite steep, even lowered Defenders can suffer from vibration issues.
No prop shaft should be run for long periods with a steeper running angle of more than 5 degrees, anything above this angle used for long journeys will cause the UJs to overheat, the grease will dry up and cause premature wear. This is always a problem with Land Rovers. This is always a problem with Land Rovers. For example, if you are driving at 50mph at 2000RPM the propshaft is revolving 2000 times every 1 minute, the steeper the angle the faster the needles are revolving in the caps, this is why they overheat, on a Double Cardan at these speeds the ball in-between the 2 joints is also working hard and getting hot, eventually, it will cause the rubber boot over the ball to fail.
Vibration:-
Vibrations are normally felt on overrun, around 50mph where you are not accelerating or engine braking, the whole transmission is “slack” on overrun.
The centre diff inside the transfer box can “rattle” around at this point, both output drive flanges are only supported by outer bearings and the inner shafts just slide into the centre differential. There is always some play in the shafts and gears you then feel some play (Up Lift) in the outer drive flanges as the shaft pivots on the bearing, this then causes the flanges to rotate out of shape. These are all unbalanced parts and can themselves be the cause of transmission vibrations, sometimes I have seen fitting an imbalanced propshaft can cure vibrations as it balances out the transfer box imbalance.
Double Cardan:-
A Double Cardan propshaft is often successful in helping to solve these vibration problems but it is not a true cure, it can hide the problem to the point where it is not noticed or becomes bearable.
A Double Cardan propshaft has two UJs at the Double Cardan end, between the two joints there is a ball and cup that holds the two joints together, this is positioned at the front transfer box flange (where the steepest working angle is on all Land Rovers). These two UJs together halve the angle at the transfer box, halving that angle helps to reduce wear and vibration problems caused by steep running angles, however, the ball and rubber boot in-between the two joints may also overheat and wear out as it is under more strain, if the rubber boot over the ball is showing signs of cracking or leaking grease it needs replacing before the ball is worn out.
Wide Angle:-
A Wide Angle propshaft alone is not always enough to help with vibration problems. A good quality Wide Angle propshaft can be enough to solve some vibration problems however the UJ’s are still working at the same angle as a standard propshaft.
A Wide Angle propshaft can turn through a wider angle before yokes bind, this is to accommodate long-travel suspension movements (axle drop out) off-road, it does not mean that the propshaft can be run at steep angles on road. UJ’s will wear quicker when run at steep angles. Ideally for road work UJ’s should be running between 2 to 5 degrees, beyond 5 degrees UJs will overheat causing quicker wear and vibrations can become an issue.
Our propshafts, Wide Angle and Double Cardan, are made with long slip sliders to accommodate long-travel suspension. A propshaft spacer should NEVER be used for any reason. By adding a spacer, you will cause damage to your driveline if your propshaft can not close up enough.
Please note that propshaft UJ`s on lifted vehicles are under more strain and require REGULAR GREASING to help prolong their life.
Ensure your capped greased joint does not allow grease to leak back from the grease nipple they must seal after greasing. If you have dirt in there, they will not seal. If this is the case the grease nipple must be replaced or capped with our plug.
Please Note: – Puma 2.4 and 2.2 TDCI Defenders are more prone to suffer from propshaft vibration issues due to the angle that the engine and transmission is mounted. The engine is mounted high to clear the front axle with the transfer box mounted low, this angle makes the front propshaft universal joints work at a steeper angle than previous Defenders.
To help this the whole engine and transmission was moved back to increase the length of the front propshaft and to help shallow out the angle that it runs through. On a 90 this makes the rear propshaft short so it also runs at a steeper angle, this is why the transfer box was lowered to help reduce the angle it runs at.
GKN had massive problems producing propshafts that would cope with this problem which is why all standard Front and 90 rear props on a Puma are so high spec, 110/130 standard rear props are the same sort of spec as older generations of Defender.
Please be aware that solving propshaft vibrations on Pumas can be very difficult, steep propshaft universal joint angles cause vibration issues which will cause the UJs to overheat, the grease will dry up and cause premature wear.
