By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 07:54 am: Edit

The weakest link in the drivetrain finally gave up the battle on the rocks yesterday. Disco is still driveable, but drivetrain vibrates like hell at speed and under load. Airing tires back up reduced vibes. Am I potentially screwing drivetrain up more by driving on it? I'm taking it easy at about 45mph where there's no vibes...

I'll be removing the rear shaft to fully isolate the vibe & inspect roto. Can I drive it with only the front shaft for a few days, until I make repairs?

New piece of rubber from dealer is $116 - I'll get 20% discount from club membership. Asked dealer if I should maybe upgrade to a real driveshaft, and, after behind-the-scenes discussion with the techs, Mr. Parts Man responded that ALL Discos have rotoflex, so alternate shaft is not even an option. I asked about retro-fitting in an older RR classic (c. 1987?), and he thougth I was nuts. Asked about newer Disco I's without roto & he had that blank stare. Thought I'd ask the folks who know... What am I looking at to replace rear shaft with NON-rotoflex shaft (all-inclusive)?

By John on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 08:11 am: Edit

Call Bill at GBR and he can sell you the conversion to u joint or a new u joint shaft..That easy..

By al hang on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 08:27 am: Edit

yes you can drive for a few days. i drove from CT to VA when i broke my rear shaft. just remove the rear and lock the diff in high. New rotoflexes are usually about half the price you were quoted. If you have the money,get the heavy duty cv rear shaft from bill. you can also do the rangie shaft swap, but if you get the parts new it'll cost almost the same as getting it from bill.

lastly, find a new dealer or new parts guy.

-Al

By Mike Cox on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 04:27 pm: Edit

Atlantic British is advertising a U-Joint conversion kit in their latest flyer. $300, includes drive shaft and all,

FYI

Mike

By Axel Haakonsen (Axel) on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 04:44 pm: Edit

"Mr. Parts Man responded that ALL Discos have rotoflex, so alternate shaft is not even an option."

That's funny, my 97 don't have a Rotoflex, maybe it's a Land Cruiser??

By Mike B. on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 06:11 pm: Edit

I have a 98 with no RotoFlex. I think RotoFlexes can in some if not all 94 - 96 Discos. I've never seen them on anything newer than a 96.

Thanks,
Mike B.

By Disco2Guy on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 08:16 pm: Edit

Bill,
What happend on the rocks? Did i leave and miss something? Again im sorry for leaving so soon, didnt want to push it with the little ones in the disco.

Seann

By Alex Schubow (Alex) on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 - 01:04 am: Edit

Uh dude, you might want to drop the Disco2Guy nick. It has lots of bad memories associated with it for a few people here.

Alex

By Bill Bettridge (Billb) on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 - 03:00 am: Edit

Bill - that dealer crap is bulls**t - My '97 came with a Rotoflex - after eating three of them I made them (at LRNA expense) switch to a standard shaft and u-joint - and they did with no quibbling about it whatsoever - no problems since. Good luck

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 - 07:00 am: Edit

Seann,

Nothing really happened - the rotoflex's time just came on Sunday. I've been watching it closely for over a year, and it finally bit it. Maximum flexing combined with 4-low rock and hill climbing in 105 degree desert heat didn't help, I'm sure. I also had a big chunck of rock jump up while cruising out towards the highway - I heard the rock clunk into the undercarriage and then cruch-BAM, it got jettisoned out to the side (by the spinning driveshaft?). You should have stuck around for the next big hill...unbelievable stuff. Jason's 9-inch lifted beast is badass, but so is the Disco!!!

Now I'm in the middle of trying to remove the driveshaft...see other post...