On a recent trip we noticed a steadily worsening vibration from the drive-train at speeds between 60-80 km/h. After trying all the usual 'tricks' to find exactly what was causing the trouble - gently applying brakes, coasting in neutral, revving the engine while stationery - we found that the vibration was only there whist moving and was very noticable through the gear lever both when driving in gear and when coasting.

This suggested a problem with one of the Prop Shaft universal Joints. With the vehicle stationery, in gear and the wheels chocked you can get underneath and try to move the prop shafts from side to side. If a UJ is defective you will see the joint moving.

We found that the rearmost UJ was broken and needed replacing. It's quite a straightforward job with no special tools required.

Firstly make sure you get the correct replacement UJ, there have been 2 or 3 different ones used on Land Rovers over the years.

Park the vehicle on level ground, and chock the wheels. NOTE: once you remove the rear prop your hand brake will not work! carefuly mark each end of the shaft to show its position when refitting. a chalk mark will suffice.

The four bolts at each end are easy to remove, with the usual Land Rover oil leaks they will probably be 'moist' anyway.

With the Shaft removed you will need to remove the circlips holding the UJs in place. These are extremely springy and may fly off at VERY high speed if you are not careful.

Next it is just a case of removing the 'Caps' from each end of the joint. Place the shaft on a solid surface, like a wooden plank, then hammer the UJ downwards. In the picture above you can hit the uppermost UJ cap to force the cap at the other end loose and vice versa. Once you have the Caps removed you should be able to remove the UJ from the end of the shaft.

With the old UJ removed you need to prepare the new one. Again you remove the end Caps allowing you to position the UJ correctly. there are a series of small roller-bearings inside the caps. Make sure these remain in place and do not fall out. If the new UJ is pre-greased this should not be a problem.

with the new UJ in place you can re-fit the end Caps. getting these to go all the way on can be fiddly. The best method is to use a vice and a socket the same diameter as the cap. You can then slowly tighten the vice and drift the cap into place allowing you to refit the circlips.

While you've got the prop shaft off it may be worth you while replacing the other UJ too. If your UJs are not too expensive it could save you doing all this again in the near future. Make sure BOTH ends are well greased and replace the grease nipples if necessary

It's also worthwhile using new bolts and washers when refitting.

The difference the new UJ made was VERY noticable. There was less transmission slap and it felt a lot more positive driving along. This just goes to show that the old one should probably have been changed a lot earlier.

COSTS: Genuine Land Rover UJ = £30, Pattern UJ = £8.00

TIME TAKEN: 1 hour