Prop shaft nuts 'n' bolts - what's the trick?

[SPendrey]

As a DIYer I've been laying on the floor cursing whoever decided it was a good idea to put the prop shaft nuts and bolts so close to the, erm, prop shaft moving bits. I have one of those thin prop shaft sockets, but even then it only fits on to two of the four nuts at the TX box end of the front prop. It all became easier by taking off the front diff end first then moving the whole prop around, but laying on your back holding it with one hand and undoing with the other isn't fun.

I also found it difficult to torque them back up too, because of course the prop shaft spins. Locked the centre diff but then can't reach the top bolts. So it became a lock, unlock, lock, unlock farce with me crawling in and out of the underside of the car.

So, am I missing some obvious 'trick' to doing these?

[Dave W]

It's never a fun job, one "trick" I use is to lift one wheel, on the axle I'm working on, off the floor with a jack, just enough so the wheel can spin. Without the centre diff lock engaged you can then use your foot against the tyre to stop the wheel spinning when you want to. That way you can spin the propshaft to the best position for the bolt/nut you are accessing and then "lock" it in position with your foot as you undo/tighten it. Obviously be mindful that it's only sat on a jack so make sure you're not putting your foot or anything else in a position that might leave it trapped fi the jack fails, that's also the reason you only jack it up just enough to spin the wheel.

A windy gun makes the whole thing a LOT easier either way !

For the transfer box end I sometimes resort to using some thick cable ties to hold the weight of the propshaft when it's disconnected from the diff end, saves some arm ache when trying to both hold the prop up out of the way and use a ratchet.

[davie]

second the jack wheel up a tiny bit, spin shaft until lines up easily.

prop shaft tool and i used my impact driver recently, those nice new dewalt ones have some serious grunt and lighter than a proper full size impact wrench!

[miketomcat]

I use the wheel up as well but gave up with the prop tool and just use two spanners.

Mike

[duncmc]

Another one for one wheel up. I use both two spanners and the propshaft nut tool. Depends how well the propshaft tool fits on.

[Arjan]

Wheel up, prop shaft tool thingie and air / battery gun and loads, loads of "Zen"......

Need to undo 16 of these fine examples of lack of thoughts today.....

[Retroanaconda]

It's very easy to cross-thread the UNF nuts, so take care when using power tools.

I find a 1/2" ratchet and a propshaft tool works fine.

[Snagger]

Like the others said and you found, disconnect the diff ends first to allow you to rotate the prop and flange to get the special long socket onto the nuts, especially the rear prop. Use a single bolt through the diff end and flange to support the prop while you work on the gear box ends. I find the bolts on the 3/9 o'colck positions easiest to work on, so rotate the prop 90 degrees to do each bolt.

[Landy-Novice]

may sound daft. but there are a couple of prop tool versions. one is good, the other is beyond usless..

this one is usless. i just threw it in the bin.

this on is best design. cant remeber what seller but it was a laser one. works great, i find best if jack up axle high to help give prop more angle to make it easier, fits best at about 11 to 1ish oclock i brought the 1/2 one which was less than ideal, 3/8 next time.

[qwakers]

and when you go to put it back together buy some 10.8 hardened allen bolts (m8 iirc) of the same length then you can whizz them in with a impact gun and a allen socket in about 10secs. saves a Lot of swearing. i got the idea from my kia which went one further and has no nuts just the flange is threaded. makes it a piece of tiddle :-)

[steve b]

The prop bolts are 3/8" UNF, the nearest metric would be M10 fine pitch . M8 would be too small . The diff end can normally be removed with the socket tool with the wheels on the ground but as said above lifting one wheel does make it easier . Those tools originated in the Steel erecting industry iirc . New nuts are a good idea when re-fitting and as they are not a full nut I've only been able to get them from LR .

...At least there is a bit more room on the defender , the S1 prop nut size is a right pain

cheers

Steveb

[landroversforever]

M8 are too small for the propshaft.

Also, what James says the two different propshaft tools are totally different. Mine is a slightly different shape to the second one and I've not had any double getting to any bolts with the standard props. It was even easier once I put the wide angle props on.

[cackshifter]

The nuts you need are T type

[Daan]

Use k-nuts; then you can use a ringspanner 11. Otherwise, I always use 14mm spanners. The prop nut socket has no use on my car, there is always a cross member or something else in the way.

Daan

[Ed Poore]

I think I got mine from Diff Lock. Works quite well.

[Bowie69]

Diff lock one is good, nice and slim, with the back edge of the socket much more blended than the above two.

[landroversforever]

Diff lock one is good, nice and slim, with the back edge of the socket much more blended than the above two.

That must be where I got mine from then.

[Scotts90]

This is the one I have

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ORIGINAL-KOKEN-LANDROVER-DEFENDER-PROPSHAFT/dp/B012W1LI82

Works fine with a 9/16" or a 14mm on the other end

[miketomcat]

I have about four 9/16 spanners purely for prop bolts because 14mm is to loose and trends to round them.

Mike

[Bowie69]

14mm is smaller than 9/16 isn't it?

[David Sparkes]

14mm is smaller than 9/16 isn't it?

9/16" is 562.5 thousands of an inch (1000 / 16 x 9)

14mm is 551.2 thousands of an inch (1000 / 25.4 x 14) - there are ~25.4 mm in one inch.

So Yes, "14mm is smaller than 9/16".

[miketomcat]

I stand corrected though 14mm is still the wrong spanner as the bolts are imperial.

Mike

[SPendrey]

Well, having replaced the UJ I now have a nasty vibration at 25-35mph, particularly on the power rather than coasting off it. Bu**er.

If this didn't do it before but does now, and I didn't separate the two parts of the prop, and the new UJ feels just fine... what else might it be? For now, I'm running in RWD and there's no vibration.

One thing that is curious is that Rave suggests the prop flanges should be offset and mine aren't. However, I've been running for almost 2 years with the prop just as it is?! There are no markings (was looking for arrows) on them.

[Landy-Novice]

there wont be any markings. front prop should be phased by 2 teeth. each tooth is 22.5degrees iirc. when you say they feel both fine, smooth and arnt notchy. and no play in either uj or slip joint?

[western]

front prop flanges should be offset, rear are inline, both props sliding joint at transfer box, do the sliding sections actually move ?