Description
Manufacturer :- Firow Custom built Exclusively for Gwyn Lewis 4×4 to our own very specific specifications. Not to be confused with other similar looking propshafts available elsewhere.
Part Number :- GL-EXT-665, Puma Front Wide Angle HD 1310 Prop Shaft
Working length :- 700mm + – 8mm
Fits :- Defender 90/110 Front PUMA TDCI Td4
Weight :- 9.3KG
Please Note :- For the Puma if needing to upgrade your front propshaft it is a Double Cardan that we would recommend you use.
With the higher low down torque that Puma TDCI engines produce specifically in mind, we produce a MEGA EXTREME 2020 Double Cardan propshaft, these use larger 2020 Universal Joints. Pumas are more prone to suffer from vibration issues after you lift, a wide angle propshaft may not be enough to deal with this issue which is another reason to use our Double Cardan props, please click HERE to see this propshaft.
These HEAVY DUTY wide angle propshafts are custom made for us to our own specification, they are a very well made propshaft using the very best of components we can source, they are fully greaseable including the slider, they are balanced to a very high standard and have proved to reduce vibrations on many Land Rovers.
For those looking for our strongest prop shafts please see more info on our 2020 MEGA props HERE. These are for extreme use off roaders with large aggressive tyres and upgraded driveline.
These propshafts are made to a very high standard, please do not compare these to cheap import ones.
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.
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.
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.
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.
They feature
- 30 degree wide angle (1310 series) to prevent the propshaft binding up on long-travel suspension.
- Higher torque capacity than a standard Land Rover propshaft, using 50mm heavy duty 3mm wall tube.
- Heavy duty round flange face (not the old square type), that bolts onto the diff and gearbox 79.4mm PCD.
- Heavy duty 1310 series Universal Joints (81.8mm x 27mm) with nylon thrust washers and nylon/rubber seals, the nylon thrust washers also have 5 slots in them to allow grease to get to each cup when greasing (see picture of the joint, you can see the 5 slots in the thrust washer).
- Rilsan coated spline for smoother operation and helps eliminate vibrations.
- Upgraded involute spline configuration with 18 splines that is GREASABLE which is a feature only found on our propshafts.
- Double seal arrangement on the slip assembly, with 110mm of movement and full spline contact on the male and female slider to help with long-travel suspension.
- Internally plug welded to hold the grease in the slider.
- Phased when required, to reduce vibrations.
- All prop shafts come with a tube of K48 grease.
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, 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. 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 in-between the two joints may also wear out as it is under more strain.
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.
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.
We can also make non-standard custom length props.
If you are unsure what you need, please contact me.
