Noise gone but prop shaft queries abound

Good afternoon all.
I posted a thread previously about a whirring/mechanical noise whilst driving that disappeared when cruising along nicely.
I've finally found the time to start to put the tools to work and I've removed the prop shaft. The noise I was experiencing has gone but now many questions have raised their heads.
1. Is it possible to 'diagnose' a faulty/failed prop shaft at home or is that a thing for specialists? The only thing I've noticed is possibly that the bearings are fubar'd: if I pick up the prop and turn it in my hands the bearing carriers(?) freely rotate under their own weight, one more than the other. I would have expected a bit more resistance if they were ok.
2. If the prop specialists are the answer to the above, does anyone know whether having it repaired is any cheaper than buying a new prop and just swapping them?
3. As I've now effectively got a 2WD, is the car OK to drive like this or is there anything else I should do (in the short term) whilst it's running like this. I can't really afford to be without the car day-to-day, but if I shouldn't run it like this so be it.
Many thanks

Hey.

I would strongly recommend reading here about testing the Propshaft with the One Wheel up Test (OWUT) https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/tests-new-freelander-1-owners-should-do-on-their-car.312863/

However for your other questions the bearings are meant to be smooth and free, if they rotate and make crunchy or grinding noises they need replacing you can also test the VCU (OWUT) with a big prybar / crowbar and a bench vice otherwise but if you don't have one the OWUT is good enough.

As for replacing the prop shaft, the Bearings are much cheaper to replace before labour parts are in the UK £40 for both bearings sometimes less and they can be changed with "relative" ease if you are used to doing car work yourself.

Edit: Replacing the VCU / Entire prop shaft can be expensive however I have had good luck on Facebook market place of people selling them and not knowing their value, got a really good one recently fresh bearings and recently re-conned for £45 kinda felt bad for taking at such a low price

The Car is perfectly fine to run in 2WD with no Prop however some MOT places in the UK will put an advisory that the prop is missing unless you have a blanking plate, the car will be more "reliable" without the prop / less can go wrong.

Hope that helps.

If you replace the support bearings, don't go cheap or you'll be doing the job again, and quite likely within a couple of months. I think FAG ones are the ones to go for. You'll need to separate the props form the VCU to replace then, and this is the go to tutorial for doing that...



You need absolute maximum aggression to separate them - do not be afraid to give it everything - as you can see by the bent chisel in the video. Make sure you don't lose the little plates that come out.

The bearings are also a PITA to get off, although I'm sure a puller would make the job easier. Just be careful pushing the new ones on.

MOT testing aside, there's no real problems running 2WD for a short time (or 10 years!). Biggest loss obviously is AWD, wheel spin increases and it can show up weaknesses in your engine mounts - but will mask any problems with your diff mounts and obviously most issues with the transmission mechanicals.