clunking from prop shaft?? any ideas??

[S3 richy]

hi all,

got the roof off earlier & noticed a clunking from below when pulling off in 1st & 2nd gears, only does it if you load the engine slightly or more.

after speaking to my ex-rally driving mexican corner shop owner who used to have capri's & granada V6's, he thinks it could be the prop shaft universal joint?

any sugestions before i book in at a garage? plus does anyone know of a tvr friendly garage in the leicester area?

thanks, Richard.

[pies]

prop shaft universal joint
---------------------------
Sounds about right

Joolz it at Notts if any use ,straight up M1

hth

[GreenV8S]

CV joints seem more likely and produce similar symptoms.

[S3 richy]

hmm, sounds as if it could be expensive.

what is the likleyhood that i could do the work myself? suppose i'd need ramps etc..........

looks like i'll be dibbing into the wedding account again.

do you know if it serious as it is or will it get worse gradually? i dont want to wreck anything else by leaving it a week or two.

plus what sort of checks can i do to tell if it is the uj? (and where is it, end of the gearbox?)

many thanks, Richard

[joospeed]

yup my CV joints did that, I just took the driveshafts off, turned them round so they were powering through the other side of the joint and filled with molybdenum grease .. totally silent after

result

[S3 richy]

are the cv joints checkable with the car on the ground?


wheel off & jacked up?

[S3 richy]

do the cv joints wear just one way, ie the driveshaft wear a groove or something in the joint so turning them around makes them as new if you like?

[tvrgit]

joospeed said:

yup my CV joints did that, I just took the driveshafts off, turned them round so they were powering through the other side of the joint and filled with molybdenum grease .. totally silent after result

I did the same thing with the (identical) drive shafts on a Granada so it DOES work!

[S3 richy]

tvrgit said:

joospeed said: yup my CV joints did that, I just took the driveshafts off, turned them round so they were powering through the other side of the joint and filled with molybdenum grease .. totally silent after result I did the same thing with the (identical) drive shafts on a Granada so it DOES work!

is it a relativly easy job that may be explained in the bible? if so i'm willing to have a crack myself.(cant be arsed to scan the bible, out on the beer shortly!!)

does the suspension need to come off or any silly stuff like that?

[tvrgit]

to change a drive shaft, you simply gat the car up high, remove 6 "Torx" screws around the cv joint at each end, and the drive shaft is off...

what others have done then (so did I) was pull back the cv joint gaiter, clean out the inside of the joint and then re-pack with proper molybdenum cv joint grease (available in a kit at Halfords or motor factors), refix the gaiter (a cable tie will do) and then refit the shaft with the joint that was previously on the inside, on the outside.

You don't have to take the wheels off or anything - I did mine with the car on ramps.

It's not too hard - Haynes Sierra or Granada manuals would help, the cv joints are Sierra, I think the Granada shafts are slightly longer, but the principle is the same.

Hope this helps

[tvrgit]

By the way, the V6 granadas and sierras had a strange joint in the middle of the main propshaft, behind the gearbox - your friend is right, they are notorius for the problem you describe...

But the S doesn't have that joint - it does have ordinary UJs at each end of the prop shaft.

Stick the car in gear, get underneath and you should be able to feel any play if you twist the propshaft and each drive shaft against each joint - don't be misled by natural backlash in the diff though...

[joospeed]

tvrgit said:

By the way, the V6 granadas and sierras had a strange joint in the middle of the main propshaft, behind the gearbox - your friend is right, they are notorius for the problem you describe... But the S doesn't have that joint - it does have ordinary UJs at each end of the prop shaft. Stick the car in gear, get underneath and you should be able to feel any play if you twist the propshaft and each drive shaft against each joint - don't be misled by natural backlash in the diff though...

good answer

[tvrgit]

I should be charging money for this

[pies]

simple solution= put the roof back on

[tvrgit]

a good solution for those who don't know even how to get wheels off

[S3 richy]

i'd say putting the roof on was more dificult than taking a wheel off.................... (especially last wek during a thunder storm)

[S3 richy]

ps



















and lots of it...........













good luck to all who are going to silverstone tommorow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wish i could be there.....

[gefopsman]

Just replaced UJs and CV joints today. CVs were £24 each and were a simple fit. UJs require dropping of the diff to get the propshaft out but then were fairly straight forward @ £12 each.
If your clunking is as bad as mine it is likely to be the CVs which could be turned by hand with a fair amount of play. The grease had all dried and gone hard. I got the bearings out of one and they were all shapes.
Took her for a short drive afterwards and the drive train feels much better now. No play when moving off or changing gear.

Broken ankle stopped me going for a good spin!!!

I would recommend doing the CVs first as it is an easy fix. If there is still any noise or play, the UJs will complete the job.

Hopefully going to get the wife to drive her to Silverstone tomorrow.

[joospeed]

top work

[S3 richy]

tvrgit said:

I should be charging money for this

top stuff,

thanks to everyone!!

took drive shaft off, took cv's to bits & cleaned with thinners then fitted new boots, old one ok but for £5 its worth it. packed in about 85g of cv grease (molibdumnunmnumn) then fitted the shaft the opposite way round, took about 2 hours, but will be quicker next time.

totally silent, top job, well worth not letting a garage do it!!!!

cheers again,

Richard.