Propshaft rattle at engine end

[maston]

Hi all,

Am I right in thinking my UJ bushes or the UJ's themselves have had it as at low revs (especially in 4th gear) there is a loud rattle which I'm 99% sure is coming from the propshaft UJ by the engine/gearbox end?

A while ago I filled it with grease (has a grease nipple) which temporarily cured it but the rattle has now come back.

If so can I get new bushes or will I need new UJ's and who sells them ?

Many Thanks

[Danny Hoffman]

When the front prop uj went on mine I got vibration at high speed, a bit like an out of balance wheel.

From under the car if I grabbed the prop and pushed it up I could feel some play

[maston]

Thanks Danny, did you replace it easy enough ?

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Ian..As Danny say's..Vibration is more prevelant with a prop not a rattle..When mine was going it too vibrated the car..More of a rumble until it actually snapped and then the whole car shuddered at 10mph..I was lucky as it snapped just as i come off the A2..Mine also had a clunk when putting into gear or de-accelerating..Bit like an auto when you put it in gear...That was the driveshafts UJ's failing...Im sure some have a heat sheild where you are talking about so it could be that rattling...Didnt you have it on the rollers the other day...I would of thought they would of felt it if it was the prop..If it is and you need a new one there is a place in dartford who can weld and balance your old one...I had mine done for about 100 smackers..Cheers..Ziga

[Danny Hoffman]

It was a while ago but from memory I just had to remove the 4 nuts & bolts from the diff end & managed to thread the prop out without having to disturb the exhaust.

Then a standard UJ swap, did both obviously whilst it was off.

Remember to keep the outsides of the endcaps covered with a smear of grease to keep the moisture out, I'm sure this is what destroys them

[njhucker]

A worn uj will clunk when you take up drive. Try lifting the gear stick while driving along. If the noise disappears then it is your remote bushes gone soft and the end of the remote is starting to touch the propshaft.

[barrington]

If its a rattle could be exhaust hitting rh chassis ?

[Wedg1e]

njhucker said:

A worn uj will clunk when you take up drive. Try lifting the gear stick while driving along. If the noise disappears then it is your remote bushes gone soft and the end of the remote is starting to touch the propshaft.

I'd be checking this forst, it's becoming a very common issue... and the prop UJs are stressed a lot less than the half-shaft ones.

The prop used on the V8 cars (maybe the V6s as well, I can't recall) has a sliding-spline (Cardan) section at the front... if you remove the 4 bolts securing it to the gearbox output flange, you can undo the ribbed locking ring and pull the front section off the prop without having to disconnect the rear flange as well - though arguably if you're needing to change the front UJ, the back one is probably at death's door too.

[adam quantrill]

If you remove the prop from the chassis take some chalk with you and mark the gap that you extracted it through. Because if you forget there are about 5 possible holes but only one will work!

[mrzigazaga]

Ian...This is something you need to get checked by someone else..No offence but the screwdriver is not going to be able to fix it..No matter how big it is...

[Number 7]

barrington said:

If its a rattle could be exhaust hitting rh chassis ?

Could be that - the n/s manifold to exhaust joint is very close to the chassis on mine, and can give the occasional clonk depending on how the exhaust has been assembled. Worth also checking that the M18 nut behind the forward prop flange (on the end of the mainshaft in the gearbox?) has not slackened - that would definitely cause a vibration.