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Prop Shaft play


PeterH

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One winter job - investigate knock from rear on take up / over run. UJ's appear OK, but noticable play in sliding joint of prop shaft. Car is Mk3 Spit, with what the manual calls 'FrictionLess' prop shaft. Can anything be done about it or is it a complete new shaft?

Peter

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when you say play do you mean radial or rotational? There will always be some play especially radially and I think it would have to be huge to make a knock so its much more likely to be something else such as a bush/mounting on: suspension, tie arms, leaf spring, differential, gearbox, exhaust etc

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It's rotational, and when I turn back and forth there is quite a noticable clunk.

The car was rebuilt about 4 years ago with all new bushes, a new spring 2 years ago and a gearbox rebuild last year (the knock was there before that).

I've just taken the diff out to rebuild / replace as there is quite a whine from it. (more noticable now the gearbox is quieter !)

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wow well if its definitely not u/js or the backlash clonk coming from the diff or gearbox gears as you rotate the prop back and forth then its got to be the splines and replacement is the only option. Saying that mine has some play in it (but doesnt give a clonk) and Ive been toying with the idea of making thin strips of steel shim to insert in the splines! Probably wont work or they wont last very long but I do love a good fiddle - as long as its cheap of course......

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The only reason to say dont seperate is to keep the yokes in phase  

So long as they align it doesnt matter

The telescope on my Vit6 when we got her was dreadful its suprising as they dont have to move  maybe thats why ???

Did fill the splines with bath sealant it improved it for 5000 miles then succumbed to a new prop.

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I guess 180 would contribute to balance changes, mine the telescope was a real worn out mess, I doubt slivers of shim will work

Any prop place can cut the spline off and weld on  a new one with a new yoke  as compromise

buying a full prop  being around eg canley  £166.  New makes a world of difference

You can chase you tail,with prop problems, my 2000 had what appeared a good prop but  major vibro

Quick exam by the prop place and it had been shortened or such the telescope  end had been welded on without a spigot

Into the tube , not balance .....serious runout....  new is so  smooooooth !!

Pete

 

 

 

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I investigated taking the joint apart this morning. You're braver men than me with all those loose rollers. Fortunately I was only gently pulling as the sectioned view in the manual seemed to show something odd. I slid it back and screwed on the retainer quite quickly.

Now to see what the diff's like inside.

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eh! loose rollers - are we talking about the sliding joint here? As far as I know theyre all the same (with the exception of the earliest types) having a splined bar on the propshaft end onto which the coupling with its u/j slides. The there's a threaded cap that you do up onto the end of the coupling part to retain it. Theres no rollers and shouldnt be any loose parts unless some of the splines have broken off.......  

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agreed, the only thing to resist sliding the yoke coming off  the splined shaft is the crappy seal ,often just cork.  a good pull and you have it in two parts

a yoke and a long tuuuube   Ha 

paul you talk about seeing what the diff is like  what do you think you are going to  see. ????  might i suggest,,     if the prop slide caused a withdrawl  .. dont touch the diff  !!!

 

Pete

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The diff is a differerent job. Very noisy - nothing to do with the clonk. Just taken the oportunity to check the U/Js propshaft etc whist taking diff out.

This is a scan from the W/S manual I've marked the rollers. Don't know how many but apear to be stacked in rows between the splines.

P.Shaft.jpg

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youre right and I didnt know but it appears that a 'frictionless' prop was fitted for a while before they went to the simpler type. Also if it is worn theres nothing that can be done other than replacement probably using the later more common design.

With the diff I think Pete is warning that its quite a complicated item that can be difficult to overhaul successfully and I agree....

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ive seen that but never come across one,  why  ??   would you use a frictionless design on a prop running at a fixed length , makes little sense .

theres  3  the awful strap drive nasty , a simple telescopic spline drive,  and the    Utopian frictionless      time to get me slippers 

the fricless has  linear ball race idea along the spline run.

Pete

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Many moons ago I was a service instructor with Massey Ferguson, so I've rebuilt several diffs, albeit somewhat larger and with all the service tools available.

On one course on a 4-wd loading shovel the students managed to put one diff in upside down so one axle drove forward the other back  !!!  No time left for them to correct so there was some midnight oil burnt by us instructors to take out and refit correctly in order to get the machine out of the workshop ready for the next course.

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props and diffs dont really knock ..........whine and vibrate  yes

most knocks are drive shaft, hub, wheel related along with tie bars ans such like 

whine is generally bearings , or bearing wear affecting mesh on drive and overrun 

obviously mounting distance and tooth condition are contenders for whine but we assume set correctly at the factory .

Pete

 

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