'Wobble under load'?

[Musogen]

It seems that I may just have encountered the 'wobble under load' problem, but not sure whether the symptoms add up to new CV joints, drive shafts or gearbox!

Dragging the caravan back to Dorset from a very pleasant and trouble-free 2 weeks in the Peaks, we noticed some vibration on approaching Chesterfield, more serious wobble on the M1 which kept us to 40mph as a knocking noise developed and the whole front end shuddered... it felt like driving over continuous warning strips on the road. By Newbury it was time to stop and get a piggyback home.

However, push the clutch pedal in and the judder instantly disappears; coasting downhill in gear (or out of gear) was perfectly smooth; going for a short run up and down one or two local hills the morning after, without caravan, bicycles, passengers and baggage, there was no noticeable vibration.

Other symptoms: clunk when engaging 1st or reverse gear, slackness in drive train, difficulty changing from 5 to 6 to 5 (still!), and a low pitched but constant hum/whine which has been present since the spring floods.

Where do I start, or is it time to look for a generous trade-in??

[Dino D]

For me it was the drivers side drive shaft on my V6 auto.
I also had a manual Honda Prelude that did what you described, started out barley noticeable to massive shaking in a pretty short time.
I believe it's easy to diagnose (well my mechanic said so) by simply moving the driveshaft by hand.

[insanitybeard]

Some of your described symptoms, particularly the clunk when engaging gear and slackness in the drivetrain sound very much like the intermediate shaft splines on their way out. However, I don't think that would be the cause of the vibration, which is more likely to be inner CV joints, or maybe even a worn intermediate driveshaft bearing. Are the inner (and outer for that matter) CV boots intact and secure? If not, the floods you mentioned could have caused water and dirt to enter the joints and cause damage.

The fact that the vibration goes when you put the clutch in only indicates that it's a drivetrain issue, as by disengaging the clutch you are removing the load from the transmission and driveshafts. Having a caravan and full car of people and luggage in tow only increases the load on the drivetrain and is likely to exacerbate any faults present.

[Musogen]

Thanks.
So it's time to replace the intermediate shaft as described by Mirez, before that fails, and CV joints at the same time. Is it easy to tell which is the culprit or best to do both inners? The Green Flag mechanic thought the drive shafts felt firm enough, but I'll get it onto a ramp this week for a proper look.

[insanitybeard]

Certainly it's worth having a good check before renewing anything- red dust around the intermediate driveshaft  to gearbox stub shaft joint is a good indicator it's on it's way out, with the front wheels off the ground see how much you can rotate the intermediate shaft relative to the stub shaft. If the inner CV boots are secure and not split and the intermediate shaft is obviously knackered it'd be worth just rectifying that first before fitting new driveshafts/joints to see if that makes a difference to the vibration issue, though as previously stated I don't think worn intermediate shaft splines alone would cause the vibration you describe.

[niall]

Hi there
100% inner cv joints!!
I had this problem in France while pulling the caravan.
My local ford dealer said the CV joints were fine even though he experienced the wobble as well. These joints are intolerant of any slack in the joint. While underneath, grab the driveshaft near the inner cv end and try to move up and down. If there is ANY movement..time to replace them. Go for the Motomax.pl ones, they work best.
While the caravan was off the car was 'wobble' free for a few months but eventually any load ie. going up hill would bring on the 'wobbles'

Best of luck

N

[Musogen]

Visited two local garages today, one of them put my Gal on the ramp and, yes, the N/S inner CV is very slack.
And the wobble is back today, even without any weight aboard.

They both want to replace whole shafts rather than just the joint. Total cost of parts to do both sides from Ford: Ã,£944.08 +VAT!!! Even then there will still be problems in the gearbox - getting into and out of 5th & 6th gears has been getting increasingly difficult - so it looks as though a trade in is going to be my best option. 

Thanks for help and advice.

[insanitybeard]

There are some good (and cheaper!) alternatives out there- you don't have to use genuine Ford parts! And ultimately, it's your choice as to which parts are replaced- just because the garage wants to fit a complete shaft doesn't mean you have to! Have you read this thread and the links within it? As for the 5th-6th gearchange, are you sure it hasn't got anything to do with worn intermediate shaft splines? I've heard it said that can affect gearchange, though admittedly probably not one specific gear to another.

[Musogen]

Has anyone used driveshaftUK.com for their parts? Any idea about quality (bearing in mind that I don't expect to get another 100K miles out of this Gal)? Drive shafts are Ã,£88.88ea including overnight delivery & VAT guaranteed 12months unlimited mileage... intermediate shaft + stub axle Ã,£154incl.

[Dino D]

My local garage replaced the whole shaft with a pattern part and 12 mth warranty. I think hey charges me around 150 for the shaft which was more than I could buy it myself BUT the pointe out that as part of the 12mth warranty they would take out the part and replace it if it failed under warranty.
Given the cost if labour seemed like a fair deal to me.

I would say try an independent. It's a common job on these (and most powerful/heavy front wheel drive cars) so nothing new for a garage I imagine.

[Dino D]

Just found my old post from when I had it done with all costs below:

Just thought I'd give an update on this.
My local garage sourced a recon driveshaft (compete for passenger side). Too a week to come. The passenger side for the auto v6 seem scarce for some reason - on eBay the big sellers had stock for manuals and drivers but not the autos.

The part was Ã,£155.00 and they take the old one in exchange. 12 months warranty.
Total for job including labour was Ã,£225 (incl vat).

[Dino D]

I should add that this was for the drivers side on a v6 auto.
For some reason that side for the auto is more expensive an harder to get hold of.
The part for a manual model is less than Ã,£100 I believe.