Ever since new ive had this killer noise in my car. I think its from the driveshaft. I can move it foward and backwards a fair amount by hand. Around 3-4cm's. When driving at a certain rpm it makes a killer grinding noise, when taking off it clunks. Mostly around car parks and such. Highway is no problem The actual bearing at the diff end has the play in it. Is this normal? After a certain speed it doesnt make any noise. I was watching it under the car, its fairly unstable when staring off, moving laterally a cm or so, but once you reach a smooth speed it quitens down and stops moving around. Any advice?
Sounds as though the nut holding the differential Pinion Shaft Flange is coming undone. GET IT LOOKED AT IMMEDIATELY!
If it still has the CV joint at the rear, not a normal uni-joint, that ammount of movement is normal. One piece shafts should be fiited with a rear uni-joint, this eliminates the movement and clucking when loaded and unloaded.
whatever ... it should NOT be making a "killer grinding noise" nor a "clunk" ... something is amiss .... !!!!
The shafts that retain the cv joint at the rear make a clunk noise when getting on or off the throttle because there is nothing there to locate it, that is what the centre bearing did. If your's has the cv it is normal, although not the best solution. All one piece shafts should have a uni at the rear, I don't know why some retain the cv, I have had 2 shafts redone because of this.
The 6 bolt CV Pinion Shaft flange on my 89 JDM TT, IS retained by a large centre nut(this is the nut that is tensioned to crush the crush-able Pinion Shaft Spacer in the TT Diff)so there is absolutely no fore & aft movement involved.
Nah, the diff flange isn't the issue. It's just the inherent design of the CV joint which allows movement axially. Same as the CV joints on the rear axles.
You are talking about the pinion shaft flange, I am talking about the CV joint that is at the diff end of the tailshaft. Does your tailshaft use a uni joint at the rear like this Or does it retain the factory CV joint like this If it is like the second picture, they float back and forth, nothing to do with the pinion shaft or flange. If it is like the first picture and floating back an forth, your diff has issues, tightening the pinion nut may stop it but your diff is almost stuffed from the excess movement in the pinion.
My car retains the pinion shaft flange from the original CV joint fitment but now has a full uni joint one piece tailshaft(as shown in your first pic), I have no issues with this setup what-so-ever. I did not understand the earlier statement saying that the CV joint is not bolted to the diff, and moves about freely(as my original 2 piece shaft definitely bolted to the same pinion shaft flange, which in turn was bolted to the pinion shaft. No room for fore and aft movement that I could determine).
I think you might have mis-understood. I never said the CV wasn't bolted to the diff. A complete CV joint is made up of many parts, one of which is bolted onto the pinion flange, the other side is welded to the shaft, these 2 part are set together with large steel ball bearings. The original CV flange is bolted to the diff, but the design of a CV allows it to float back and forth. So while the CV flange is secured to the pinion shaft flange, the actual CV joint itself can move and so moves the tailshaft also. Part of a centre bearings use is to locate the shaft longitudinally to prevent this movement.
Yep, I did misinterpret what you were saying, mostly because of the comment from the OP, who claimed the movement was 2-3cms(which seems hugely exaggerated IMHO).:zlove:
A CV will be able to move 20-30cm easy enough! With a CV on the axle you can get a good 50mm of movement.
.. the "killer grinding noise" still appears to be not addressed ...????? .. and Chrispy ..did you really mean "20-30 cm movement" .. that is lots ... ????
It is alot of movement baz, but not in the context the cv was designed to be used in, ie- joints moving in multiple plains and angles requiring alot of articulation and smooth operation. Nissan used a cv at the rear for its smooth quiet operation, they also used a centre bearing to prevent excess movement. As a universal joint rotates, it tends to go from tight to loose continually, that is why max angularity of the drive shaft is usually 7 degrees, any more and the uni will bind. Going to a one piece shaft and retaining the cv is stupid imho, all should be fitted with a uni at the rear.
Not to steal the op's thread, but I've recently ordered a single piece from czp myself after having the same clunking issue with my stock 2 piece shaft. It should be turning up fairly soon so I was wondering, If it turns up with a cv joint at the rear I'm gathering that I should go and get it replaced with a uni before installing it? Edit: Also, after inspection of my diff, I can rotate the flange cw and ccw, as though there is some play in the diff itself. That is, when turning it in either direction the axles will turn as well. The amount of movement is only small, at a guess less than a centimetre. Being a complete noob to rwd, I was wondering Is this normal? Or is there something else that I should be replacing while under the car? (that doesn't make much sense does it??)
