help!!! now seriously losing the will to live!!

[123-jn]

My original problem was a cv sort of noise on the left rear when under power and cornering right, the bearing had alot of play and the cv needed checking so I replaced the bearing changed the cv joints and sorted the brakes both sides including new cylinders. On my test drive I now had cv knock under power in a straight line, throttle off and it stopped. I decided to try another set of cv joints on the same shaft as the first set I had noticed a lot of play in when I fitted them. (cheaper) Sop now after fitting a set of meyle german joints which felt great I have the same problem but a slightly different knock. Still a rotary sort of knock only present with the power down. Still coming from the left side. Is there anything I could have done wrong fitting the bearings? I noticed there was no stop ledge for the roller bearing so I drove it to the discolouration left by the old one. What else can cause this sort of noise but only under power? any help would be greatly appreciated.

[dave friday]

I do sympathize....bent drive shaft? swap the left shaft for the right,is the wheel hub a good fit on the splines?.

[123-jn]

It turns out that the drive shaft appears to be thown out towards the stub axle on power and is knocking against the inside face of the drive flange as I drive along, This doesn't appear to happen on the other side? Am I supposed to use the drive shaft gaiters to try to keep the shaft running more centrally? Will they do the job. Has anyone else had this problem ?

[big red bus]

the boot doesnt hold the shaft clear. had same prob. removed shaft. grease both joints and fit shaft opposite way to which it came off. noise gone and had no probs since.

[dave friday]

Has the pigtail gone on the left hand spring?

[CovKid]

Another possibility (and rear noises can be a devil to pinpoint) is shock related. For three years I had a definate tapping sound from the back (often rhythmic) but I simply couldn't find it. Vehicle also went through 2-3 MOTs as well until on the fourth visit, the tester found what he thought might very slight play in the bottom shock bush - not movement but a tell-tale sign of watery rust emerging from where the bolt goes through. I tell you, it wasn't much and even having removed the shock, it was a tough call as to whether there was any play there, but that tiny movement was being amplified through the chassis big time. Changed shock and noise went away - AT LAST!

I suppose theres some correlation with movement on the springs when you apply or release power to wheels and this in turn was prompting the annoying noise from bottom shock mount. A shock bolt not nipped up quite enough would also cause it. Food for thought anyway - sometimes noises come from places you don't expect.

[123-jn]

I,ve had a play with the boots on the drive shafts. I have positioned the shaft centrally between the cv's and stretched the inner boot further along the shaft and put a tie on it. Then I pushed the outer boot down towards the outer joint and put a ties on this. Now the shaft will move to and fro but not far enough to hit the inside of the drive pinion plate. Hey presto no more knocking. So why design a drive shaft that can move to hit either end? Anyway as usual on this van whilst underneath you always find something unsavoury. This time it's a sheared manifold stud. Top one just under the stat housing. It's not blowing at present but I reckon there may be enough room to drill it out and tap it without removing the engine. In fact all four look possible to work on front and rear just by dropping the engine down an inch. Perhaps I should put some new exhausts on? (or not)!!!!

[MattBW]

I had similar noise on my van and was very worried, turned out of it was just the exhaust which hadn't been fitted properly and was moving and knocking.

[CovKid]

Have you got enough grease in these joints? I find the meagre packs that come with CV joints or nowhere near enough.

[dave friday]

Have you fitted the cvj on the right way round?

[123-jn]

yep cv's on the right way round, no thrust washers needed as circlip just fits in with a tap from a punch, tried shaft both ways round. What a strange thing. Oh well ok at present we'll see what happens with a few miles on.

[dave friday]

Just realised that you cant swap the drive shafts left to right as they are different lengths [left 531mm right579mm]

[123-jn]

Decided I'm fed up with looking at the underside at the back so will fit the lpg tank next at the front for a change of scenery. I'll come back to the driveshafts at a later date , oh and the exhaust stud!!