Driveshaft bolts sheared off - transmission side

[sharkjazz]

Good morning all, long time not been here. Hope all are well.

New problem.

three of the six bolts / screws/ things that join the drive shaft to the transmission have sheared off leaving the tip in the hole.

Problem is this has happen in a rather inconvenient place (as always)

Question 1) is, anyone have any experience driving on just 3/6 bolts?

I have attempted to drive on 3 before (although only 1 was full size, the others were long enough to be tightened, just not 100% full), but it was offroad and steep and they snapped again lol

This time, it will be tarmic road, apart from a 5 metre dirt road and a smallish bump to get onto the main road.


Question 2)
How easy will it be to get the tips of the screws out of the housing on the transmission side? The last time this happened was on the wheel side and that was not so difficult. But cannot see how to get the housing off the transmission is. Or is this a mechnica job?


As always, many thanks

[Oldiebut goodie]

The bolt ends usually remain loose, I removed mine just by turning them with a small screwdriver when mine went. They are usually only tight when under tension, possibly they could be bent slightly though but unlikely as they are in the threaded portion.
Personally to get it off the freeway/whatever I would put as many bolts in as you can and drive very gently until you have got the van home/safe. So long as you don't drop the clutch and put too much strain on the shafts you can get home. (says he who was driving with just one bolt briefly )
I would point you to my uncle in Lomita who specialized in European cars and had a couple of garages but he is retired and pushing 80 now!

[Ian Hulley]

DON'T drive on 3

The stubs come out easily ... without their CV joint there's nothing to be tight against

Ian

[sharkjazz]

DON'T drive on 3

The stubs come out easily ... without their CV joint there's nothing to be tight against

Ian

Ok.

The van is in a place I can work on (ish), and isn't in such a dangerous place. At least it cannot be stolen and driven away lol

But the window doesn't lock and the doors are easily opened with any key / piece of metal, so I doubt the things inside will last long (at least the stereo sas already been stolen so that is one less worry).

How would I go about getting the stubs out? I don't see a way to get them out as they are screwed into the holes, and there is nothing to grip against to unscrew them as they have snapped off flush.

I'll get a picture when I wander down to check everything is ok as it will explain things better than I can

[Oldiebut goodie]

That was quick - you have moved from LA to Ecuador in a few minutes!
They may be flush but there is usually a small piece of thread that you can use to turn the stub with a small screwdriver - it won't be tight.
Ian and I will disagree on this but if it is a case of losing your van or driving gently with 3 bolts I know what I would do. And if no bolts to hand I would also take one from a couple of the other joints. (We don't always breakdown near civilization)

[Ian Hulley]

They may be flush but there is usually a small piece of thread that you can use to turn the stub with a small screwdriver - it won't be tight.
Ian and I will disagree on this but if it is a case of losing your van or driving gently with 3 bolts I know what I would do. And if no bolts to hand I would also take one from a couple of the other joints. (We don't always breakdown near civilization)

Ian won't disagree with you at all old mate, needs must and all that. Having seen Pepperami break down on the way to Bus Stopover 3 years ago and Simon & Nicola Cygnac struggling in Cornwall I always carry a complete pre-greased CV joint kit and tools.

[sharkjazz]

Cheers guys.

Will go have another look at getting the stumps out.

Problem with driving back to our place is it is 1.5km down a dirt road where you have the obligatory speed bumps (think mini mountains) and speed dips, this along with the bumps, holes is probably the cause of the issue, so best not to drive here. No one will be able to steal her as no one will be able to change gears as even the "working" gears take a bit of magic know how to get them in

I realised my details were a bit out of date, I guess the last time we had issues was when we were in LA. But I do not like to think about those times. Luckily we found a great mechanic in Las Vegas (after we managed to literally crawl in) who was a God send. He took pity on us and undercharged where he could as everything kept going wrong with the van. (The sea journey from Malaysia caused a lot of near worn components to fail), got about $4k worth of repairs for $2k. He had driven from Uruguay up to the US in the 70s so was interested in our trip. Spent a fun filled two weeks camped in the forecout during thanksgiving 2011.

[sharkjazz]

update. Got two of the stumps out with one stuck, it is sunken and seems to have snapped off smooth, no spur or anything can use to get it out.

Spent all afternoon cycling around trying to find some bolts to use but to no avail. Will have to try the city, 3 hour bus trip each way.

Additional problems spotted.

The rubber casing on one of the inner end drive shafts has a split. And the rubber casing when the driveshaft goes into the wheel has completely come away! It is possible to see the bearings and all inside. We drive often dusty muddy roads so this can only be bad. Anyone know just how bad this is?

[Ian Hulley]

The rubber casing on one of the inner end drive shafts has a split. And the rubber casing when the driveshaft goes into the wheel has completely come away! It is possible to see the bearings and all inside. We drive often dusty muddy roads so this can only be bad. Anyone know just how bad this is?

It's pretty obvious that all the CVs need to be renovated as a matter of urgency ... sooner or later it will leave you walking. No pretty words will smooth that simple fact over. Dust and dirt ingress forms a grinding paste which accelelrates normal wear immensely.

Ian

[sharkjazz]

Ouch. Cheers for the info. Shouldn't be too difficult to sort out as they have plenty of the Brazilian made T2 style vans here.

Was made an offer of $5k for the van, which turned down at the time, but is looking more attractive, especially as the van is completely illegal here now unless can find someone to sell us legal looking dodgy papers.

[Oldiebut goodie]

What's the S. American version of "baksheesh"?

[HarryMann]

Hi, I'll say Good Luck before we start

Ian's correct, with even a small split in a boot, you're talking days, a bigger split and some big dirty puddles of water, maybe hours before the clicking and clanking starts

To preserve and put off the moment, squirt grease into the split to deter water ingress. Some Syncros have large rubber flaps in front of their vital organs (their 8 CV joints) to try to deflect the worst threat to existence ~ sharp stones striking at speed.

Happy travels

[Fin]

Hey Sharkjazz - I don't mean to come across rude - but

You bought a T25 and seem to have not a lot of mechanical knowledge?

I'd suggest a good few books - read all of the wiki twice, or sell the T25 and buy a bongo or something - I know you love your van, as we all do, but sometimes you have to cut your losses - I'd have taken the 5k

[sharkjazz]

maybe hours before the clicking and clanking starts

I know that sound, don't worry. Horrible nasty fear enducing sound at first. I can now blend it out with all the other strange noises the van makes :

Went through 3 driveshafts on this trip. One seemed to be killed by gunning up, quite possibly the steepest hill a T25 has ever gone up in Ko Phan Ngan, Thailand.

Had a new one fitted in LA, that was destroyed by the lovely smooth motorways on the way to Las Vegas via Seqoia (sp) National Park and Death Valley.

The final one went somewhere between Nicaragua and Panama.Bit of grease in their tends to quieten them for a while.

[sharkjazz]

Hey Sharkjazz - I don't mean to come across rude - but

You bought a T25 and seem to have not a lot of mechanical knowledge?

I'd suggest a good few books - read all of the wiki twice, or sell the T25 and buy a bongo or something - I know you love your van, as we all do, but sometimes you have to cut your losses - I'd have taken the 5k

No rudeness coming across amigo, just a bit over precaution imo, I wasn't aware you had to pass a mechanics test in order to buy a T25?

Yeah it helps, but where's the fun. There is a fundamental human decency still to be found around the world where people stop and offer to help (or give you their 2ps worth whether you want it or now so help is never far at hand.

Anyway, you are never thatfar from a "mechanic" when you really need one. And if you are, well you have your camper with. Get a camp fire going and things will work themselves out.

Bought the van with absolute zero knowledge. Couldn't even find out how to check the oil (stupid hidden folding down number plate). Had some basic issues (and some not so basic), but always muddled through (admittedly it was quicker when had the help from others). But now know the basics and then some.

Got 2 punctures in Pakistan, 30 miles from the Afganistan border when our armed guards couldn't be bothered to follow us any more and pointed us in the right direction. A local guy ( think of a stereotypically dressed Taliban) stopped, tried to talk, waved his arms alot, scared the girls abit lol, and then (it turned out) went to inform the guards at the next police check point we needed help. Puncture repair kit and a compressor later we were on our way.

Put a hole in our oil tank going off road around the Annapurna mountain range in Nepal. Got the oil tank off, hitched a ride for an hour to the town on a tractor, got a patch welded on. Ok the patch instantly fell off as was the wrong weld type, but then found another welder. The oil tank is still going strong.

Trying to find a replacement spring for the suspension in Vietienne on a Sunday in Laos, isn't so easy, as speaking English isn't a requisite for being a mechnica (unfortunately). But someone will take pity on you and make a few calls, and get some one to speak English (even if it is a 10year old), then more phone calls can be made and before you know if you have a spring of some kind, that sort of fits and the highest sitting rear suspsension ever seen on a T25. But we sure as hell don't hit that sump going off road :

Stopped the bolts off the inner driveshaft whilst again going offroad to some hot springs some where in Honduras on the road we were warned not to camp on by the local Alcade (local MP I suppose). But found a local village and an "engineer" came along and helped out for two days whilst I took about 3 buses to a nearby town to find some bolts. But we got it fixed.

Nothing like -25c to show you your glow plugs are shagged and the relay doesn't work. One heated garage later and a 10 hour drive to the south of the US where it is warmer and an Export Parts dealer was found. After many hours, I figured out what the glow plugs are, and yes they were actually put in a real stupid place that is all but impossible to remove unless you have small hands (and I have quite small hands). But is another task I can now accomplish

...and the stories go on and on, but you get the picture. You always muddle through.

If I had read the VW T25 Haynes manual cover to cover and read over the wiki a few times, we wouldn't even have started the trip yet and I would have just forgot everything had read anyway. Maybe it is me, but I learn (and remember a lot more by doing than reading).

Perhaps if had a better mechanical knowledge would have realised just how unlikely the trip was to succeed. But we started off happily ignorant, 4 continents, and 30 odd countries later we made it.

Anyway, sounds like we need two new driveshafts and a bit of work on the gearbox in going backwards. Apart from that, we still rocking :