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Re: How loose should drive shaft u-joints be? (archive)
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Posted by Clyde on June 25, 2001 at 12:11:22:

In Reply to: How loose should drive shaft u-joints be? posted by San Diego Mike on June 24, 2001 at 21:41:03:


Replaced center bearing this weekend...what a PITA! Broke an exhaust stud during reinstallation. Very frustrating, as vibration/rumble is now worse than before in first and second on acceleration. There was not a lot of slop in the front ujoint, but the joints had no resistance to movement at all...new guibo and center bearing did not help. And yes, I pre loaded the center bearing (twice). Any advise...I'm even thinking of taking it to the dealer? Pls help.

Regards, Mike. 86 535i


Look for my post of 6/20 ("Re: Shudder at Low Speed") -- if you bend the mounting tabs of the center bearing to reduce the angle between the front and back driveline segments, you may be able to eliminate the vibration. Worked for me. The good news is that you should be able to manage this without removing the exhaust.

Let us know how you make out. I read lots of posts where people simply replace the entire driveline assembly with a rebuilt unit.

As far as "how much play is too much," one shouldn't feel any play in a u-joint. There should be no binding either, but that is hard to check without the driveshaft out of the car.

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