Those Who Replaced Driveshaft or Center Support Bearing

[a5m]

Before replacing, did you have a vibration/shudder from the drive line under moderate to hard acceleration? Vibration or shudder at certain speeds only? A rattle type sound (not cowbell) heard in the interior when disengaging clutch at very low speeds with the drive line slightly loaded up?

Just picked up a 6MT w/ 80k and getting a vibration/shudder under hard acceleration in any gear. If I putter around with light throttle application I never feel it. Also happens at certain speeds (around 50 mph) regardless of throttle. Thought it was from lugging but downshifting didn't make a difference, so that makes me think driveshaft? I'm suspecting U-Joint because of the clunk/rattle, but maybe CSB or Guibo too because of the vibration/shudder?

I know obvious answer is to look but don't have a garage and weather sucks right now, and don't want to go to a DIY garage without at least some replacement parts by narrowing it down.

[iamtrashman]

Are you asking to determine if you need to replace yours? Or did you replace yours and it is now vibrating?

If you recently replaced it and it is vibrating you may have reassembled the driveshaft out of phase. It is a balanced assembly that you need to mark before disassembly.

If you are having vibrations under throttle and haven't replaced that stuff, especially in the shifter area it could be CSB or flex disc/guibo.

Both the flex disc and CSB have service lives, if you are around 150,000km or more it is likely time to replace that stuff anyway. If you get under there to replace it and you find something else it is still absolutely worth replacing.

I replaced all of that stuff and my transmission mounts on mine shortly after buying the car. The stuff I took off seemed fine, but I had to remove the driveshaft to install an RTD shifter. It was a "while youre in there" thing. Pretty easy job in the end.

[a5m]

Originally Posted by iamtrashman

Are you asking to determine if you need to replace yours? Or did you replace yours and it is now vibrating?

If you recently replaced it and it is vibrating you may have reassembled the driveshaft out of phase. It is a balanced assembly that you need to mark before disassembly.

If you are having vibrations under throttle and haven't replaced that stuff, especially in the shifter area it could be CSB or flex disc/guibo.

Both the flex disc and CSB have service lives, if you are around 150,000km or more it is likely time to replace that stuff anyway. If you get under there to replace it and you find something else it is still absolutely worth replacing.

I replaced all of that stuff and my transmission mounts on mine shortly after buying the car. The stuff I took off seemed fine, but I had to remove the driveshaft to install an RTD shifter. It was a "while youre in there" thing. Pretty easy job in the end.

Hey thanks for the reply.

No I haven't replaced anything yet and am trying to determine what is causing the vibration.

Honestly I'd be inclined towards replacing the CSB as a general maintenance item but I'm afraid of it giving me a hard time. Isn't a press required, and or specialized tools/techniques?

The vibration seems to come from the rear end. I haven't really noticed it in the shifter area but haven't paid close enough attention either. Will do next time. The rattle/clunking at low speeds is definitely near the shifter area.

The car had the clutch replaced at around 56k. I'm suspecting maybe driveshaft wasn't reinstalled properly, even though it was done by the dealer.

[iamtrashman]

I personally think 24,000 miles is a pretty long time for an improperly installed thing to start rearing its head, but stranger things have certainly happened.

The CSB is very easy to do if you have a bit of patience and are able to take your time. Splitting the driveshaft into two pieces is pretty easy and there are plenty of guides online that outline the process. The CSB itself CAN be stuck on the driveshaft pretty good, but if its a car that hasnt seen a lot of humidity and all season driving, it will likely come off without too much fuss. This is the part you need patience for. Slowly working around the circumference with a small punch and a hammer should get it to come off if you dont have a puller to remove it. In my case, I actually just bonked it once with a hammer using a piece of wood as a drift. It came off in one tap. I have seen others take more effort though.

I have also seen the flex disc/guibo bolts actually come apart before as well. They are supposed to be one time use bolts (as they are torque to yield), and they are supposed to be installed with loctite. If a shop replaced the clutch and didnt at least loctite the old bolts, it is possible a nut has fallen off and its starting to wobble around.

Both cases are going to be pretty obvious and when doing one its worth it to do the other because the disassembly is basically the same for both.

Check your differential mounting hardware as well. I have heard of bushings failing and bending/breaking the mounting bolts.


Good luck!

[a5m]

Originally Posted by iamtrashman

I personally think 24,000 miles is a pretty long time for an improperly installed thing to start rearing its head, but stranger things have certainly happened.

The CSB is very easy to do if you have a bit of patience and are able to take your time. Splitting the driveshaft into two pieces is pretty easy and there are plenty of guides online that outline the process. The CSB itself CAN be stuck on the driveshaft pretty good, but if its a car that hasnt seen a lot of humidity and all season driving, it will likely come off without too much fuss. This is the part you need patience for. Slowly working around the circumference with a small punch and a hammer should get it to come off if you dont have a puller to remove it. In my case, I actually just bonked it once with a hammer using a piece of wood as a drift. It came off in one tap. I have seen others take more effort though.

I have also seen the flex disc/guibo bolts actually come apart before as well. They are supposed to be one time use bolts (as they are torque to yield), and they are supposed to be installed with loctite. If a shop replaced the clutch and didnt at least loctite the old bolts, it is possible a nut has fallen off and its starting to wobble around.

Both cases are going to be pretty obvious and when doing one its worth it to do the other because the disassembly is basically the same for both.

Check your differential mounting hardware as well. I have heard of bushings failing and bending/breaking the mounting bolts.


Good luck!

You're right, 24k is a lot. Was thinking maybe the problem was there all along but masked/managed by easy driving, or maybe got worse as time went on? Definitely considered the possibility of a loose bolt or two. A lot of questions will get answered once I get hands on.

That's really promising to hear about the CSB. Part of me wants to do this at home so I'm not rushed, can take my time working on the parts, and reinstall when ready. As opposed to a DIY garage charging by the hour.

Yup the diff and it's bolts and bushings. Gotta take a look there too. So many possibilities, this will need to be done thoroughly.

Will start by ordering parts and planning for the weekend and update. Thanks so much for your help and advice. Helps immensely