Quote:
Originally Posted by John97Tdi
I suspect that,despite being careful, the driveshaft has come apart and added extra distance hence the problem.
I can't be the first person this has happened to so how do I check and if needed relocate/rebuild the shaft?
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I just posted something about this in the "what I did today" thread, but anyway...
If the inner joint has come apart you will know about it just by looking - the boot will be noticeably stretched and the joint will be more or less fixed in a straight line rather than the shaft being able to move about at different angles.
The inner joint can be reassembled reasonably quickly but it helps to have an assistant and you'll need a new clip for the boot. Basically you need to remove the clip from the gearbox (large) end of the boot; you will see now for sure whether the bearings are still properly located in the large three-lobed housing or have slid out the end.
Reassembling is easiest if you have someone to hold the shaft vertically for you, with the inner joint at the bottom end - align the three bearing races with the three large flat areas on the housing and guide all three in simultaneously by "wobbling" them in and out until it descends into the housing. It's hard to describe better than that - you will feel that the three bearings can move a fair bit on their mounts and it's just a case of manipulating them all together until you feel the assembly go in.
Regarding the ball joint - could you use a bit of "gentle" pressure from below with a jack?