Propshaft for a 144 Saloon and Vibrations

[foo]

Hi,

The propshaft on my 144 saloon has some play in it. The mechanic has shown me there is play in the splines (where the front section of the propshaft connects to the back section of the propshaft). This causes vibrations particularly over 40mph. He has previously changed the universal joints and he says the central bearing is fine. He recommends a new one.

Where can I get a new propshaft from? Is the propshaft from a 240 the same?

Thanks

[Volvorama]

Surprised it's caused by worn splines. Never had that cause vibration myself. I guess your mechanic has checked stuff like:
Damaged centre rubber cushion
Prop dented, bent or missing a balance weight.
Worn/damaged/badly fitted UJ
UJ moving in worn yolk (I had that)
Front and rear ends of prop not aligned correctly (seen that many times).

The alignment, as I recall, is such that the two extreme ends of the prop shaft are at 90 degrees to eachother. This means that on each half of the prop the yolks should line up.
If you're convinced it's the splines I may have a non-overdrive prop. PM me.

240 prop is different. It is surprisingly inexpensive, I believe, to get a prop reconditioned including a new spline. There are places in the midlands that do this.

[john h]

I think it's rare for the splines to wear much, so a good used prop might also do the job for you.

Has it been rebalanced? I would try that first.

John

[Volvorama]

Oh gawd. I'm suffering from a dreadful cold.
I DO know the difference between yolks and yokes..... Apologies.

[940_Turbo]

Originally Posted by Volvorama

Oh gawd. I'm suffering from a dreadful cold.
I DO know the difference between yolks and yokes..... Apologies.

Mistakes like that are beyond a joke....

[arcturus]

Hey, I make typo's without a bad cold

[foo]

Slight improvement on the prop shaft vibrations. I started work on it this weekend with the plan to change the rubber thingy that sisits in the middle of the two sections of prop shaft. After I took off the rear part of the prop shaft I changed my mind about replacing the rubber thingy as it looked fine; but what I did do was put put the rear section back in slightly rotated. ie I took it out from the front section and then turned it slightly. It isrunning a bit smoother now. Perhaps it is the balancing as mentioned above.

[Derek UK]

There is only one way for the two propshaft sections to be fitted together correctly. Yes they will go together several ways due to the spline but that won't help.
Turn the prop until the yoke at the front of the front section is vertical. Insert the splined yoke with the yoke vertical the same as the front one. They should match. Bolt up the rear flange to the axle. If you still get vibrations you can rotate the rear section 180º and try agin. There might be an improvement. Propshafts should be balanced as a pair and some are fussier than others but they are usually fairly forgiving. Illustrations on how to fit a propshaft are in all of the manuals. I assume you have one....................
A new set of the special fixing bolts makes the job easier If the nuts are rounded off on the old ones.

[kishor kassie]

Originally Posted by foo

Hi,

The propshaft on my 144 saloon has some play in it. The mechanic has shown me there is play in the splines (where the front section of the propshaft connects to the back section of the propshaft). This causes vibrations particularly over 40mph. He has previously changed the universal joints and he says the central bearing is fine. He recommends a new one.

Where can I get a new propshaft from? Is the propshaft from a 240 the same?

Thanks

Hi. I am 100% certain it is not the spline wear. Your problem is in most likely one of 2 place. Have you replaced the U joint? Check the rear one that connects to the diff as this wears first. Check all U joints for free smooth rolling of the joint.
If all the joints are good, then it is possibly a worn carrier rubber bush.