Think I need a new driveshaft...

[andy_casey]

I have a judder when accelerating from 40-60mph or so. No vibration at cruise, engine runs sweetly above and below that speed. I've read that the gearbox end of the driveshaft can wear and cause these symptoms. On inspection, there is fluid weeping from one side of the gearbox...

Question is, what parts are replaceable? Can I just change the gearbox end? Car is a 1.6 16v cheap runaround, so £300+ on shafts from Renault ,(like I did on my 172) is not an option.

 

[ben lee]

Theres a company on ebay that do new drive shafts for under £25 J and R i think they are cauld.
Have them on mine now done over 15k on one so far without any problems inc trackdays and a sprint.

 

[andy_casey]

Sweet. I did see them but wasn't sure if they would be utter tosh.

I've read that the inner joint wears; is this on the gearbox or driveshaft side? Don't want to do half a job and end up with the same issue and a lighter wallet.

 

[andy_casey]

Got the driveshafts through and they combined postage, so it was <£70 for both.

I swapped out the driver's side shaft this weekend and the problem has gone. When I was taking the old one out, the bracket that holds the bearing to the gearbox was fairly loose and held on by 1.5 bolts rather than 3! Although I've now swapped the driveshaft for the new one, an inspection of the old driveshaft showed little in the way of wear, so I can recommend that for anyone reading this who has an issue, it may be worth checking the bolts on the bracket are tight, as movement here will have a similar effect to a knackered centre joint!

Looks like the passenger side one has been replaced and as all is working well, I'll leave it for now and replace it if / when I do the lower arms, BJs, TREs etc.