Drive shaft joint problem

[Badgerpoo]

Car is a 406 V6 Estate.

I'm not sure what the technical term for this is, but the drive shaft as it exits the gearbox (I think) gaitor has split. It's the end of the drive shaft opposite the wheel end. The car has been making odd noises when going over bumps and this must be the cause. Can I get a new gaitor and grease and put it on or is the damage more serious?

[trem1]

should be able to just get a new gaiter and grease,one of the glue together gaiters would be easiest

[Japster]

The glue together two part gators are not worth the bother it just means you will be doing the job again in no time, to do it properly shouldnt take you over 30 mins to put the gator on and the job will be finished with peace of mind.

[trem1]

The glue together two part gators are not worth the bother it just means you will be doing the job again in no time, to do it properly shouldnt take you over 30 mins to put the gator on and the job will be finished with peace of mind.

ive never had a problem with the glue together ones,but i understand others have,down to what you prefer really

[steve_earwig]

I only used one of those glue together jobs once to get my mk2 Ashtray through it's mot. I changed it for a real one eventually as I wasn't confident but it still looked fine six months on.

The car has been making odd noises when going over bumps and this must be the cause

Hmm, could be too late for it Or it could just be the drop links.

[jasper5]

Firstly, check the driveshaft for excessive movement in the inner driveshaft joint, also check what the brown stuff is, if it's grease you are probably alright, if it's gunge mixed with water the joint may have got worn.....having said that, if the inner joint was worn, your symptoms would be clunking as you took up drive and a severe vibration through the transmission and maybe through the steering.
I tend to agree with Steve, check out your drop links and other front suspension items, not forgetting the lower engine mount.
When you replace the inner driveshaft gaitor make sure that you replace all of the special grease and be careful not to let those metal rings fall off, there are tiny needle bearings inside and if you lose them you will have to replace the inner driveshaft anyway.

[Badgerpoo]

Hmm now that you mention it there is some vibration on hard acceleration. The noise I get is a weird one when you go over large bumps slowly, such as a sleeping policemen. I have quickly checked the suspension links and nothing seems loose. The damper and spring seem ok.

What kind of job is replacing the inner joint?

[jasper5]

You will have to remove the complete driveshaft, take off the the outer casing, then take off a circlip on the end of the shaft, this holds the 3 bearing part of the driveshaft onto the shaft, knock the 3 bearing part off (it's called a spider joint by the way), remove the old driveshaft rubber, clean up the driveshaft and fit the new driveshaft rubber, now fit the new spider joint onto the shaft, fit the new circlip and new grease that will be supplied and fit the new outer casing and clip holding the rubber onto the new shaft casing.Refit the driveshaft.
I would check the lower engine mounting whilst the driveshaft is off the car, fit a new one if it shows any sign of wear (you have to remove a few 16mm headed bolts to remove it from the engine block).

You may find that it is cheaper to replace the whole shaft with a recon unit instead of the inner joint.

[mjb]

What kind of job is replacing the inner joint?

I could probably do it in 2 hours, because I've got a lot of experience pulling driveshafts out of my V6 If it were the driveshaft on the other side it'd be a lot easier...

In a nutshell:

Buy a new washer for the gearbox sump plug
Soak all 3 suspension nuts (bottom balljoint, drop link, track rod end) in WD40 the night before.
Wheel off
Pull the pin from the hub nut cover and remove the cover
Wheel on
Drop car
Crack hub nut (35mm socket needed, 36mm will do but will chew the nut a bit)
Raise car by jacking the subframe and support with axle stands both sills
Drain the gearbox oil
Wheel off
Remove hub nut
Split the drop link, track rod end and then bottom balljoint. Stuff using a fork or splitter - just use a hammer!!!
Pull the hub carrier out the way, freeing the driveshaft
* Stick a jack in the middle of the subframe
* Remove the 2 nuts holding the steering rack pipes to the subframe
* Remove the 2 large steering rack nuts
* Remove the subframe bolts, but leave the nearside (the gearbox end) wishbone and drop-link nuts attached
* Use the jack to lower the subframe a bit
Round the back of the bottom engine mount (which the driveshaft goes through) are two small nuts. Slacken them so the lugs on the wheelarch end are free to turn. These lugs hold the driveshaft in. Be careful not to rip the heat shield, which at 10 years old will be a bit brittle!
Pull the driveshaft out

The bits marked with a * make the job faster and less painful for me, but it you've got tiny hands and long flexible arms you can skip them. I just can't get to the nuts on the engine mount though. Took hours to undo them when I tried it without dropping the subframe!

After you've put it all back together, pull the air filter box+hose out from under the bonnet and remove the reverse light switch which is sticking out the top of the gearbox. Grab a funnel and put 1.9 litres (for a manual gearbox) of transmission oil in.


See my clutch change HOWTO in the knowledge base for pictures of how to do all the above

[Badgerpoo]

Wow thanks guys, very detailed responses!

I'm hoping to have a new car tomorrow to give me a chance to take this one off the road and do some work on it. Also need to replace the power steering pump as it locks up under load causing the Aux belt to stop turning and squeeling like a pig being murdered.

[mjb]

I've also done a howto about the aux belt which you may find useful then

[Badgerpoo]

Already made extensive use of that while diagnosing the squeal, thanks!

[Badgerpoo]

How should I tell which part number I need?

3272S8-2581
ES9J4 INJECTION ; BVM ; ML5T; DRIVESHAFTS WITH ABR 29 TEETH

3273Z3-2848
ES9J4 INJECTION ; BVA; HP20 (AG)

3272T0-2570
ES9J4 INJECTION ; BVA; HP20 (AG)

3273Z1-2574
ES9J4 INJECTION ; BVM ; ML5T; DRIVESHAFTS WITH ABR 29 TEETH

[steve_earwig]

Where are these part numbers from?

[Badgerpoo]

www.thepeugeotshop.co.uk

One of the places that came up when googling for peugeot parts.