FiatFleetFamily said:

They bore out original and shrink fit a new insert that will increase lifespan over original material...Thinkl that what happend to ours.

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This has just made me feel a lot better as if there is any "boring out" on refurb it will have a lot less hardness as I can see on the new one there is a flame hardened surface on the CV joint inner surface . This means that the any removal of metal will reduce the eventual hardness of this area.
Another "funny" thing is that the new drive shaft came in a Fiat box but on closer inspection there is an ID which is GKN!!! and a load of numbers. Now call me jaundiced if you like but surely the increased cost of the Fiat V Vauxhall wouldnt have anything to do with it being made in Birmingham and shipped to Turin and back would it? I rang the dealer and got a bit of the deaf ear treatment, which leads me to believe i may be correct in my suspitions. :bang:

DoIDon'tI said:

Sounds like front anti-roll bar bushes to me. Not the most pleasant of jobs but you can do it with ordinary bi-hex spanners if required. For more info have a look on www.vectra-c.com and if you decide you need some, let me know - someone on here sold me their genuine Fiat ones a while back; they don't fit my 2.4 :bang: however they should fit the others, I can give you the part numbers if required. Guarantee you won't find genuine Fiat ARB bushes cheaper anywhere else

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Thanks for all of the information. Having done a bit of further research I finally got the chance to jack the car up the other day and I'm fairly sure it is the ARB bushes. I've browsed a few other forums and the combination of a bit of lubrication together with the warmer weather seems to have virtually eliminated the problem for now. I'll probably get them done soon in any case - I've found a good local independant so I'll take it there as I think its a but byond my limited limited mechanical skills at present.

Just so you know mine started the 40 mph wobble at 23K miles three years ago. It has now done 60K miles. However the wobble has now shifted from 40 mph to 75 mph and is now quite a bit worse.

So maybe time to do something about it.

I brought a Croma 1.9td 150hp that had done 66,000 miles 7 weeks ago, it seemed like a good deal as it has already had 3 drive shafts replaced with Fiat reconditioned units, (1 new inner d/shaft and 2 Fiat recon outer drive shafts). In order to cure the wobble that still existed after these 3 shafts had been fitted its cost me another £800.

Bascially these Croma 1.9 drive shafts are rubbish, furthermore I suggest you dont buy fiat re-conditioned shafts because they are also rubbish. Lets put it like this, if you put together a new Fiat n/s inner drive shaft, together with a re-conditoned Fiat out drive shaft you would expect them to be perfect would'nt you, but mine were not, there was still considerable play, enough to cause the wobble.

I could write pages & payes on this, but to sum up I would say dont buy a 1.9 Croma unless its already had replacement drive shafts and there is no sign of the wobble. Fiat Uk dont want to know and dont accept there is a problem. After owning 3 tempras, a Marea, and a stilo, I think this will be my last Fiat ! How they can sell a car with defective drive shafts beats me !

Its been a while now since I started this thread and can count myself lucky to have read the other threads on drive shaft probs as soon as mine started wobbling. When i had the outer shaft changed I was able to measure the play in the spider bearings on the new v old ones. I found that the play was only marginally more on the old one. I fully expected there to be much much more.
The local independent who changed the shaft was the one who found that the grease had been thrown out of the joint onto the engine under shield and he has put thicker grease in now which will stay put, we hope, as the large dia of the gaiter is shaped to fit exactly around the female of the short shaft and can possibly work loose .

Just to add a little balance against the gloom, mine has done 80k and hasn't had any driveshafts replaced, and no wobble.

No doubt I'll be struck down by the wobble as soon as I type this.

Doofer said:

Just to add a little balance against the gloom, mine has done 80k and hasn't had any driveshafts replaced, and no wobble.

No doubt I'll be struck down by the wobble as soon as I type this.

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You are not alone; 81,000 on original driveshafts; as confirmed by the Fiat dealer who I used to work for, they checked the whole warranty & recall history on mine & during its initial 3 yr warranty period very little was done under warranty & only major item done since was water pump & timing belt kit at 58,000 miles!

I think one has to be careful when trying to identify wheel wobble.

The wheel position is basically locked at what ever position the steering column is at.

If driveshaft joints are worn then they will transmit vibrations into the hub but if the lower hub swivel joint is OK and the steering ball joints and steering rack are ok then mild to medium driveshaft wobble should not introduce much, if any, wheel wobble.

Of course there are limits/margins to be taken into account but it is still too easy to take the wrong path in diagnosis. It is often difficult to determine cause and effect issues.

Normally drive shaft / CV joint wear will produce clicking/grumbling/noise on full steering lock for outer CV joints. For inner VC joints which have to handle less acute angles then drumming and "clacking/backlash/play" is more to be expected.

Any combination of streeing/ball joint play, driveshaft play, etc can result in wheel wobble but the trick/art is to identify the major player and not just assume.

Often easier said than done!

Hi All,

Our Croma 1.9 (150) developed severe wheel wobble recently.

My local MoT garage is a Renault specialist, but as soon as he took the car for a Test Drive he remarked how it felt just like a common problem on the Renault Laguna and this was caused by the driveshaft coupling.

Up on the ramp and the problem was confirmed as well as pretty shot Bottom Ball Joints.

Now, he has quoted me £150 for a Reconditioned Driveshaft which appears to be a bargain compared with the prices above.

Oh, and by the way, our Croma is currently indicating just over 116,000 miles on the clock and we only recently noticed the Wobble/Shimmy.

All the Best

Hi Guys,

I've had my croma just over a week now and its got the wobble that starts about 37 and then gradually dissappears as you drive faster.

I noticed it on the test drive and the garage said they would sort it.

Picked the car up and it still did it. Parts are hopefully on order and I should get it sorted next week (under warranty).

A friend of mine had a Citroen Xara estate and had to replace the front springs for exacly the same issue.

I have some old bills with the car I have bought and it looks like the front springs have been replaced.

Hi:- Get them to change both parts of the drivers side drive shaft, in fact insist on it. Its under warranty so you may as well get it all done for peace of mind later.

Just had the driveshaft on our Croma replaced with a Fiat reconditioned part and it has promptly escaped. How bad did you say these Fiat recon parts are?

Part number 0071791756 if anyone is interested.

Hellcat said:

Just had the driveshaft on our Croma replaced with a Fiat reconditioned part and it has promptly escaped. How bad did you say these Fiat recon parts are?

Part number 0071791756 if anyone is interested.

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It all depends which part of it was "reconditioned" it could be just the three bearings on the end or the big unijoint faces on the wheel end. the new one (outer) drivers side I had done was new and had been flame hardend on the inside. If this was skimmed up prior to fitting the new unijoint it will not be as hard. However on my new one there was some stamping on it which indicated it was made by GKN and said it was "non recon".
This leads me to think that the main problem is really in the inner shaft and the way it is made/ heat treated afterwards.
My experience leads me to think that the overriding problem is the grease and the loss of it. The rubber boot which covers this joint can slide off the female end of the joint if the clip holding it slackens a bit , as mine did, the grease was thrown onto the engine undershield and thats when I started to get the wobble , or soon afterwards. The car is a 56 prestigio with only 35000 miles and it has not been abused (except by the speed bumps and state of the Sheffield roads).

By the way when you say "escaped" did Charlie Bronson dig it a tunnel

The recon drive shaft that was in a box marked as the correct part number for the car, seemed to be much shorter than the part we surrendered. Fiat have taken photos to send back to h.q. We won't find out what they have to say about it until Monday. The shaft was quite different, having no increase in thickness between the boots. I can only assume this was incorrectly labelled in the box. The shorter shaft worked for about 40 yards before the inside joint popped out, and fired 2 of the bearings off the spider.

Hellcat said:

The recon drive shaft that was in a box marked as the correct part number for the car, seemed to be much shorter than the part we surrendered. Fiat have taken photos to send back to h.q. We won't find out what they have to say about it until Monday. The shaft was quite different, having no increase in thickness between the boots. I can only assume this was incorrectly labelled in the box. The shorter shaft worked for about 40 yards before the inside joint popped out, and fired 2 of the bearings off the spider.

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Far Canal!! This must set a new benchmark for incompetence. You have to look at the facts- the old one has to come off first- the new one in one hand, the old one in the other. Funny , this ones dont seem the same as the old one, never mind its says on the box its ok!!
My best guess is the shaft didn`t go back to GKN. Having looked around there are some firms who have been set up just to refurb drive shafts and other parts. Could have been a cock up at one of these.

You couldn`t make it up, not even J K Rowling!!

tarquin1867 said:

Far Canal!! This must set a new benchmark for incompetence. You have to look at the facts- the old one has to come off first- the new one in one hand, the old one in the other. Funny , this ones dont seem the same as the old one, never mind its says on the box its ok!!
My best guess is the shaft didn`t go back to GKN. Having looked around there are some firms who have been set up just to refurb drive shafts and other parts. Could have been a cock up at one of these.

You couldn`t make it up, not even J K Rowling!!

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The two were never in the same place... well not while there was a car present to check it against.

The recon was ordered and the original surrendered. The recon then arrived, was collected and fitted. Car is working again for all of 25 yards. Remove flailing new arm and return to Fiat parts dept. Compare with original not yet sent away. Sigh.

The bearings on the spider seemed to be the same size, and the hub shaft and cup seemed to look the same, but the shaft between was shorter, and the same gague all the way along on the recon. In hindsight, I should have took some photos of the recon and especially the two compared when they were laid next to each other on the parts desk. Mind was on thoughts of 'how am I getting to work on Monday' etc.

Has anyone noticed that the drive shaft is hollow? I wonder if this would allow grease to over time to move up the shaft leading to a dry joint? The reason I ask this is because the boot on the outboard CV seems to be fine, but the joint is shot and sounds dry as a bone.

If you think about it , the spin drier effect on the boot is quiet a force and if the grease could easily have been "forced " out of even the smallest hole/split. the grease at this end would finish up in the wheel arch /road and it would be easily missed on a visual.
You could see the grease from my inner joint on the engine undershield.
If you can get a look at a diagram of the female end of the inner joint there is no recess for the large end of the boot to locate and as its a complex shape it has a female shape to match on the inside of the boot and a round profile on the outside to take the Jubilee type fastener. If it is only slightly loose it can slide on the inner shaft end and allow the grease to spin out. This is also possible at the wheel end of the shaft as well.
Design nightmare, but of course Fiat don`t recognise the problem!!

Grr!

Fiat are saying the part supplied was correct, but must have been faulty. Now want the part back to HQ before they will release a refund. That's going to take at least until Wednesday. Starting to think the discount at the parts counter for being a loyal customer of the dealership isn't worth squat when something goes wrong.

A much more local motor factors says they can get it refurbished if they send our actual part away - turn around 2 or 3 working days. Of course I don't want to send my old shaft off if there is a chance Fiat won't refund me on the broken one - or will demand it back in return for another exchange.

Looks like this will be another week of the Croma off the road. This car is costing as much in lost earnings as it is in replacement parts!

Hellcat said:

Grr!

Fiat are saying the part supplied was correct, but must have been faulty. Now want the part back to HQ before they will release a refund. That's going to take at least until Wednesday. Starting to think the discount at the parts counter for being a loyal customer of the dealership isn't worth squat when something goes wrong.

A much more local motor factors says they can get it refurbished if they send our actual part away - turn around 2 or 3 working days. Of course I don't want to send my old shaft off if there is a chance Fiat won't refund me on the broken one - or will demand it back in return for another exchange.

Looks like this will be another week of the Croma off the road. This car is costing as much in lost earnings as it is in replacement parts!

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Wonder if Saab/ Vauxhall dealers are so suspitious. How can an escapee drive shaft be the correct one!!!!?
In view of your angst about losing work , might be good to try and get some compo.
Failing that just send the lads round to offer them some assistance in expediting the whole issue.