As I am rather tight. I have a 2.8d 2002 Ducato with a knackered inner CV joint. (NS)

A new shaft is £115 and are apparently crap.

I am thinking about gettings used CV joint of similar size and with a bit of lathe work welding the ends on the stub and the shaft.

Opinions?

Daft dangerous & more trouble than its worth versus a used one from a scrappies>>>>>> if you must avoid buying new sorry....

Not for a torquey beast like the 2.8.

You're putting a lot of faith in your welding if you do this.

The welding side was actually the least of my worries. The cup is approx 80mm in diameter so that weld would take some breaking. The Tri drive to the shaft might be slightly trickier however.
I was thinking more about the balancing issues, do you think drive shafts are critical?

When you weld it you need to get it balanced, as the rotational forces with slight imbalance will knacker your bearings. There are specialists who do this I got a quote last year for extend, weld and balance for a vw van with non standard gearbox €80 per shaft. If a sleeve is needed to strenghten the shaft it was more.

I'd get a low miles one in the scrap yard and repack with fresh grease. The inner usually lasts the life of the vehicle with regular greasing.

Thanks Corkman. I actually found a few Ducato’s at my local breakers yard at the weekend. (see other thread “Gearbox compatibility”) I have since discovered that the drive shaft from the 1.9td will fit and that the sycro ring for 2nd gear is the same. Still not sure if the whole gearbox will fit my 2.8d van yet.

On another note. Tesco’s Insrance will NOT insure a Ducato van. Any idea why this might be the case?

I'd be delighted to hear if the 1.9 box will fit as I've been offered 2.8 non turbo vans for as little as €150 with gearbox trouble. Last one only had 63k and was mint.

bit off topic but was the old one making a faint knocking that you could only hear when going about 5mph at any time before it went?