cdmoran said:

I am very much thinking I have the same problem so im considering going from 4x4 to 4x2

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Considering the resale values of 4x4s I'd say at £500 it's probably one of the few spends on the car that would probably get your money back on if you decided to sell it. If the funds aren't available though then 4x2 is not something that can't be reversed at some point.

So how did yours sound / feel when the prop was going?

It was hard to describe, it was as if the car went thru a rough grumbling in the lower gears at lower rpms. Not noticeable at higher rpm or on the motorway unless the rpm dropped below 2500 on an incline. It's a case of it must have been getting slowly worse to the point I finally decided to do something about it, and when the shaft was disconnected I realised how it should and used to drive.

Well let us know how your prop shaft re-fit goes! Best of luck!

Shaft going in today.

Lots of crossed fingers please......

All fitted very nicely, a lot less tension than the one that came out.

Drives perfect again, very smooth right thru the revs in every gear. Worth doing.

Total expense.....£500+ vat for the shaft with carriage, £160 + vat for my mechanic, tho this included new disks and pads.

It's going into the garage now on a sorn now till October, but I'll rest in the knowledge it's perfect for next winter.

irish boy said:

All fitted very nicely, a lot less tension than the one that came out.

Drives perfect again, very smooth right thru the revs in every gear. Worth doing.

Total expense.....£500+ vat for the shaft with carriage, £160 + vat for my mechanic, tho this included new disks and pads.

It's going into the garage now on a sorn now till October, but I'll rest in the knowledge it's perfect for next winter.

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A good piece of info for others in the same boat I think. Price seems pretty fair.

Your good outcome gives me the confidence to get a new prop shaft rather than convert to 4x2.

cdmoran said:

Your good outcome gives me the confidence to get a new prop shaft rather than convert to 4x2.

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I'd say it will increase the value of the car more than the cost. Not to mention the obvious winter benefits.

Can you just remind us where you sourced your prop shaft from?

http://baileymorris.co.uk

They have them in stock.

Hi
I am faced with the same problem. Did anyone establish whether the proshaft can be split and therefore only the bearing needing replacement. the bearing is approx £50 and a full propshaft is close to £500?
mine is a 2010 petrol 1.2
cheers

Malcolm

As bearings are available, the prop can be split. It had to be put together somehow.

I'm in the same boat, I guess we never established if the centre bearing could be replaced on its own?

If I take the replacement propshaft route, how easy is it to fit, anyone know? Can it be fitted with gearbox and diff in situ, ie, unbolt old one, bolt new one in?

The centre bearing is available to buy, so it must be possible to replace just that. I think the prop is just a bolted flange fitting at each end, so it'll just pop off. No need to remove gearbox or diff.

Something like this should release it.

Abn Axle Popper Kit - 2 Piece Inner CV Axle Removal Tool Set CV Popper Wedge and Shim Ball Joint Separator Tools: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

But you could use two pairs of ordinary fox wedges. eBay or Amazon https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=132456019366&_sacat=0

DaveMcT said:

Something like this should release it.

Abn Axle Popper Kit - 2 Piece Inner CV Axle Removal Tool Set CV Popper Wedge and Shim Ball Joint Separator Tools: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

But you could use two pairs of ordinary fox wedges. eBay or Amazon https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=132456019366&_sacat=0

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They look good for the front drive shafts, but I think we're talking about the main front to rear prop here. Just a bolted flange at each end.

The middle bearing will be a press fit with the splines pressed on as well. The shaft has to be separated to remove the bearing. The four separate wedges are likely to be the best option. Two each side and keep tapping them together until the parts separate.

As a bodge I'm going to have a bash at rebuilding the bearing outer housing in situ, I'll let you know how that goes

If anyone's interested, my bodge seems to have worked ok. The issue I had is that the rubber mount around the bearing had perished and torn, so the drive shaft was hanging down, knocking against the bearing housing. The bearing itself still span and seemed ok. So what I did was get the car up on ramps, get under and position the drive shaft centrally using some baling wire to take the weight, cleaned the whole area with isoprone alcohol wipes, and then put tape around one side of the bearing housing, and then injected, against the tape, sikaflex using a sealant gun, basically using the sikaflex to replace the existing mounts. I made use the sealant didn't overspread onto the drive shaft itself, and left it for 48 hours to cure.

And now it seems absolutely fine. Sikaflex is super strong, but has a little give, so I think it might do the job as a semi permanent fix, and I'll happily spend a fiver to try save 500..... Little panda has 70k on it now and is still going strong, but I don't want to spend a packet on it...