DriveShaft on a Bravo, anyone had problems with them?

[Dan]

I think my Drive Shaft on my 2001(Y) Fiat Bravo 80sx Formula is on its way out

I get this horrible noise when I'm going down the road - 3 of us have all said we think it sounds like the Drive Shaft.

Luckily my Warrenty runs out on 1st May 04, so I'm going to take it to the Garage on Monday morning.

Just wondered, has anyone had this happen to them?

Any info, including any technical info from Tom, greatly appreciated, cheers

 

[Tom]

A driveshaft is a length of metal, nothing to go wrong on them.

What sort of noise are you getting?

 

[Dan]

what it is, is when i drive i go 1st, into 2nd, into 3rd, or any gear, and lets say i've not got my foot on any pedal, so the car is just going along - the noise is like intervals of gring grind grind grind, the faster the car is going the faster the noise - and when i put my foot on the clutch, the noise goes, well at least it goes a lot quieter

sorry if this doesn't describe it very well, do you know what i mean?

thanks for replying tom

 

[Tom]

Does it change when you go around a corner?

Is it linked to road speed or engine speed? (ie does it change speed when you change gear but keep the car the same speed)

Does it change when you lift off the throttle?

 

[Dan]

when ive got my foot on the throttle it goes, its when my foot's not on the throttle that the noise is here, not sure about going round corners?

 

[Tom]

And the middle question?

 

[David T]

Sorry to but in. Is it a metallic noise and only happens when you or using the gearbox to slow down? As soon as you give it the slightest bit of throttle the noise goes? If so my car has done that since new I just put it down to a noisy gearbox, some nosier than others.

 

[Dan]

sorry tom, erm, i'll have to go out again now and see about that - i think it's engine speed - the higher the revs, the louder and more frequent the noise

 

[Dan]

DavidT...

it's more than just a noisey gearbox - there's something drastically wrong with it, its a very loud noise that i couldn't possibly put up with, so i'm guessing your noise may be different?

 

[Dan]

Tom - An Update...

Just been out in the car - it doesn't change when i go round a corner, and interestingly, when i turned off the engine as we were going along, the noise stays there - so it's not engine...

also, it's speed of the car, not engine speed that effects the noise

 

[Tom]

Re: Tom - An Update...

OK, so its the latter half of the gearbox or the diff.

Probably not the CVs otherwise it would get worse on corners. Not the clutch or it would go with revs and not speed.

Jack each side up and turn the wheels, see if you can hear where its coming from. Either way its going to be a garage job probably.

 

[Big Andy]

Re: Tom - An Update...

I have exactly the same on my HGT at the moment, just makes a noise when the forces on the drive shafts are neutral (i.e. not accelerating or braking) and it is steadily getting worse, it also does one or two knocks when moving off and stopping as if there are a couple of positions it sits in, and when the car is just cruising it knocks between the two. It's going into the garage on tuesday hopefully to get the drivers side CV changed. That's the only thing i can think it could be, it stared happening after my cambelt change so i think when they took the weight off the front wheels it probably streached the CV joint out of it's limit and it has been getting worse ever since but i can't find a way of pinning it on them so i guess i'll have to pay.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Tom - An Update...

Tom, has this model got an intermediate bearing on the o/s drive shaft?

 

[Tom]

Re: Tom - An Update...

Only the 1.8 and HGT have, the 1.2/4/6 have unequal length driveshafts.

 

[Dan]

Re: Tom - An Update...

thanks for your help tom, i'm taking it in on monday, lucky my warrenty is still running if it seems like possibly being a big job

bloody cars hey - liabilities!!

thanks for your help mate, i'll keep everyone updated

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Tom - An Update...

ever thought about checking that you aint worn the pads right down!? thats usually the sort of noise cars make when the brakes are ****ed!

 

[Tom]

Re: Tom - An Update...

If it was the brakes the noise would not change when he pressed the clutch or lifted off the throttle.

 

[Dan]

Re: Tom - An Update...

well yeah that's the first thing i checked last weekend, they're both fine, got plebty on them, so it's not the brakes, but yeah, that's what i was thinking at first

 

[Tom]

Re: Tom - An Update...

Unfortunately I have a feeling its gearbox internal. With any luck its just one of the tripode joints playing up.

 

[Dan]

Re: Tom - An Update...

yeah, well i'm lucky that it's still under warranty, i don't understand why the gear box would break after less than 3 years though, it's not like i screw it through the gears neither, just one of those things i guess, taking it in tomorrow so i'll let you know what they say/think.

Dan