Clunking Noise From Driveshaft

[some_cs_student]

Hi everyone,

It appears that the clunk from the rear of the car is the driveshaft, there is wear on the driver's side rear of the car, the passenger side appears to be ok.

The diff makes a few noises but its not the clunking noise that happens on gear changes

There is a guy selling the CV joints on ebay which are the most likely culprit for the noise:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Nissan-Skyline-R32-...1QQcmdZViewItem

Has anyone bought off ebay?

Is that overpriced?

Would you recommend replacing the CV joints for a clunking driveshaft?

Has anyone here done it before?

Regards,

Gareth

[some_cs_student]

Anyone replaced the rear half shafts before?

[skylinegtts]

i dont know about the cv joints but i had that problem with my standard diff and ive now gone to a mechanical one.

changing the half shafts is a diff out job. im not sure if theres an easier way without taking the diff out.

[some_cs_student]

i dont know about the cv joints but i had that problem with my standard diff and ive now gone to a mechanical one.

changing the half shafts is a diff out job. im not sure if theres an easier way without taking the diff out.

The diff has been removed at least twice now, its been rebuilt and I don't think its the problem .

However, the half shaft if pushed by hand with some force makes a soft "clunk" when the car is jacked up.

When driving its obviously a lot louder and I've read threads about other people complaining about similar noises, I was hoping it was the same issue and other people had fixed it before .

Oh, and GTR diffs are mechanical

[Duncan]

yeah a reconditioned driveshaft wil lbe $75-$150 depending on how much they need to change in the cv joints, there are 2 in each driveshaft as well as the 2 boots. they ar ea bit of a pain to get out so it could add up to say 400-500 if you need a mechanic to do it all for you

[some_cs_student]

Thanks Duncan, appreciated as always .

What kind of shop do I need to take it to? Do normal mechanics do this kind of work or is it specialist?

[Skid McMarks]

I have got the same problem in my 32 at the moment, clunking in the back... And it is the drive shafts (inside CV is dead) Not hard to change. But there is a big nut on the end of the drive shaft in the hub, which can prove to be a real bastard to get undone.

Skid

[some_cs_student]

I have got the same problem in my 32 at the moment, clunking in the back... And it is the drive shafts (inside CV is dead) Not hard to change. But there is a big nut on the end of the drive shaft in the hub, which can prove to be a real bastard to get undone.

Skid

Hehe, we stripped a socket (not the bolt!) trying to remove the diff bolts. We were using a large jack handle as an extension

Did you replace the CV yourself or did someone do it for you?

Where did you buy the CV from? I've seen the ones on Ebay but nowhere else, just search for "r33 cv joint"

Regards,

Gareth

[Duncan]

any mechanic can organise the work for you, but very few of them have the proper joint seperators so they will ship them to a specialist - would still be same day turn around through

[some_cs_student]

any mechanic can organise the work for you, but very few of them have the proper joint seperators so they will ship them to a specialist - would still be same day turn around through

Haven't done this (yet) but I've found what was making the clunking worse was that the driveshaft bolts near the diff were loose. One was basically out, another took a couple of turns and a few others were able to take a 1/2 turn and a couple were tight.

Definitely something to check, the car hasn't been on a hoist because of the bodykit so we hadn't noticed it and we were looking at the diff and half/shafts....

There is a little play in the system so that might be part of the clunking.

They have been tightened up now and its a little better, enough to not concern me anymore, I'm kinda used to it now

[wanted r34gtr]

how much did it costs to rebuild a diff ?

cheers

The diff has been removed at least twice now, its been rebuilt and I don't think its the problem .

However, the half shaft if pushed by hand with some force makes a soft "clunk" when the car is jacked up.

When driving its obviously a lot louder and I've read threads about other people complaining about similar noises, I was hoping it was the same issue and other people had fixed it before .

Oh, and GTR diffs are mechanical

[some_cs_student]

how much did it costs to rebuild a diff ?

cheers

It was done by a friend of a friend so very little, however it didn't change the clunking or diff whine sounds, when opened up it looked fine, I've got a thread with many pictures on the forums.

It did however stop it from making a lot of noise when reversing up the driveway (due to removing some pretension), it does still make sound when turning corners on the street, especially when the diff is cold.

[nizmonut]

sounds like a flogged bush, one question, have you lot lowered your cars???

[some_cs_student]

sounds like a flogged bush, one question, have you lot lowered your cars???

Interesting....yes its lowered, the Japanese suspension had the front bar 85mm off the ground, or somewhere around 335 or 345mm centre of wheel to guard on the front.

Its been raised to 355mm centre of wheel to guard (roughly, I haven't measured it for quite a while), and the rear is 10mm higher than the front.