CV drive shaft going bad?

[johnnybronco]

So, I've got a rattle when I accelerate in gear (all gears, same sound). Crawled underneath and found that the drive shaft had a little play in it - I could move it with my hand back and forth slightly without either of the ends moving. I'm thinking it's time for a new drive shaft. Can anybody tell me if I'm right?

 

[adsm08]

Well, you are partially right.

The CV joint drive shafts don't go bad. They have to be good at some point before they can go bad. CV drive shafts are like alcohol. Already rotten when you get them.

If should be able to move forward and backward some without the end cups moving, that is how you get drive shaft flex. It's if you can move it side to side significantly that you have a problem.

 

[johnnybronco]

I've got the forward/backward play but no side to side. I've also got a little play in the transfer case and at the rear axle - like I know I'm supposed to have- about an eighth to a quarter inch as I turn it back and forth. The play I'm concerned about is when I turn the shaft by hand back and forth and it moves just a little (a couple of millimeters) and makes a soft metal on metal sound without moving the cups or the round connectors with the 4 bolts in them at the tr. case and rear axle. I've never noticed that kind of play before.

 

[adsm08]

I don't know.

Is the noise come in around 35 and stay around the 2000 RPM range? Mine has the same noise, I have not pinned it down yet, but I'm fairly sure it isn't the drive shaft because I can, under the right conditions, make it happen sitting still.

 

[johnnybronco]

Noise comes in as soon as I'm in gear and moving. Same sound no matter what the rpms.
Can't make the noise if I'm not moving in gear.

 

[Tb8983]

Mine was good and didn't have any side to side play at all and was driving it a week later and then broke the damn thing. There ok but want to convert to a more conventional u-joint style one. Maybe when I do the axel swaps

 

[johnnybronco]

I took off the dummy tr. case and opened it up- that's the source of my noise. There's a sleeve that goes around a sprocket/gear thing that has a little play in it, and then there is a little play between 2 sproket/gear things that one sits on the inside of the other. It's making noise almost all the time now, but it doesn't seem to be hurting anything. What do you think?

 

[adsm08]

It will get worse, and then it will start to hurt things.

 

[johnnybronco]

I just found one in a junkyard - picked it up and shook it and it has small clunk or ping coming from the inside. I just don't know if it's supposed to have a little noise or if this another bad one?