Thread: L322 Rear Tailshaft Removal and Refurbishment

To dig this up...

Got my propshaft out and it feels like the front CV on the rear propshaft is binding...

The rear CV isn't much better, but the universal is perfect, very smooth... The centre bearing is also mostly fine (feels a bit loose, isn't torn...but other than that it is fine).

I'm going to try and see if a local place can service it...but is there any other option? Has anyone had this happen??

What symptoms are you experiencing?. I had mine out because of a damaged boot . They do bind if you are not precise with keeping the angle consistent. There isn't a lot to go wrong with them but having said that if you tear it down, damage if any will be quite visible.
Also I dont think spares are available. I used my polaris ATV cv boot and fencing wire for a circlip.

When I did this repair, the CV’s were fine - I don’t recall any binding but maybe I wasn’t looking too hard as the centre bearing was the culprit on mine. The CV’s don’t have much of an angle on them in use so I’d be surprised if they were worn but not sure how many KM your vehicle has either. While I highly doubt parts are available from the usual suppliers as these shafts are ‘not repairable’ according to LR if they are worn, go have a chat to Hardy Spicer with the bits - they may have a similar item that can be used, modified or cannibalised to repair it.

Originally Posted by theelms66

What symptoms are you experiencing?. I had mine out because of a damaged boot . They do bind if you are not precise with keeping the angle consistent. There isn't a lot to go wrong with them but having said that if you tear it down, damage if any will be quite visible.
Also I dont think spares are available. I used my polaris ATV cv boot and fencing wire for a circlip.

I've got 211k km on it... I've always had some form of vibration since I got it in August, only really once it got hot, i.e. 30mins driving... It'd start vibrating more, but still only minor.

It started getting worse over a few drives recently to the point it was properly shaking sometimes (minor vibration at freeway speeds but quite a lot at 2k rpm taking off, etc. I expected the UJ to be rooted, but it is perfect, in fact, it looks new (can still see yellow bushing on the arms of the centre!)... The centre bearing is also in very good condition, it has a little more/aft play, but all the rubber is there and it's stiff.

The propshaft to rear diff CV handles angles much better and only binds in extreme... But the front one binds at a few degrees and if you tilt it halfway through the available movement it almost jams...

I've started just scooping the grease out and trying some fresh stuff in to see if it'll help reduce the binding at all, but some of the grease definitely appears a little magnetic so I'm suspecting something is badly worn inside... So I'm going to have to pull it apart... Do I need a puller to remove it?

I'm firstly just trying to put some fresh grease in to see if it's less bind-y and if it is, I'll proceed to clean it out... If it's still binding then I guess new CV... Unless it isn't available, in which case, wrecker tailshaft???

[Edit - also my grease is a bit runnier and blacker than what you had in yours... Not sticky enough to stay all by itself...]

Yes cv grease is a lot lighter than normal grease. Remember the front cv needs little angle as the centre bearing keeps it there,the rear cv may run at more angle but not sure.
There is a circlip on the shaft spline that will allow you to remove the cv from the tailshaft.
Swivel cage to get balls to drop out, give it a good wash and inspect parts. NB. Pay attention how she comes apart.

Originally Posted by theelms66

Yes cv grease is a lot lighter than normal grease. Remember the front cv needs little angle as the centre bearing keeps it there,the rear cv may run at more angle but not sure.
There is a circlip on the shaft spline that will allow you to remove the cv from the tailshaft.
Swivel cage to get balls to drop out, give it a good wash and inspect parts. NB. Pay attention how she comes apart.

Interesting. I thought it was stickier! Thanks, at least I'm ready to do the next extremely messy step!

The front CV definitely has a bit of angle in it, but it isn't much. I'm very surprised it is binding...I expected it to be perfect

So it's my time now to refurb my rear propshaft.

It was ok with just a little shudder on take off before I had some tyres fitted and now it's much worse.

I checked it out and yes my centre bearing is toast.

The V8s must be a bit different cause I'll have to drop the exhaust to get the heat shields out of the way. Not a problem I need to fix a leak anyway.

The crazy thing is how much the RUJ-1701 uni is worth.

Originally Posted by FisherX

So it's my time now to refurb my rear propshaft.

It was ok with just a little shudder on take off before I had some tyres fitted and now it's much worse.

I checked it out and yes my centre bearing is toast.

The V8s must be a bit different cause I'll have to drop the exhaust to get the heat shields out of the way. Not a problem I need to fix a leak anyway.

The crazy thing is how much the RUJ-1701 uni is worth.

The BMW folk have found that binding CV (Transmission side) is causing the wobble which causes CB to flog out...

Obviously in this thing we have multiple CV and a UJ, but still.

My UJ is perfect, like, really perfect. The CB is pretty good... The front CV is definitely totally rooted. I was going to try and clean it out and regrease and save it, but I'm so sure that's a lost cause now I'm going to wait till tomorrow to see if I can get parts for it or not.

On the plus side, you can get non-genuine CV of the right size (I believe) and spline count for about 130... Or get genuine from FCPEuro for about 250usd... That's a brand new genuine CV to fit the trans side. (I'm waiting to see if local suppliers have the actual big CV or not available... otherwise I might get a used shaft and try my luck...)

Now with the heat shield (I have a v8), you can take them off by bending/force without dropping the exhaust, it's tight, but they will rebend pretty easily as they are only thing metal sheets. I just went for it and bent them about to get it all out. I'm considering dropping the exhaust a little to get them back in, just to make it easier, but I'll cross that bridge once I try and get them back in!