Thread: Vibration after changing Universal Joints

As long as you take it easy with acceleration, you should be fine to drive it without the front shaft connected.
It will however make the steering feel different as it is now a rear wheel drive only, it may tend to wander a bit and feel lighter. Be careful of oversteering, particularly at speed.
It will place alot of strain on your vc, but if yours is on the way out anyway, it doesn't really matter. Having said that, if you do decide to replace the front shaft in the future, you will need to do the vc as well.
I drove mine from Melbourne to Shepparton with no front shaft (roughly 400 km) return drive in one day with no problems at all other than what I have already mentioned.
I have read stories of people driving with no front shaft for an extended period of time with no problems.
When I put in a new vc on mine and refitted the front shaft, it felt much better to drive, much more solid and stable compared to no front shaft.
The reason the diff whine is gone is probably the vc partially seized, causing transmission wind up and strain on the diff. Removing the shaft has taken the strain off the diff.

Well I erred on the side of caution and put the front shaft back in. I didn't like the light feeling in the the steering wheel, and if there is any life left in the VC I don't want to risk shagging it completely. From what I've read my VC might be a bit stiff but its been the same since I got the car two years ago and the diff is no louder either. It definately feels better with it in. The little vibration from the back will have to be fixed -I cant live with it :-). But I've gotten so good at taking the bloody shafts off that it wont be a big hassle.
Once again a big thank you to you all for your help.
Till next time.
Cheers
John