Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 09:47:30 GMT From: malcolm532nopsameja.com Subject: Re: Driveshaft woes (rich text)
<Snip> Andrew, Agree with Liam in his post. THe tripod joint should sit 1/3 to 1/2 in the gearbox drive cup (I replaced the inner boot on one of my saabs last weekend and made a mental note of where it was sitting) I know that the inner cups changed sizes because I put a 84 5-speed box in my 86 5 speed (bad reverse)and had to change the drive cups over as the one's on the 84 box were of a smaller diameter, and shorter. Maybe your car has had a replacement box at some time? However if you have the longest shafts you can find then symptoms would point to something else. Do both shafts sit the same distance in the cups? If one is in alot further than the other this would suggest the engine/gearbox is not sitting correctly within the engine bay. Now the engine mount designs did change abit between an 8v and a 16v, it may sound crazy but the type of mounts could be mixed up. Hopefully your car hasn't suffered any crash damage in it's life, but carefully check around the "pillars" in the engine bay where the upper wishbone bolts on. Check the thickness of the packing shims behind the bolts, about the same on both sides? If greatly different then this needs further investigation. This effects the camber. Alot of negative camber (bottom of wheelfurther out than the top) makes for great handling, but bad tyre wear and has the seondary effect of making the hub centre to gearbox distance greater. If possible get the car up on a ramp and have a good look about for any evidence of repairs/crash damage. Especially check around the front. THe crossbeam below the radiator is square to the chassis legs? I would be very tempted to take it to a bodyshop where they can do a chassis alignment check to see if there is any twist in the car. Hope this helps If I think of anything else I'll post again. Malc Scotland Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.
