Prop shaft, vibrating? how to remove?

[mykez69]

Well at about 50mph - 65ish the car vibrates quite badly.

The previous owner claims it was the prop shaft, which prop shaft will fit my bmw e30 318is with a LSD? And is there a guide somewhere?

I'm getting the wheels checked for balancing issues tomorrow just to outrule this simple problem.

[mykez69]

Please help

[Rav335uk]

If it's the propshaft, it'll be your centrebearing, or has the prop been split and not put back in the same place, could be out of balance.

[leeparkes]

Does the vibration seem to be coming from where the prop is situated?

[mykez69]

is there any way to do any checks on the prop?

vibration seems to be coming from the back? but cant really tell, back seat area-ish?

don't think i can feel it through the gearstick.

[itec]

I have had a similar problem at high speed the whole dash board would shake.

Got the balancing done on all 4 wheels which help a bit

On inspection of the prop-shaft coupling it was slightly worn away , when i had remove it there were cracks on the sides

Its now replaced with a new item and its much better, there is still a slight vibration about 80 but i can live with it for the moment.

Oh yes if you are going to change yours, I would suggest change the center bearing the same time

i was a bit dumb and didn't change mine

[mykez69]

Shall i try changing the centre bearing first? then if not joy a different prop?

[TouringMatt]

To change you center bearing you will need to remove and split the prop, if you can see that it is aligned by two white dots then that should be ok, if not you'd need the services of a machine place to have it balanced properly.

Unless you can have the car off the road for a while, i'd pick up a good know prop and fit a new bearing

Matt

[daimlerman]

The prop shaft has two universal joints.helpfully,there's one on each section.
When re-assembling the shaft,the two joints should be on the same plane.This gives just two positions for the shaft to be assembled in,thus removing a load of guess work if you fail to find the factory marks!

Now onto possible vibration causes.

Either or both u/j's
The rubber coupling at the gearbox end
The centre mounting

Note that the centre mounting is in several bits,you can get the outer,rubber part cheaply from GSF,but the bearing proper is a dealer only item,as is the dust shield that you will bend whilst trying to get the remains of the bearing off the shaft!

[TPS]

How easy is it to replace the U/J's?