When it rains, it pours...right?!?!? Today's dilema is a loose driveshaft. I see about 1/4" or so of rubbed metal on the slip yoke coming out of my C4 transmission and there is a lot of play there up and down, but not much movement in the direction of the shaft itself. The u-joints don't feel very loose but they probably need to be replaced too. I was noticing some mid to high rpm vibration that was getting fairly strong. I thought at first I might have thrown a wheel weight. Then I started hearing the driveshaft "clunk" when putting it into gear or when taking my foot off of the gas and then putting it back on. Would this be due to the bushing in the tail housing being worn? Could it be anything else? I'm looking for the bushing and seal at local parts stores but not seeing anything other than this: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...=Search_C0071_1132119_1913&pt=C0071&ppt=C0338 Is that right? I would I need any special tools to remove the bushing? Thanks! Jory
When you pull the driveshaft look at the yoke real good, it may be gaulded from turning in the bad bushing. And yeah, you need a special tool to remove and install the new bushing.
Take that tailshaft part off and take it to a tranny shop. My guy swapped my bushings for free, so i gave him a $20 tip under the table.
Any idea what that tool is off the top of your head? Would local part houses carry that? Could there be any underlying issues that could have caused this problem to begin with, so that even if I replace that bushing and seal, the same problem will come right back up?
Just did this last week. Bought a MOOG bushing and seal kit at O'Reilly's and took it and the tail housing to a transmission shop. They looked at the bushing and said it wasn't good because it didn't have an oil hole in it. Showed me the oil hole in the original bushing. They pressed one of their bushings in and wouldn't take any money. I was surprised that the MOOG bushing wasn't correct in their eyes. Was also surprised that a little bit of up and down play was OK. Maybe its play in the spline? I
Yep, it has a lot of clearance but as long as the driveshaft and ujoints are in good shape and operate smoothly, it will last indefinitely.
Over lunch, I noticed I have an exhaust leak facing directly towards that bushing. Coincidence? Doesn't seem like it would be. Without that being fixed, I don't know how long a new bushing and seal would last. My list of "to do's" are adding up. My wife just might kill me and bury me in this car. Hahah! There are a couple transmission shops nearby that I might try to swing by and have them look at it. I just hate having to let someone do work for me, but if I add up the cost of the bushing removal tool, the new parts and the hassle of doing the work, it might be worth letting a professional do it for me. Oh, I also was wondering...if my harmonic balancer slipped and is causing a slight imbalance in my engine, could this have also helped contribute my current problem? Is there a way to fix this without having to replace the balancer?
Ok, just spoke with a local transmission shop and he said that it's hard to get the bushing out of the tail housing. He said that it would cost around $300 if I needed to replace the bushing, seal and slip yoke. Ouch. He said that you have to remove the tail housing to pull that bushing out. Is that right? He did say that if I had a u-joint that is locking up, I would get some bad vibration out of it too but that the u-joints wouldn't feel loose and be totally obvious. What do you all think about this???
Suggest you post a picture of the "rubbed sheet metal". I'm not sure what problem you have. Yes, if the bushing has to be replaced the tail housing has to come out.
The slip yoke is the part that looks like it has had some rubbing going on. It is like it has been pulled slightly from the tail housing and the metal is clean from rubbing the seal. That is what it looks like anyway.
$300??? Jory, find a new transmission shop. He is trying to gouge you. Warn your friends about that shop, as well.
I have replaced two tailshaft bushings without removing the tailshaft housing... I drove the old bushing in as I installed the new one...My transmission Guy said he has seen this many times...just make sure the bushing has a hole in it and installed the same as the old one... there are two different seals...both will work...one has a dust shield the other one doesn't....:Handshake
@scooper77515: I thought that seemed high but I've never had to take a car to a trans shop before and never messed transmissions myself to be confident taking one apart. This cost was with me driving my car to the shop and him taking everything apart there. Even with that considered, I don't know what to expect the cost to be. What do you all think would be a reasonable price?
How would I know how the old bushing was installed? Does the hole orientation matter? Did you drive in the new bushing on a C4 tranny? Do these just slip up the output shaft into the housing? I will save my 1,000,000th question for my next post. Haha!
