# Drive shaft problem?.



## teal

Have had our Autotrail Cheyenne 643L wheels balanced twice in 6 weeks, first time all 4 wheels, this is because we get a "shimmer" feeling but not so much on the steering wheel..Now the main dealer has said it must be one of the drive shafts in which case the labour charge is £83.50 plus vat.Have got an insurance with auto protect insurance who unbelievable only allow £34 an hour plus part has to be "broken" for them to pay. Very unhappy bunny here.


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## Mike48

I would look carefully at your policy. Does it state specifically that only "broken" items should be replaced? If that is the case most things that can go wrong with vehicles will not be covered.


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## chrisjrv

Hi,
I once had a similar problem where the insurance wanted to know if the component had failed or just worn, I offered to drive it up and down until it failed and they had an even bigger bill, they paid.
Chris.


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## davesport

Driveshaft failure does'nt usually manifest itself as a "shimmer" although sometimes a vibration is evident on acceleration. What fails is one or both of the CV/Lobro joints. This usually causes a pop or clunk whilst turning or a bit of rumbling whilst driving.

Is the shimmy evident whilst you are driving normally in a straight line ?

Have you checked the inside & outside of all the tyres & road wheels for damage ? This can be difficult to spot. Try jacking each corner in turn & rotate the wheels looking for "run out" in the rims or damage to the tyre wall.

D.


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## RichardnGill

Could be something as simple as a damaged wheel or tyre, Sometimes they will balance ok but still give problems. As said a drive shaft would normally cause more of a problem under power and not all the time. 

I would get the wheels and tyres checked again or even better if you know someone with the same size wheels a quick change over might comfirm the problem. 

Richard...


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## rayc

That is the way Auto Protect work - their policies are not worth the paper there written on.

www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopict-52588-.html


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## Codfinger

*Drive shaft problem*

Hi Ray, I think your original diagnosis was correct, sounds very much like a tyre defect ie a tyre is going out of shape (oval) while rotating in use,very hard to spot sometimes but I have experienced it, try swopping tyres from front to back Ray


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## SaddleTramp

The way to check is have your wheels balanced on the vehicle, some service centers still do this.

I can definitely state that a fault on your drive CV joint would NOT cause a "shimmer" as previously stated it would be a clunk on turning or a rumble on the straight.


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## chapter

what age is your mh ?
i had this on my mh had the driveshafts changed,the wheels balanced, the tyres changed x amount of £k's and no joy 
it turned out to be a near side wishbone 
chapter


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## teal

Thank you all for comments, to elaborate a bit more. Between 30/40 mph the body seems to shimmer then completely go after those speeds. All wheels and tyres were taken off and checked or so they said.The first fitter said the back wheels were very out of balance but did all four wheels. As said Auto Protect is not worth the paper its written on.Second main dealer said one weight on front had thrown and they thought they had cured it on a short run up the road but when it still happened i took it back and after driving it himself said i thinks its the drive shaft but until a more thorough look could not say for certain. I motioned the insurers quoting only £34 PH whilst main dealer said he could not undertake it for that amount.All other speeds apart from the 30/40 mph it handles good, i have not heard any unusual noises whilst driving apart from full lock when a noise from something . So it could be something else other than the drive shaft, its had a MOT last month and also the comment about it has to be broke rather than worn came up but the garage said its a failure not worn , bet the insuresr say different.


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## teal

davesport said:


> Driveshaft failure does'nt usually manifest itself as a "shimmer" although sometimes a vibration is evident on acceleration. What fails is one or both of the CV/Lobro joints. This usually causes a pop or clunk whilst turning or a bit of rumbling whilst driving.
> 
> Is the shimmy evident whilst you are driving normally in a straight line ?
> 
> Have you checked the inside & outside of all the tyres & road wheels for damage ? This can be difficult to spot. Try jacking each corner in turn & rotate the wheels looking for "run out" in the rims or damage to the tyre wall.
> 
> D.


Yes it occure in straight line .
Any further comment welcomed.


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## TDG

teal said:


> Thank you all for comments, to elaborate a bit more. Between 30/40 mph the body seems to shimmer then completely go after those speeds. All wheels and tyres were taken off and checked or so they said.The first fitter said the back wheels were very out of balance but did all four wheels. As said Auto Protect is not worth the paper its written on.Second main dealer said one weight on front had thrown and they thought they had cured it on a short run up the road but when it still happened i took it back and after driving it himself said i thinks its the drive shaft but until a more thorough look could not say for certain. I motioned the insurers quoting only £34 PH whilst main dealer said he could not undertake it for that amount.All other speeds apart from the 30/40 mph it handles good, i have not heard any unusual noises whilst driving apart from full lock when a noise from something . So it could be something else other than the drive shaft, its had a MOT last month and also the comment about it has to be broke rather than worn came up but the garage said its a failure not worn , bet the insuresr say different.


Sound like a critical speed vibration if occurring in a narrow speed band.
Are you RWD? If so I would stongly suspect the prop shaft.


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## SaddleTramp

I will stick my neck out here and state that if a Shimmer or wobble is felt at around 30 - 40 MPH then disappears or you can "drive out of it" by speeding up, it is a case of miss balance and nothing else.


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## Spooky_b329

Are the tyres newly fitted? Read some stuff recently about wheels that go out of balance as its common for the fitters to slap loads of lubricant over the tyres and rims when fitting, they then balance the wheels.

When you drive off, the tyres can creep round the rims under braking/acceleration, meaning the rim weights end up in the wrong places. When fitting the lubricant is meant to be applied sparingly and only to certain parts of the rim.

In your case this sounds unlikely as you've had them balanced twice and also the fitters drove the vehicle afterwards, but an easy way to check is to draw a line across the tyre sidewall and onto the rim with chalk or crayon, then you can see if anythings moved. Obviously best to do it before leaving the tyre place 

EDIT: Apologies, I've just noticed this is quite an old thread


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## rayc

Spooky_b329 said:


> EDIT: Apologies, I've just noticed this is quite an old thread


i sometimes wonder about these threads where opinions are offered and there is genuine interest and then .... nothing. Was the problem solved, did the OP give up and sell the MH etc etc.


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## teal

*Driveshaft problem*

I did tell what happened about the driveshaft but will tell again. Yes it was the driveshaft but to find out which one they took both off and found nothing untowards that looked if it was broken . So regarding the warranty where they say it has to be broke it was a touch and go thing, anyway they replaced the nearside one and it cured the problem , only thing was that after replacing the old offside one back it developed an oil leak so had to come off again to have new oil seal. The warranty Co' paid for new driveshaft but not diagnosis and only paid for £34 ph so had to pay balance. We paid out about £100 odd for people to balance/check wheels ie four garages before getting to the one who done the job then further £180 to complete the job. Runs lovely now.


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