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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by Smartbear » Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:38 pm

I had a uj fly apart on my mk4 Cortina prop which didn't sound very nice :cry:
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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by mmm-five » Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:19 pm

Chris_D wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:35 pm Wow, I think you caught that just in time fella!
Sorry, that's not mine. Mine wasn't in that bad a state, but was changed whilst the shaft was off for the diff & cat shield repair.

As I said, I've not been tempted to fit a 'solid' one.
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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by GuidoK » Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:48 pm

I doubt if the solid ones are stronger. They have polyurethane inserts.
The stock ones have some kind of kevlar/mylar fibers wrapped between the points where the gearboxflange and propshaft flange mount.

As for replacement; the bmw disc and bolts are quite expensive.
You can also buy a febi kit incl bolts for a lot less.
The febi flexdisc is OEM: both made by SGF (Süddeutsche Gelenkscheibenfabrik), and has the bmw logo grinded out manually :rofl:
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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by Chris_D » Fri Jun 09, 2017 4:03 pm

GuidoK wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:48 pm I doubt if the solid ones are stronger. They have polyurethane inserts.
The stock ones have some kind of kevlar/mylar fibers wrapped between the points where the gearboxflange and propshaft flange mount.

As for replacement; the bmw disc and bolts are quite expensive.
You can also buy a febi kit incl bolts for a lot less.
The febi flexdisc is OEM: both made by SGF (Süddeutsche Gelenkscheibenfabrik), and has the bmw logo grinded out manually :rofl:
hahah bonkers, but typical bmw. :roll:
good tip as ever guido - on the lookout for a kit now....

edit:
Guido, which set u reckon? this one:
https://www.auto-onderdelen24.nl/febi-bilstein/7605234
or this:
https://www.auto-onderdelen24.nl/febi-bilstein/7605224

6x M12 bolts need to be equal length (62mm) but can't tell which is which from those 2 links. What d'ya reckon?
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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by GuidoK » Fri Jun 09, 2017 4:59 pm

I've used febi 43466 kit. But from the two links I cant find any difference in the info tbh.
When I was shopping only 43466 came up, and if I check it with my car, the number 43476 isnt compatible.
Maybe the other one is ment for an automatic?

Savings compared to the dealer are considerable (dealer price bolts/nuts/disc is about €175)
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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by Chris_D » Fri Jun 09, 2017 5:15 pm

GuidoK wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2017 4:59 pm I've used febi 43466 kit. But from the two links I cant find any difference in the info tbh.
When I was shopping only 43466 came up, and if I check it with my car, the number 43476 isnt compatible.
Maybe the other one is ment for an automatic?

Savings compared to the dealer are considerable (dealer price bolts/nuts/disc is about €175)
The 43466 bolts look a tad shorter than the 43476 bolts, that's the only diference I can make out. If you went for the 43466 kit I'll go for that one too. It's a bit cheaper too :thumbsup:
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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by paulgs1000 » Fri Jun 09, 2017 11:37 pm

MACK wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2017 12:49 pm Can confirm us manual owners have the rubber donut. Chris this could be the clunk that is fixed with a type of paste put onto the splines of the shaft to take up a minute amount of play. I did this fix myself when I got mine, same symptoms a clunk when first moving off. There are some thread on here I think and certainly over BMW forums regarding this. I think the paste is Loctite 660 liquid metal. You can buy it a t BMW but its cheaper elsewhere (surprise, surprise!)
I had a similar 'thunk' on clutch take up in first on my previous 3.0si. Took it to my specialist and he quickly diagnosed it as the above. re-greased it and the noise was gone. He said it was a common and known issue. didn't cost a great deal to put right £70 I think?

Hope you get sorted as easily.
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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by Chris_D » Fri Jun 09, 2017 11:44 pm

paulgs1000 wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2017 11:37 pm
MACK wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2017 12:49 pm Can confirm us manual owners have the rubber donut. Chris this could be the clunk that is fixed with a type of paste put onto the splines of the shaft to take up a minute amount of play. I did this fix myself when I got mine, same symptoms a clunk when first moving off. There are some thread on here I think and certainly over BMW forums regarding this. I think the paste is Loctite 660 liquid metal. You can buy it a t BMW but its cheaper elsewhere (surprise, surprise!)
I had a similar 'thunk' on clutch take up in first on my previous 3.0si. Took it to my specialist and he quickly diagnosed it as the above. re-greased it and the noise was gone. He said it was a common and known issue. didn't cost a great deal to put right £70 I think?

Hope you get sorted as easily.
Thanks Mack, Paul.
I get an initial 'thunk' plus a 'clanking' noise too, which I'm pretty sure after watching a few youtube vids plus comments here lead me to suspect that the diff or flex disc are the culprits.
Toying with the idea of doing it myself and just reading up in TIS re the procedures. Seems easy enough. exhaust off will be the trickiest part I think...
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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by ph001 » Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:21 am

Just for completeness, here is the thread on re-greasing the diff input flange... https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=55471

Interestingly, I can't seem to see the flexi donut thing on there, so maybe the presence of one is model specific as DLV hinted to???

If you have a knocking noise on application and lift off of throttle it's likely to be one of these two (or maybe both!)
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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by mjennings23 » Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:01 pm

Realoem seems to think they both have one, at least for the M54 engined model
Screenshot_20180223-170027_Chrome.jpg
Screenshot_20180223-170027_Chrome.jpg (93.79 KiB) Viewed 2604 times

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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by mjennings23 » Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:04 pm

Bear in mind the flexi donut is at the gearbox end of the propshaft, whereas the diff input flange in that thread is at the differential end.

Edit: just realised this is an 8 month old thread bump :rofl:

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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by synthedup » Sat Mar 10, 2018 7:25 pm

Chris_D wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2017 10:11 am So the zed only gets a weekly runabout exercise atm as i have a lovely client-supplied skoda as a daily.
However, the last couple of times, esp when topdown, ive noticed a clunking sound coming from underneath the car, possibly towards the rear when changing through 2nd to 3rd gear, also to 4th at low speed.
I'm presuming at the stage that its the propshaft flex disc and/or centre support bearing as it seems to be a common issue on high mile beemers. Could also be diff input bearing perhaps. Don't have any perceptible vibrations at any speeds, just a clanking noise when pulling away.
I'm currently on 110k and just changed gearbox and diff oil. Didnt inspect the flexdisc while i was under there sadly.

I know the following vid is for a z3 but i'm assuming the prop setup is similar for most bmw's. Could this be my issue? Anyone had similar symptoms / issues / noises?

Hi Chris,

Did changing the propsgaft donought work? And so did yours look worn on inspection?

I have the same clunk I think but it looks fine. Just wondering if I should change it anyway and see if it work,

Cheers,
Simon

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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by Chris_D » Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:56 pm

synthedup wrote: Sat Mar 10, 2018 7:25 pm
Chris_D wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2017 10:11 am So the zed only gets a weekly runabout exercise atm as i have a lovely client-supplied skoda as a daily.
However, the last couple of times, esp when topdown, ive noticed a clunking sound coming from underneath the car, possibly towards the rear when changing through 2nd to 3rd gear, also to 4th at low speed.
I'm presuming at the stage that its the propshaft flex disc and/or centre support bearing as it seems to be a common issue on high mile beemers. Could also be diff input bearing perhaps. Don't have any perceptible vibrations at any speeds, just a clanking noise when pulling away.
I'm currently on 110k and just changed gearbox and diff oil. Didnt inspect the flexdisc while i was under there sadly.

I know the following vid is for a z3 but i'm assuming the prop setup is similar for most bmw's. Could this be my issue? Anyone had similar symptoms / issues / noises?

Hi Chris,

Did changing the propsgaft donought work? And so did yours look worn on inspection?

I have the same clunk I think but it looks fine. Just wondering if I should change it anyway and see if it work,

Cheers,
Simon
Hi Simon,
Haven't had time to catch up on all the intrigue, drama, mystery and suspense of the forum recently so apologies for the late reply!
Haven't tackled the doughnut yet. Not a problem as I havent really driven it for a couple of months. Will be a job for the summer along with a few other jobs on the to-do list - dead hifi, overcooling issue and a xenon replacement!
Did you tackle yours yet?
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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by MACK » Wed Mar 28, 2018 11:42 am

mjennings23 wrote: Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:01 pm Realoem seems to think they both have one, at least for the M54 engined model
Screenshot_20180223-170027_Chrome.jpg
Yes they all have a doughnut. I've never come across a BMW that doesn't. Anyone saying different is wrong.
As above the spline shaft isn't near the donut hence why it's not featured in the linked thread.
Last edited by MACK on Wed Mar 28, 2018 12:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Driveshaft clunking when pulling away. Flex disc and cs bearing shot?

Post by paddy wright » Wed Mar 28, 2018 12:00 pm

Mine had this thunk and I had the coupling doughnut replaced and that solved it.
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