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Hi guys, thought I'd post this up to see if anyone else had the same problem with their L-series wagon. Pardon my ignorance in this matter. I'm not too mechanical-minded but I've tried to pinpoint the source of the problem.

I get a wobbling noise/vibration from under the car at about 60km/h and it gets faster and louder til about 90km/h where it just goes away. It only happens when in neutral or when I just let go of the accelerator. There is no wobbling when i put my foot on the accelerator. Also, the wobbling goes away when I go into 4wd mode. It seems to be coming from the middle of the car rather than the sides. I would guess from above that it would have something to do with the driveshaft for the rear wheels?

I would really appreciate any help here. Thanks!

Calvin

sounds like your tailshaft uni joints are shagged. Perhaps the centre bearing is stuffed as well.

alex

Alex wrote:sounds like your tailshaft uni joints are shagged. Perhaps the centre bearing is stuffed as well.

alex

Ditto that ^ except I wouldn't think the centre bearing is gone, otherwise you'd feel it all the time.

I've heard that a machine shop can push out and replace these "non-replaceable" uni joints...

Cheers

Bennie

I too would say something to do with the tailshaft. Sounds like it might be out of balance so it's wobbling around. When you put it under some load it's enough to keep it roughly centered.
It could also be extremely worn out diff or diff hanger bushes, or a problem with the rear drive shafts.

But tailshaft is the first place to target tho. Easy to remove it and take it into a tailshaft place to have it balanced and any required parts replaced.
Tips to avoid loosing too much gearbox oil - cut a Coke can in half and cable tie it to the back of your gearbox. It also helps to park the car on a slight incline with the nose of the car pointing down the hill (although I must exphasise *slight* slope). Don't park it on a big slope as it will make jacking/climbing under too dangerous!

my centre bearing was shagged and caused exactly the same problems calvin is having now. But a uni-joint was also stuffed.

Alex

theres also a gearbox plug avail to buy that can help you losing oil while u get it checked out

Thanks for the replies guys! Really appreciate it. I'll attempt to get to the centre bearing and uni joints later today. I have to get my rego renewed in 2 weeks. I wonder if its gonna affect the inspection...

Yeah the car has to drive pretty well with no obvious defects, definitely aim to get it sorted before then.

Hey guys thanks for the tips, especially andrew for the coke can tip! Im looking at the entire shaft assmbly right now. How can I tell if and which uni joints are gone? How can I tell if the centre bearing's gone too? I've got a gregory's manual here that says that I cant actually take the uni joints apart unless i'm gonna replace them with new ones. Should I just get a replacement shaft assmbly from the wreckers or get mine to a machine shop? Anyone have any shops to recommend in Sydney?

Cheers

oh yea there was no excess movement/wobble anywhere before I took the shafts out. I could move the shaft around the rubber supports for the centre bearing though, but it was cushioned, as in the rubber would push it back to center. is that normal?