Never Never Never Ever Buy Aftermarket Driveshaft!!

Hello everyone.
Has anyone tried to replace the u-joints on the original driveshaft with u-joint with inside snap ring.
Is it possible?


My original driveshaft failed.
Bought an aftermarket driveshaft, and quickly regretted it.
Hearing some kind of vibration from underneath, going 40-60 mph, it is louder when going 40mph. Driveshaft shop inspected it, replaced 1 u-joint (front), and said that it was now ok.
I reinstalled it, at first the vibration and noise was gone, but after a few hundred miles it was back.

Sorry you're having a bad experience and I hope you keep us posted on resolution.
Nonetheless, I tend to cringe a bit when I read subject lines like yours because there may be reputable aftermarket part sellers and installers who will lose business unfairly. Also, any replacement part, OEM or aftermarket, may fail. Big question is did the seller and or installer stand by fixing the problem. If not, they justifiably should be identified.

Just my $0.02, others nmay see it different.
Best of luck///Ed M.

It all boils down to how the shaft was made.

A long time ago now I visited a well known UK manufacturer of OE shafts.
I was doing a study to establish what caused prop whirr and vibration in big truck propshafts.

One of the things I immediately observed was the actual assembly and alignment of the yolk ends.
All done by precision machines on a production line; The alignment of each end was with 2 degrees of alignment and before submerged arc welding the shaft run out was no more than 0,01mm or 0.004" after it all being pressed together.

Following weld assembly, the shafts after cooling were subjected to heat distress relief and normalization with a heat treatment process. Any misalignment was corrected by a cold pressing activity and further heat treatment to stress relieve the shaft.

This contrasts enormously with how i have seen props manufactured here in the US by aftermarket manufacturers.
Their activities are different I am sure from the normal manufacturing of OE shafts for domestic production of vehicles. Akin to the UK operation as explained but its the aftermarket which I see huge variations in quality and shaft longevity.

Boiled down its really how much equipment is invested in manufacturing activities for low quantity reman of shafts.

I use three local reman suppliers- BUT NOT FOR SPRINTERS--I will only use genuine MB re-man units.
For domestic brands all three of them do just fine.
Notably all three do not have the precise yolk alignment tools.
All three hand weld the seam to the yolk ends.
And
Alignment after welding is always done by heating the shaft tube with an oxy acetylene torch and cooling the puddled area with a jet of cold water to "shrink" the tube and cause an alignment shift to about a 0.015" run out.
The issue is that the shaft often de-stresses itself in service and some misalignment is always is the result.
Dennis

Awesome, as usual Dennis. Any idea why there were so many failures of NCV3 driveshafts in the early days?

I am with Dennis, OEM is the only way to go.

glasseye said:

Awesome, as usual Dennis. Any idea why there were so many failures of NCV3 driveshafts in the early days?

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In short build quality.
It's pretty much a given, that once MB got hold of part supply in the NAS market they tightened up on the quality of what is supposed to be new or re-man'd shafts.
Certainly all the ones I have purchased of late seem to be new ones boxed & sold as re-man's.

I have several "new" ones in stock as test units.
If you come in griping about spurious remans not working, or I have a quote "vibe at a certain speed etc", we simply put a new quality assured MB shaft on for test from the shelf.
If there is an instant improvement on a flat out thrash up the road then its:-

Well you need a propah shaft and all will be well!
$$$$$$$
Dennis

I can second this. I’ve tried an aftermarket driveshaft and it was horrible, once mercedes part installed all was good. In the end it wasn’t much more than the aftermarket, especially from a mercedes dealership.

I recently had my drive shaft replaced with an aftermarket replacement. The builder is reputable with a long history in the area and has made hundreds of them for FedEx locally. The installer was a transmission mechanic who does great work in western MA. With 350K on the van I can not believe the difference it has made, the van sounds and feels like new. I never realized how far the original had deteriorated. I have no regrets using aftermarket.

I just got a reman driveline assy 2
Piece from
Mercedes Benz For a total of $800 core charge is 71 and 137 dollars
The aftermarket is more expensive than the dealer


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

mike01001 said:

I recently had my drive shaft replaced with an aftermarket replacement. The builder is reputable with a long history in the area and has made hundreds of them for FedEx locally. The installer was a transmission mechanic who does great work in western MA. With 350K on the van I can not believe the difference it has made, the van sounds and feels like new. I never realized how far the original had deteriorated. I have no regrets using aftermarket.

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Really??!! I'm in Western MA. Who is the supplier?

I have posted this video before. If equipped with the proper tools, U-Joint R&R isn't all that complicated or difficult. Although, I consider myself exceptionally dexterous with a pneumatic mini grinder, I would prefer to go the extra mile and send the parts out For for cir-clip grove machining and subsequent balancing but that's because I am a persnickety cantankerous curmudgeon.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-xodsw0gRtk

Paul E D, Camerota was the manufacturer, http://camerota.com/. I don't know if they sell directly to the public, but I didn't want to install it myself anyway. About $1500 installed, took a little over an hour.

Just went through a LOT of hassle with driveshafts. I started another thread about it, but this one speaks directly to what i experienced. Here's the story:

The rear carrier bearing started making noise at 50K miles on my 2008 NCV3. I thought that was kinda premature for any bearing to fail, so i wanted to get an aftermarket serviceable driveshaft. Bought one from Driveline Service, had it installed, and the van vibrated like driving on rumble strips. Had the shop dig my old shaft out of the recycle bin and re-install; the bearing noise was back, but no vibration.

Then i found another shop that would replace the bearing on the original shaft. That wasn't what i wanted, but we did it anyway. That bearing went ~500 miles and started squealing like a stuck pig. Took it back and had another aftermarket shaft installed, don't know the company. Bad vibration, again. This time i let them try another, replacement from the same company, and it didn't get any better, still vibrated.

The van has now got a rebuilt from MB driveshaft. I've only driven it home from the repair, but there is no vibration, or bearing noise. Drives like it did before all this started.

I learned this all when i worked on cars in the 70's, ALWAYS buy original equipment. Especially German cars. Just needed a reminder, i guess.

Jef

I would assume the vibration is the result of failure to properly balancing the shaft? That's a boatload of mass whirling around down there. The are cases of good vibrations

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ImXbZ8P0VEQ


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B0yoiBYbT2I

Hi Folks!
Reviving an old one here but I have a question or 2 and maybe someone here can help. My van has about 275k and the driveshaft was clunking and sqeaking. One of my main requirements of this van is to do 65 and be smooooth since I do a lot of highway driving.
After doing a ton of research about driveshafts, I decided to go aftermarket. I know I know..
I worked with my local driveshaft shop and ordered a good one I believe from spicer. When it arrived, it was missing a cap for one of the u joints - cmon! So I called them and they sent me a new u joint right away, I installed it and got the van going. It had a high frequency vibration around 55+ MPH. So I called the shop back to see what they could do for me and...they closed down. Bummer.

So, I have a few options since I'm married to this expensive driveshaft now. I called another driveshaft place here in CT and they will try to balance it for me if I bring it down to them - 3+ hours round trip and I'm not sure how much it will cost.
Other option I found is Balance Masters

Anyone ever use them? Seems like a good option here but is that a bad idea?
Any input would be helpful.

I think the lesson of this thread is that a Sprinter driveshaft is a perfect example of “Pay once, cry once”.
Another example is Subaru CV axles. I haven’t had to replace mine (256k on the originals) but lots of keveching on the internet about all sorts of “Rebuilts”.
I am all for saving money and reuse of parts. But none of us want to put up with the drone of imperfection with these rotating parts.

Agreed. But here I sit.

AndyinCT said:

Hi Folks!
Reviving an old one here but I have a question or 2 and maybe someone here can help. My van has about 275k and the driveshaft was clunking and sqeaking. One of my main requirements of this van is to do 65 and be smooooth since I do a lot of highway driving.
After doing a ton of research about driveshafts, I decided to go aftermarket. I know I know..
I worked with my local driveshaft shop and ordered a good one I believe from spicer. When it arrived, it was missing a cap for one of the u joints - cmon! So I called them and they sent me a new u joint right away, I installed it and got the van going. It had a high frequency vibration around 55+ MPH. So I called the shop back to see what they could do for me and...they closed down. Bummer.

So, I have a few options since I'm married to this expensive driveshaft now. I called another driveshaft place here in CT and they will try to balance it for me if I bring it down to them - 3+ hours round trip and I'm not sure how much it will cost.
Other option I found is Balance Masters

Balance Masters® For Driveshafts

Balance Masters® for driveshafts. This active balancing system has been engineered to fit most heavy-duty trucks, buses, vans, and motorhomes.

www.balancemasters.com

Anyone ever use them? Seems like a good option here but is that a bad idea?
Any input would be helpful.

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Checking prop shaft balance is an excellent idea.

So is checking prop shaft geometry. Shims are available.

For illustration purposes only, your vehicle’s specifications may vary.



If you haven’t replaced center carrier support, do so.

No experience with BM’s product but skeptical.

AndyinCT said:

Agreed. But here I sit.

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I have used this shop for a variety of driveshafts over the years. I recommend them and their service.
Call and ask - maybe they can help. No matter where you are in CT it may be worth the drive.

I think there still are qualified shops that make quality driveshafts in USA, but they become harder and harder to find.
The big engine rebuild shop in San Franciso area closed down over 10 years ago to become .... Pet Hotel.
Anyway, one of my favorite youtubers rebuilds old Scout truck. Living in Oregon, he is pulling the Scout down to St. George, UT to build custom driveshaft for it. It is 1000 miles on the trailer.