Drive Shaft Universal Joint Considerations....

[safedude]

https://www.powertrainindustries.com/

These guys manufacture a replacement driveline with serviceable joints for Sprinters. Wholesale to the mechanic is $618.00.

 

[mackconsult]

These guys are local to me here in Portland, OR. They guy that manages the sales department has sailed with me and is a great guy. If I ever need drive line parts this is were I am going. They are a little spendy, but build custom heavier duty shafts with new bearings, yokes, carriers, zircs, & clip rings. Makes for easier maintenance.

http://www.driveshafts.com/pages/sprinter.html

 

[eduardo]

i put greasers or grease valves, i dont know the word, on ball joints that go on wishbones, and to avoid the entry of debris in them i put grease on the drill bit`s tip that catches the chips, and the subsecuent threading tool.

 

[jumperdog]

Several months ago I replaced the OEM driveshaft after the carrier bearing failed. I had no confidence that the replacement OEM shaft & carrier bearing assembly would hold up any better than the original. My local driveshaft man heard my doubts and ordered a complete driveshaft replacement made in the USA. It came a week later from a supplier in Tulsa. The new driveshaft had replaceable Spicer U-joints (but no zerk fittings) and a very beefy carrier assembly. It was about $525, an easy install with perfect performance.

Even though the driveshaft fits my Sprinter, my driveshaft man assured me it was made with virtually the same components as on heavy-duty US pick-up trucks. If something fails it isn't going to cost as much as the MB version. And the OEM driveshaft wasn't very robust to begin with.

In the photo the original driveshaft (which developed a hideous squeak at 80K miles) is at the top. The Tulsa driveshaft is at bottom.

Can you get the details of the driveshaft supplier from Tulsa

Thanks

 

[RMWise]

Seans- your local Chevy dealer should have or can get the spline lubricant they used on pickups for this same issue. IIRC, it was blue, like the photo of the Tulsa driveshaft in a previous post. Regular grease doesn't work, you need the correct lube.

 

[Mrdi]

http://www.wholesaleimportparts.com/Dodge_Sprinter_Driveshaft_2008.php

 

[coalminer]

Re: What did you do to your Sprinter today.

Before I begin with what I did to my Sprinter today, I would like to thank everyone who spends the time to create all of the detailed write-ups on this site, you have saved me money and taught me alot. This is my first diesel engine but I have been working on vehicles my whole life. I use the Sprinter for expediting.

I have a 2005 Freightliner 2500 and was getting a vibration between 40 and 50 mph, from reading here everything pointed to the driveshaft, I got under there and to me everything looked good except for where the driveshaft connected to the transmission, seemed like there was too much motion there. I jacked up the rear end, turned off the ESP and put it in gear, and even just sitting there idling that part of the driveshaft moved too much. After looking at the parts breakdown for the transmisison, I noticed that there was a locknut that held the output flange on the shaft, looking at that, it seemed that there should be no play in that part. As soon as I took the 4 bolts out of there and moved the driveshaft away, what was left of that locknut fell out, threads were gone, and was worn away on the outside. The output flange came right off and seemed like it was in good shape, as were the threads on the shaft. The local Dodge dealer didnt have that part in stock, but the local MB dealer did thankfully. Once I put it all back together, it is smooth as can be, glad it was only an $11 nut, and not have to buy an $800 driveshaft.


Next up on my list is to fix my Espar heater, replace all of the metal tubes that run down to the heater, new circulating pump and wire it so I can have heat when I am sitting.

 

[flman]

I seem to have a drive line noise in my T1N nearing 100K. It makes a clunk, clunk, clunk sound, most noticeable at a coast. I put in in neutral and checked the U joints and they seem OK. I did notice the carrier bearing has movement, but the movement is in the rubber mount, rather then the bearing. Any one ever change just the carrier bearing?

 

[mean_in_green]

Unusual in a T1N. Those that get up to several hundred thousand miles typically do so on original drive line and bearings.

Sadly for their owners the reverse is proving true for NCV3s.

 

[flman]

Unusual in a T1N. Those that get up to several hundred thousand miles typically do so on original drive line and bearings.

Sadly for their owners the reverse is proving true for NCV3s.

Well, it only seems to be the rubber mounting that is loose, maybe I can rig something up?

Does any one else movement in the rubber bearing mount?

 

[Oilburner]

I had to replace drive shaft at 180k. The reason was that the bearing made a groove in the shaft. Strange, because bearing did't get stuck at all, was fully functional but did that groove. I will post picture of it. U joints were fine. I replaced whole thing, bought used but in great shape at car-part.com and I put brand new bearing.

 

[EZoilburner]

I don't have one in front of Me but after searching a few threads here it looks like a driveline shop should be able to remove the old Ujoints, put a grove on the yoke then install a Ujoint and a clip to hold it on each side.

 

[flman]

I had to replace drive shaft at 180k. The reason was that the bearing made a groove in the shaft. Strange, because bearing did't get stuck at all, was fully functional but did that groove. I will post picture of it. U joints were fine. I replaced whole thing, bought used but in great shape at car-part.com and I put brand new bearing.

That could be my problem as well, I am thinking the rubber would have to move a lot to make that noise, it does go away at higher speeds, 55 to 60 MPH.

 

[Oilburner]

Just want to show the picture of damaged shaft by bearing(not stuck).Why this happened?

 

[ROBI55]

how you fix it ?

 

[Oilburner]

I replaced with a used, complete drive shaft. Still have the old one, longer piece is still good.

 

[Turbo John]

Hi gang. Obviously I'm new here but am a little concerned about the reliability of these Sprinters. I'm a huge Mopar and Benz fan so when I needed to replace my old '81 Plymouth Maxi-Wagon I felt a Sprinter would be a good bet. Now I'm reading about EGR valve issues and drive-shaft issues... what's going on? I originally felt I got a good deal on my Sprinter but I'm starting to worry now.

I would not worry about it........I have had my Sprinter since new 2004

Would not sell it for 25k

Every car has issues and thanks to this forum there easy to find and repair...go for it

 

[fostytou]

It came a week later from a supplier in Tulsa. The new driveshaft had replaceable Spicer U-joints (but no zerk fittings) and a very beefy carrier assembly. It was about $525, an easy install with perfect performance.

In the photo the original driveshaft (which developed a hideous squeak at 80K miles) is at the top. The Tulsa driveshaft is at bottom.

Since this thread is not so dead I'll follow up here. I see a lot of recommendations for http://www.driveshaftspecialist.com/Truckhtml/Sprinter.html and they look really good. My rear U-joint developed an incredible howl at around 200k miles which got worse with speed. Everything seemed fine, but as soon as we separated the driveshaft from the rear diff we felt the bad notchiness/locking in the rear-most U joint on my 140"wb. I decided since my T1N isn't on paid duty to go with the Dorman product:
http://www.dormanproducts.com/itemdetail.aspx?ProductID=67889&SEName=936-016
Dorman Driveshafts 936-016

It has replaceable U-joints and seems well built. It also comes with a new carrier bearing and greasable spline. It looks just like the picture from this guy's post and isn't too hard to find for ~$603 shipped. If my U joints go bad I'll be replacing them with Spicer units.

I did find a youtube video where they drilled and punched out the old U joint, then used a dremel tool to cut in the slot for the clip and were able to place in a replaceable U-joint in the stock unit. The youtuber said his shop would do the job for $350, but after shipping that seemed close enough to the cost of the Dorman part.

I had also found 2 used complete driveshafts for a reasonable price semi-locally. Both suspected a bad U-joint on my shaft and said they'd check the ones they had, both said they were good, both were obviously bad but not quite as bad as mine when I showed up to look at them. Unfortunate, but keep an eye out if you are buying used... I suspect most MB driveshafts will have this problem at this point.

 

[EZoilburner]

Thanks for the info, here is the dorman driveshaft on amazon if anyone is interested https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-936-016-Rear-Driveshaft-Assembly/dp/B00IWO4C0A

Do You have a link to the YouTube video?

Thanks.

Since this thread is not so dead I'll follow up here. I see a lot of recommendations for http://www.driveshaftspecialist.com/Truckhtml/Sprinter.html and they look really good. My rear U-joint developed an incredible howl at around 200k miles which got worse with speed. Everything seemed fine, but as soon as we separated the driveshaft from the rear diff we felt the bad notchiness/locking in the rear-most U joint on my 140"wb. I decided since my T1N isn't on paid duty to go with the Dorman product:
http://www.dormanproducts.com/itemdetail.aspx?ProductID=67889&SEName=936-016
Dorman Driveshafts 936-016

It has replaceable U-joints and seems well built. It also comes with a new carrier bearing and greasable spline. It looks just like the picture from this guy's post and isn't too hard to find for ~$603 shipped. If my U joints go bad I'll be replacing them with Spicer units.

I did find a youtube video where they drilled and punched out the old U joint, then used a dremel tool to cut in the slot for the clip and were able to place in a replaceable U-joint in the stock unit. The youtuber said his shop would do the job for $350, but after shipping that seemed close enough to the cost of the Dorman part.

I had also found 2 used complete driveshafts for a reasonable price semi-locally. Both suspected a bad U-joint on my shaft and said they'd check the ones they had, both said they were good, both were obviously bad but not quite as bad as mine when I showed up to look at them. Unfortunate, but keep an eye out if you are buying used... I suspect most MB driveshafts will have this problem at this point.

 

[niagara]

Thanks for the info, here is the dorman driveshaft on amazon if anyone is interested https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-936-016-Rear-Driveshaft-Assembly/dp/B00IWO4C0A

Do You have a link to the YouTube video?

Thanks.

Just ordered a Dorman driveshaft. The video url is here if anyone is interested in the aforementioned MOD:

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