CV replacement, new vibration -- resolved

Greetings everyone,

Got a head scratcher here. Freelander TD4 2002. 190k km.

This weekend a friend and I replaced the CV joints and prop-shafts, ball joints, and discs and pads on both sides (lost a little oil from the tranny, didn't seem enough to worry about but am planning to have the box drained and refilled at a garage this weekend), as well as the drums and shoes in the back. Front end was aligned using a string run taut from the back. Took it out and felt a vibration starting at about 30 kph through 40 or so, which reduced as I got up to about 80 or 90 but doesn't go away. Haven't gone any faster than that. Once or twice it seemed there was no vibration at all, then when pulling out from a stop it came back. Weaved back and forth across the road, no change. We rotated the tires and I took it out again, same vibration. Right front disc was hot, took apart the brake assembly and pushed the piston in just a little further, that seems fine now. Vibrations seem to be coming from right front wheel as best as we can tell. We thought the new CV joint might just be a little tight from the factory and that a few miles might be good for it, so I drove it home (45 minutes on two-lane country roads, much of it at 80/90 kph).

Vibration didn't change at all. It's now the next day. I'm planning on using the car for my local running around but then putting the old CV joint and shaft back in next week if there's no improvement, to see if the vibration goes away.

It brakes fine, no pulling with or out without braking, tracks true when I release the steering wheel. Vibration is felt mainly through my feet and on the gearshift knob; very little it seems through the steering wheel and the steering wheel is steady.

Front end had been slightly out of alignment for a couple of years as the ball joint adjustment had been frozen up so the tires are probably running on different rubber now, but I understand that tire vibrations usually show up at higher speeds so that seems unlikely to be the culprit.

The brand name of the parts is Britparts, bought online in France.

Any thoughts or insight anyone may have would be gratefully received.

Britpart drive shafts are garbage. In fact most after market drive shafts are garbage too. The only shafts that I know don't cause vibration are the OE GKN shafts. The worse thing about cheap shafts, is they damage the output bearings of the box and IRD. So when new genuine shafts are fitted, the vibration often remains.

Oh boy that doesn't sound good.

Nodge, I appreciate the tip about GKN [edited]. Turns out they have a service center about 40 km from where I live, and they might be able to just rebuild my old ones. The fellow I need to see won't be there until Friday so I'll have to wait until then to know but this sure feels like the way to go.

I'll post again when I know more. Thanks again.

did you find the cause of the vibration? I have the exact same problem with mine after replacing both drive shafts with aftermarket ones. Before installing I noticed they were a bit stiff but tought it was because they were new and they would loosen with use as grease would fill the gaps but still haven't and its already over 200miles.
Now I'm thinking of pulling back the boot off the inner joint and re fill with new grease maybe there is little grease

No, I haven't. I thought the same as you at first but these don't seem to have loosened up any after almost 100 km. To be honest I've been reluctant to use the vehicle, so it's mostly been sitting while I figured what to do next. What brand were they?

I did look into getting the old ones rebuilt at the GKN service center near where I live but they don't do lateral shafts, just those going to the rear. What I've decided to do is to stick in a pair of second-hand OE drive shafts that I've located, and see how it drives. If it drives OK, I'll chalk the vibration up to faulty parts and try to get some money back from the supplier. I won't be holding my breath on that score but at least I'll be able to use the car again and I can always rebuild the old ones to have on hand if needed.

If it still vibrates after swapping out the shafts -- well I guess I'll cross that bridge later if I have to.

If you find out what your vibrations were do let me know. Good luck.

Will do.
I will re grease them 1st as I'v noticed that if I squezed the boot and take it for a short drive is I think there is some improvement so will try that 1st.

Is yours lifted? mine has a 2 inch lift installed and am suspecting that this is because the grease will remain on the inside while the cv travels on the outside part and so grease not reaching the moving parts.

No, mine is not lifted. It's as standard as it gets.

I am not sure how the lift would be configured so I can't really comment on your theory. For me the current project is something of a stretch for me, I've really no idea whether my parts are faulty or whether I may have committed an error when installing them.

From my experience with Rover drive shafts in general. I've found that OE shafts are vibration free. But pattern shafts often cause vibration issues.

Thanks Nodge. What are "pattern" shafts? Copies maybe?

Here's hoping my vibrations are gone when next week I install the used OE drive shafts I've lined up.

Yes. Pattern parts are basically copy parts. Most of the pattern shafts I've seen are very poor quality. Often these poor quality joints don't have the ability to articulate smoothly while transferring torque. This causes them vibrate the engine on its mountings, instead of bending at the joint. It's normally the inboard joint that suffers most, due to its sliding tripod design. The outer joint is a conventional CV joint, which is less susceptible to articulation vibration.

Thanks Nodge. Really should have done my homework before starting this project! Well live and learn I guess.

Coucherias said:

Thanks Nodge. Really should have done my homework before starting this project! Well live and learn I guess.

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I've been done it too. I tried a couple of makes of cheap shafts, finding the same problem. The problem is, they damage the bearings. This in its self makes a bad situation much worse.

That's what scares me the most about this whole business, that I may have damaged something else in the process. I'm already in over my head, the thought of having to go in further really makes me nervous. That's why I haven't been driving it, hopefully the few miles I have driven aren't enough to have made the situation worse. I'll know more next Thursday when a local garage will be swapping out the shafts. I don't have the setup needed here and I don't want to drive back to where we did the work last weekend.

Just re greased one of the drive shafts with no difference so guess the drive shaft is the issue.

Sorry that didn't solve it but good to know.

Coucherias said:

Sorry that didn't solve it but good to know.

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Will try to find a set of used shafts locally if possible.
Any one knows if they have any markings that should be alligned if inner cv joint to the other cup shaped part that goes inside the ird in case rubber bellow is damaged and needs replacing?

What about the J&R driveshafts? Seen a few people recommending them in other places but they do seem somewhat cheap.

krisboats said:

What about the J&R driveshafts? Seen a few people recommending them in other places but they do seem somewhat cheap.

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Fitted a pair to my old V6. They vibrated worse than the worn out shafts.