driveshaft noises

[M.H.Farshid]

Dear all,
hello, me again all the way from Europe. i have Fiat Stilo 2005 with 1.4L gasoline engine. since the last time i replaced the clutch 2 months ago, i have this problem of noises underneath the car when turning the wheel to left.

the first day after reinstalling everything (clutch job) very quickly i found out that i didnt fasten hard enough the center wheel nut of the right front wheel because the wheel was a bit wobbling and the brakes would floor the first time you pressed it. after correcting it i noticed that the wheel bearing was making remarkable additional noise. i replaced the right wheel bearing and the additional noise was gone. but the it kept making noise while driving turning the wheel to the left. since then i have replaced alot of parts based on things people (and some mechanics) think it is and it start becoming a very annoying expensive experience.

at the moment the both front wheel bearings are new (one month ago), both outer cv-joints are new ( one month ago). both inner cv joints greased but kept the old one. furthermore the stabilizers (both sides) as well as lower control arms and the inner as well as outer tie rods are fairly new (max 1 year old). front wheels are re-balanced a few weeks ago (although there was no need in first place)

symptoms:
– when accelerating at speed between 90-120km on straight line the steering wheel shakes heavily and i feel that right front side shakes as well (not sure if its true but anyway), but when the car is rolling (no acceleration) no shakes no noises, car drives normal.
– when accelerating and turning the wheel to left you hear a kind of rapid low pitch noise like brrr. brrr. brrr. (and not like brrrrrrrrr…) and the steering wheel shakes, and you cant really ride smoothly on the bent and with a little bit exaggeration the whole front side of the car shakes . when turning right (even with acceleration between 90-120km) everything normal and even shake in steering wheel disappears.

i was told that its because of the bad outer cv joint (right side) but there were absolutely no play in the driveshaft at all. all parts were firmly with no looseness connected. i replaced the outer cv joint (both sides) anyway. afterward i disassembled and cleaned the old joint and everything was fine. no serious wear… i didnt replace the inner cv joint. i felt the gliding grooves with finger and they were in my opinion very normal. no wear or dent or surface unevenness to be noticed. the star shape thing with three ball bearing end was also normal (in my opinion)…

So long story short, i have no F-word idea what it can be. considering the fact that its a old car, i find it too expensive to get a new driveshaft. i could go for a salvage part but at least if i have some kind of certainty about what it is and which side. i still think its the drive shaft but not sure what else could be? something in transmission or in the wheel hub itself?
anyway ETCG, hereby my question to you guys. if any of you experts can make me wise what in any name this can be.

i appreciate your time and help in advance.

best regards,
Farshid.

Topic

[Mike]

Are both driveshafts one-piece “solid” shafts along their length, or is one of the shafts a two-piece affair with a rubber coupling joining the two shaft pieces?

[M.H.Farshid]

Hi,
im not sure what you mean but i guess they are solid one´s. obviously one side (left one) is shorter and right one is longer with a kind of balancing rubber somewhere on the axle. the rubber itself is in fair condition and its not loose.
i wonder if the transmission is causing it, isn’t it so that it would make noise no matter what direction you turn or even on straight line. by the way its manual transmission.
thanks.

[Shaun Flichel]

Try rotating the tires see if anything changes

[M.H.Farshid]

hi, thanks for reply,
tried many times on the bridge. no play or sound in the wheel. even with engine running and in gear 1 2 or 3 free spinning wheel no sign of anything.
with no load on the wheels no sign of any noise. the only thing i noticed with free wheel spinning in gear (engine driven) is that the left wheel won’t rotate and the the right wheel spin normal, but i guess it might be normal way of working of the differential…

[Author]

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