Are Ecp (Eurocarparts) Driveshafts Any Good ?

[sasquartch]

I suspect at least one of my driveshafts has gone as I am getting a pronounced wobble on the steering wheel which fells like a 'tug' on the steering wheel for each revolution of the road wheel.

 

About 2 years ago I replaced the n/s shaft with a Q-drive part from ECP as I had a split inner gaitor as it was so cheap for the entire shaft.

 

Last year the o/s inner gaitor split so I used a new boot on the original shaft from the n/s and fitted that, all seemed ok.

 

I will shortly be investigating the fault but a mechanic friend told me there should be no play in the inner joints so that's what I'll check.

 

Questions :

 

Are ECP Q-drive shafts any good. With discount these are only about 50 quid each. ?

 

Is it asking for trouble to swap a n/s and o/s shaft (as they've rotated in opposite directions) ?

 

It seems a common issue on the 1.9TDI 115.

 

The car is a 2005 and has done only 83000 miles from new.

 

Any advice welcomed :-)

[chrislloydie]

Try j and r on ebay. Even cheaper than ecp and ive used them for both sides and not had a problem. Think others have used them too.

[chrislloydie]

160608438031

 

That's a pair for a manual tdi. They obviously do others, just check their for sale page or give them a ring.

[sasquartch]

Wow - that seems almost too cheap - 65 quid for a pair. Feedback looks OK as well.

 

carparts4less are doing Q-drive for 51.00 each which I thought was cheap.

 

Will have to investigate tomorrow which one is gone (if indeed it is a cv joint causing my wobble) but at that price it's worth doing both and taking a chance.

 

Has anyone clocked up a decent mileage on these ? I'd like to keep my car for at least another couple of years (I bought it brand new) so if they'll last 25k miles I'd probably be happy

[chrislloydie]

Ive done about 10k since I fitted mine. Still seem fine. Although I might have just cursed that. Lol

[BrianH]

I've got two of the J&R shafts sitting here for another car which should be fitted within the next couple of weeks. they look OK but haven't driven on them as yet!

[SilverBeast]

I've fitted a J&R one to mine (130BHP) about 10k ago.  Seems OK at the moment.  I have seen one report that they had one which wouldn't fit, which they replaced straight away.  They had a simliar problem with the replacement, though that one did fit.

I have another sat in the garage ready for when I eventually do the intermediate shaft.  Changed mine as a CV boot was split and it was a lot simpler to change the whole shaft, particularly at that price.

[sasquartch]

Well it looks like the fault may not be driveshafts after all.

 

One tyre has a definite eccentricity, a high spot but not a bulge as such. I found this by jacking the car up and resting the chassis on axle stands and running the engine in first gear so the front wheels turned.

 

It was fairly obvious there was a out of true o/s tyre, the wheel looked to run completely true.

 

The tyres were pretty worn out so have ordered a pair of Michelin Primacys 3 from blackcircles.com. So will see whether this cures it.

 

Both driveshafts when grabbed and shaken had a bit of play in the inner cv joints, whether it was wear or just end float I don't know what a new shaft feels like. What should I expect ? Both shafts seemed to be running perfectly true.

[xavier]

Both of mine were like that if I remember correctly. One was replaced (split inner and outer boots) and the other was moved to replace the ring for ABS. I'd wait until you change the tyre before looking further at the shafts.

[tim-spam]

In a word - no. If you fit cheap driveshafts, you are very likely to still have some wobble, especially at around 20mph in 2nd gear. It may be less than on a worn out driveshaft, but it will get worse over a year or two, and the vibrations may do further damage to the transmission or (more likely) the DMF. Genuine exchange shafts are obviously good, but the price is horrendous.

 

However, if you can find GKN / Spidan shafts, these are the business, but expect to pay up to

[alanx]

Hi everyone.

new today, i  hope i get it right.

Galaxy 2003 TDi (130) 1.896 manual 6 speed box.

Having found some drive shafts on ebay, mentioned above, I would like to ask, does anyone know if the shafts fit either side, and should i change both sides anyway.

I have a sort of metallic grinding noise, when turning right, indicating drivers side problem, not loud at first but the more lock the noiser it gets, it has only started today, so hopefully, one of you experienced guys maybe able to help,an old geezer out.

thanks in advance.