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Driveshaft radial play

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eejay56

eejay56

Jedi Warrior
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I'm trying to trace the source of the clunking noise from the rear end of my Spit. Should the driveshaft have any radial play? By which I mean that I can twist it back and forth a good 1/2 inch without moving the axles and at the end of the play there is a clunking noise from the diff. Sounds a lot like the noise when I'm driving. This seems wrong to me.
 
Everything is relative to something else, so in this case, I would say that 1/2" of radial play in the driveshaft would not be a problem in a 30 year old car. I don't know your mileage, but there will be a certain amount of back lash in the ring and pinion on a new car, or the differential would seize up after about 3 miles of driving.

The key to finding this noise is whether or not the u-joints are clunking under load or if the mounts are loose (cracked), again, more noticeable under load with weight on ground.
 
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