I'm trying to assess the condition of my 93's U joints. I got under the car and tried to turn the driveshaft by hand. I could turn it a little bit, I would say about 1/4" of travel measured at the surface of the shaft. Should I be able to turn it at all by hand?
Thanks, John V
Not really. Each part between the trans output shaft and the axles has a very small amount of play required, like .005". All those areas wear over time. And they all add up. Even in a new car, you'll be able to move the driveshaft a slight amount. Slight. 1/4" is too much. Grab the pinion flange and see how much that moves.
He's not looking at fore-aft movement, but rather backlash.
By grabbing the drive shaft and turning it, he's measuring the backlash of the entire driveline by feel. There really isn't a spec for turning it like that because each part is usually measured indiviudually. I've done this on occasion, and I would say that along the circumference of the drive shaft, it sounds pretty normal.
The shop manual I have shows a method to measure backlash of the rear axle. Along the tire at the specified circumference with the specified torque applied, 1 inch or less is considered normal.
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