hi! just wanted to ask a quick question before drawing to any conclusions. car in question is my father's mk1 berlingo 1.9 diesel DW8. the shaft is the one on the right when you are outside looking at the engine bay from the front (could have just said passenger side but unsure if you drive a RHD car or a LHD one). so, looking at the econd half of the shaft from the wheel well, with the first half removed, should the second half be stuck in the gearbox/diff or should you be able to wiggle it out of the diff with no resistance, thereby losing a litre of gear oil in the process? is it possible there is a missing/broken circlip or it somehow came out of the diff casing with some violent roadbumps? again, not talking about the part which goes in the wheel hub, the part immediately behind it with the cup where the recess for the three headed part is. thanks for any help in advance and sorry about the long winded explanation and the lack of pictures!
That's confusing lol... You actually mean the 'left' driveshaft, as sides are taken as if you were sitting in the car lol. So the 'short' shaft yes?
That one does just pull out of the gearbox, shouldn't be any resistance. BUT it shouldn't just fall out while you're on the road, the wishbone and strut should be holding it in so something else must have broken?
found a pic on the web. should the shaft simply pull out from this black hole or should it be stuck in there somehow?
It should just pull out. There is nothing holding it in on that side.
lol no i meant with eveything dismantled, not simply driving about.. sorry for not explaining clearly..
ok thanks for the quick reply!!
Ah yeah, I misread first time lol. Easy mistake, most of us have lost half the gearbox oil from that shaft at one time. You only do it once though haha!
The one on the other side is held in by an extra bearing so can't fall out if you're doing both sides.
Yes it just comes out. Be careful with it as the inner joint can fall apart quite easily especially if it's worn
yes it just slips out and you loose gear oil
it will slip out on its own without trying to hard which is a pain as you turn your back and like you say gear oil over the floor