Broken universal joint on half shaft

[AnkerB-S]

Yesterday I had my first real breakdown in the Caterham. I was going g through a fast left hander doing Autocross and a loud bang from the rear was followed by loud clanking sounds when the clutch was engaged.

Upon inspection I found that the universal joint at the differential end on the left half shaft was ripped apart.

I am a decent wrenched, so I plan to do the repair myself. I will deeply appreciate some opinions on how bad the damage looks. I assume there is a  splined shaft going into the differential and that I need to remove the wheel carrier to get the shaft out.

I should mention that when I put the car in gear and jack up the left wheel I can spin the wheel by hand, so there is no solid connection to the differential gears.

So do you think more than the tube attached to the differential is damaged on the differential side?

What is the make and model of the differential?

Where can I source the parts?

Any other advice will be hugely appreciated.

Thanks/Anker

[Jonathan Kay]

Hi, Anker

I think that the joint that you have exposed is called a "tripode". I've never been in there myself but these threads might help:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=site:lotus7.club+tripode

Hope you're fixed soon.

Jonathan

[Golf Juliet Tango]

CV Joint.

The rebuild article in the archive might help with some reference points.

http://lowflying.lotus7.club/2012/2012_06_03_Driveshaft.pdf

I appreciate that you are stateside and Caterham Cars are over here but I think the driveshafts are Caterham specific. https://caterhamparts.co.uk/68-driveshafts

[garybee]

Yes, the inner joint just pushes into the diff' and is retained by a circlip.  I just remove the hub and driveshaft complete.  Usually just giving the driveshaft a good pull pops it out but you may not have a good enough connection.  Just pry the end of the shaft out in that case.

[ScottR400D]

IME and IMO, the housing (the bit that goes into the diff) is likely to be beyond repair, with such a damaged tripode joint. 

Theoretically, you could get away with new tripodes and boot kits but in reality the only bits likely to be usable are the bare shafts, if you're lucky. I'm talking plural because the other shaft isn't likely to be in any better condition and neither are the outer joints unless the boot of that damaged joint has been damaged and that joint alone has been short of lube? 

If it were me I'd be changing both shafts completely and because of the secrecy surrounding the manufacturer (or at least their reluctance to sell to anyone but CC), you'll be stuck with a £5/600 bill. 

[Richard Price]

Anker,

your driveshafts are of an earlier style than those in the linked rebuild article.

your shafts use Ford Sierra CV joints, and special shorter shafts. The later shafts (as shown in the article) are a bespoke Caterham part made by GKN.

 

[Richard Price]

Anker,

This link gives a little detail for Sierra driveshafts:-

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=182291

I suspect you have a little more to look at rather than simply repairing the inboard CV joint.....

It's very likely that inboard CV joint failure is a result of another issue. I suspect you may also have a problem with either suspension (which has allowed abnormal driveshaft articulation), or, spring failure in the outer CV (both CV's have springs that centralise the driveshaft between the two CV's. If the spring has failed in the outer end, that may allow the inboard end to come out of its pot).

Unfortunately, I think the parts to repair the original Ford Sierra shafts are long obsolete.

The later complete shaft is a like for like replacement:- https://caterhamparts.co.uk/driveshafts/7039-driveshaft-s3-lh-ford-differential.html

[PROBE2]

Hi, If replacement is an option you are looking at I have a good used set of rear driveshafts for a Ford diff from a 2004 K Series.

Regards 

Paul

[AnkerB-S]

PM sent to PROBE2.

Thanks/Anker

[Wrightpayne]

Anker,

It looks like the tripod has come out of the joint and ripped the outer can apart. As Richard noted, the joint cannot usually do that as due to its length it is retained between the diff and the wheel hub. 
 

If the tripod end and corresponding joint are in tact I'd look for other reasons why the tripod/drive shaft has broken free - A frame bushes, loose fixings, anything bent?

[Wrightpayne]

PS - I've struggled to find the Ford boot kits for these drive shafts in the UK, that come with a 'can' that has to be peened onto the joint. Last time I looked Autodoc in Germany (and various other sites linked to Autodoc) had the kits listed.

In normal circumstances, changing both boots you only have to cut one can off to get the driveshaft apart and fit both boots then its just one can to re-peen (just in case anyone else is reading this)

[AnkerB-S]

Thanks Wrightpayne,

I am going to very carefully through the entire suspension to see if there is play anywhere or something is bent. It is somewhat strange that it happened on the left side because that was on the inside when it broke, so the sideload was a lot less than on the other side, but, of course, that was where the sideload was trying to pull the wheel away from the diff, so maybe it isn't that strange. It was a cool day and I was on R888R, so the inside tire had a tendency to slip, grip, slip, grip, which puts some hard torsion loads on the axle.

It will be interesting to do the post mortem. I plan to start today.

Anker

[AnkerB-S]

I spent most of the afternoon trying to find someone local who could sell or lend me a 41 mm socket and breaker bar. No luck, so I have ordered them from Amazon. They will arrive on Friday, but unfortunately, I will be flying out of town Friday morning, so it will be a while before I can start disassembling. 

[SM25T]

Wheel off the ground and hard application of power ?

[AnkerB-S]

That's what I think. Hard on power is necessary to get good times in Autocross. On a warm track with warm tace tires it causes the weight to transfer to the rear and slingshot you out of the corner. On this particular day it was not warm and I suspect the tires spun in initial power application and then suddenly gripped when the weight started transferring back to the inside wheel, which is the one that shredded the universal joint.