After a 3 hour drive, I've determined I DO in fact need a new driveshaft on my E46

"sefeing, actually bought an E46" (sefeing90) 09/14/2019 at 08:53 • Filed to: e46

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Whelp, the ride was a bit smoother after replacing the CSB & flex disc, but the play / vibration in the drive shaft is still there. Guess it’s time to replace. I’m surprised that the rear U-Joint went out this fast, at 85k miles but I guess anything can happen

Nibby > sefeing, actually bought an E46 09/14/2019 at 09:05

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when you are sefeing know that i have betrayed you

sefeing, actually bought an E46 > Nibby 09/14/2019 at 09:16

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<3 

diplodicus forgot his password > sefeing, actually bought an E46 09/14/2019 at 12:38

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Are you sure you have a driveshaft issue? If you replaced both the guibo, center support bearing I’d look for other sources. U joints should have some play in them, the gears in the diff will as well. Check your trans and diff mounts to see if the rubber is rotted. Check your halfshaft cv joints for excessive play. Make  sure your control arm bushings are in good shape as well. I’ve yet to have any driveshaft related issues with my bmws and theyve all been higher mileage, always seems to be control arms or a bad CV joint on the halfshafts, but at 80k miles I'd look more at rotted rubber than the CV joints.

sefeing, actually bought an E46 > diplodicus forgot his password 09/14/2019 at 13:28

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I’m fairly sure, but not 100 percent. I’m going off the play / ringing that I felt in the shaft & what others on forums have experienced (the 20-30 accel shake is apparently a big one). I honestly should have inspected closer & taken a video.

front control arm bushings have already been done, but it’s possible the trans mount / diff mount could be the issue, fair point.

I was having a hard time discerning play in the gearbox / diff from the actual driveshaft. and the front part looked brand spankin’ new. The rear had some rust on the u-joint. I also am having a hard time believing that the vibration / noise is from an 85k (albeit, 16 year old) driveshaft, ESPECIALLY since the Guibo / CSB looked to be in decent shape. No MAJOR cracking or anything.

The biggest thing I notice is in 2nd to 3rd gear under moderate acceleration from 20-30 I get a rumble strip vibration that goes away after 30mph.

And then at 55-60, I get a rumbling when I let off the pedal that echos through the cabin, that I think I can feel throughout the car too. 60-79 is solid, and almost exactly 80 I get a shake in the front, but I think that’s related to wheel balancing. Any insight here’s appreciated. 

diplodicus forgot his password > sefeing, actually bought an E46 09/14/2019 at 15:24

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Have you checked the CV joints on your halfshafts? 

sefeing, actually bought an E46 > diplodicus forgot his password 09/14/2019 at 16:34

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I had, from what I can see, there’s no rips or anything in the boots but thats it

diplodicus forgot his password > sefeing, actually bought an E46 09/14/2019 at 17:22

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I can’t help but wonder if your trans is part of the issue. Thinking about it more if you had an issue with the driveshaft the vibration shouldn’t go away, should just b emore intense the faster the shaft spins. But  I don’t know enough about automatics to have a theory on why it would be vibrating. 

sefeing, actually bought an E46 > diplodicus forgot his password 09/15/2019 at 07:43

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Fluid in it’s only a few thousand miles old & it shifts like a dream after it’s warmed up, so not totally sure. Only thing I can think of is that it’s some sort of harmonic state that the shaft gets in. At 55-60 MPH the rumble is loud, and has gotten worse over the last few months. I’m gonna try and get under the car again today to get a video of the play in the shaft