Driveshaft refitted - now no drive...

[Andy 308GTB]

2011 Mondeo MK4 Manual

Gaiter split on nearside driveshaft.
Removed outer CV joint
Fitted new gaiter
Put back together
Went 10 miles last night - all good.
This morning, I get 50 yards & no drive. There is a bit of a rumble when I engage a gear but that's it.
Car now sitting in a daft position at the top of my road awaiting the AA to drag it back onto the drive...

After I put it all back together again, I took it out for a good 15 minute drive and all was well. No oil on the floor this morning or anything like that.
Peering into the wheel arch, the drive shaft looks to be fully engaged - but even if it wasn't, the other one would turn surely (edit, just googled this and it seems both need to be engaged)

My only concern is that when I put the outer CV joint back on, I had to give it a fair old wallop to get it back over the clip?
But it's weird that the problem didn't show up last night, I did the same manoeuvre (i.e. full lock) to get the car off and onto the drive.

Edit:
Further googling suggests that I have probably knackered the c-clip on the inner side of the shaft?

Edited by Andy 308GTB on Thursday 26th September 06:57

Edited by Andy 308GTB on Thursday 26th September 07:35

[E-bmw]

If I were a gambling man, I would say your "fair whack" broke the circlip and it just took a little time to fall off the splines, hopefully they aren't wrecked & a new circlip will get you going again.

[Andy 308GTB]

E-bmw said:

If I were a gambling man, I would say your "fair whack" broke the circlip and it just took a little time to fall off the splines, hopefully they aren't wrecked & a new circlip will get you going again.

Thanks, that's my thinking. Unfortunately we have a dearth of motor factors in the area that would stock c-clips, although I will be trying today.
It will be a day or two before I can get a new one from Simply Bearings.

[TwinKam]

I would doubt that a bearing supplier would stock those clips, a Ford Main Dealer would be your best bet, but might still be next day.
Good quality aftermarket boot kits (eg GKN) contain a new clip, it might be worth a few phone calls asking factors to look in the box, and buy another kit.
Or pop your head into your local indy garage, most engineers can't bring themselves to throw anything remotely useful away, and may well have a drawer of old ones... I know I have

[Andy 308GTB]

Thanks both.
The AA turned up and pulled the car back out of the road.
As ever, the AA man was really helpful and took a quick look - and made me look foolish...
Starting the engine, the drive shaft was rotating (why didn't I think to do that) - i.e. the problem was on the outer CV joint.
So it now looks as despite my hammering, the outer CV joint didn't seat properly and engage the clip...

He suggestion was to get the CV joint in place with the boot slid out of the way, that way I can ensure it's fully lined up and the force to get it on the clip is directed down the shaft. Which makes sense.

Thanks again.

TwinKam
Simply Bearings did have the c-clips - hopefully I now won't need any!
https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/Engineering-Part...

[stevieturbo]

Unless the parts have a nice taper to encourage the clip to go in...they can take a fair shove.

And clips always splay outwards, making it all a little harder.

Ideally get a good visual, and with suitable poking tools, as you apply pressure, try and poke the clip so it slots into the groove with as little force as you can..

But I dislike doing anything like that where you cannot see what's happening. CV joints are messy as F

[tribbles]

I had a MK1 Mondeo that had one of it's circlips take the shape of the splines over time.

Took bloody ages to diagnose it as it would intermittently work.

I only figured it out by putting it in gear when I was stuck on a bridge above the A3, got out and had a look underneath it - saw the shaft spinning, but not the wheel. Was quite worried it would suddenly start working during my peek.

[Andy 308GTB]

All sorted in a couple of hours. The c-clip had a bit of a kink in it which prevented it going in. Fortunately, I was able to hammer that out, as it was a relatively soft piece of round metal.
Sliding it in with the gaiter pushed out of the way worked really well.
The test drive went well (but it did the first time), tomorrows 300 mile round trip to Nottingham will be more conclusive

[Mr. Jimmy]

Thanks for the follow up, Andy.
Very informative, and yes, cv's are a bugger.

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

Mr. Jimmy said:

Thanks for the follow up, Andy.
Very informative, and yes, cv's are a bugger.

Agreed, after replacing a CV boot earlier in the year I am constantly struggling with the smaller boot clip coming off. I really wish I had just bought a new driveshaft instead.

[stevieturbo]

ThingsBehindTheSun said:

Agreed, after replacing a CV boot earlier in the year I am constantly struggling with the smaller boot clip coming off. I really wish I had just bought a new driveshaft instead.

Coming off how ? Should be easy to secure, even a good cable tie.

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

stevieturbo said:

Coming off how ? Should be easy to secure, even a good cable tie.

I ended up using a jubilee clip in the end as I could not get a normal clip tight enough. Basically whenever I look under the car the clip has come off the end of the boot and is rattling around on the drive shaft. I suspect these new plastic feeling CV boots are to blame as they have less grip. Tempted to try and hold it in place with a bit of super glue.

[TwinKam]

ThingsBehindTheSun said:

stevieturbo said:

Coming off how ? Should be easy to secure, even a good cable tie.

I ended up using a jubilee clip in the end as I could not get a normal clip tight enough. Basically whenever I look under the car the clip has come off the end of the boot and is rattling around on the drive shaft. I suspect these new plastic feeling CV boots are to blame as they have less grip. Tempted to try and hold it in place with a bit of super glue.

You're either using the wrong band, or the wrong crimping tool, or insufficient effort... make sure the boot and band are grease free too. To be fair, some of the cheap n nasty boots come with very flimsy bands which are too thin to hold their crimp, try to get an OE quality one such as GKN.

[E-bmw]

ThingsBehindTheSun said:

stevieturbo said:

Coming off how ? Should be easy to secure, even a good cable tie.

I ended up using a jubilee clip in the end as I could not get a normal clip tight enough. Basically whenever I look under the car the clip has come off the end of the boot and is rattling around on the drive shaft. I suspect these new plastic feeling CV boots are to blame as they have less grip. Tempted to try and hold it in place with a bit of super glue.

Jubilee clips are not the thing to use for these.

Either get these in the correct size (they will pull together with a pair of normal pliers/side cutters) or just use a good quality cable tie.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335597127025?_skw=CV+bo...

[TwinKam]

If the metal is of sufficient thickness to hold its crimp on a polythene boot, you won't make the crimp with 'pair of normal pliers/side cutters', besides which, neither of those will give a parallel crimp (see my previous comment about proper tool & sufficient effort). You need the proper tool or a pair of long-handled end-cutters as a minimum, and you may even then need to extend the handles with a couple of bits of metal pipe.

[stevieturbo]

ThingsBehindTheSun said:

I ended up using a jubilee clip in the end as I could not get a normal clip tight enough. Basically whenever I look under the car the clip has come off the end of the boot and is rattling around on the drive shaft. I suspect these new plastic feeling CV boots are to blame as they have less grip. Tempted to try and hold it in place with a bit of super glue.

Yep, with the hard plastic ones you need to use the metal straps and proper crimping tool. Then it should be very tight.

[E-bmw]

TwinKam said:

If the metal is of sufficient thickness to hold its crimp on a polythene boot, you won't make the crimp with 'pair of normal pliers/side cutters', besides which, neither of those will give a parallel crimp (see my previous comment about proper tool & sufficient effort). You need the proper tool or a pair of long-handled end-cutters as a minimum, and you may even then need to extend the handles with a couple of bits of metal pipe.

OK, strange that, as I have managed it many times but hey-ho.