91 driveline noise

[PKarl]

ok so i have a clunking noise in drive line sounds like the drive shaft have rear wheel off and final drive off splines on final drive and end of drive shaft look ok there seems to be a lot of play when turning the drive shaft till it catches.. what am in for now ? guess take swing arm off to get to front of drive shaft ? do splines go bad in the front because it doesnt act like a u joint because if i pull the boot back i can see it turning

[PKarl]

So pulling the boot back looking in there i can see driveshaft wher slides on splines donr see any movement there is it my worst fear and its in the bevel gears ?

[triton28]

There is a universal joint farther along on the driveshaft which you won't easily see by lifting the front rubber cover. Some of the later year models apparently had a universal joint which was under lubricated at the manufacturer's facility. Perhaps this is your area of concern.
See Chapter !0 Final Drive, pages 8, 9 and 10, of the service manual, along with the exploded parts illustration on the Chapter 10 face page, and you can see all of what is involved.
It is very unlikely you have a problem with the front bevel gears.
If you do decide to remove the shaft watch out for the spring loaded "locking pin"which holds the propeller/driveshaft onto the driven gear because when you have depressed the locking pin and you are sliding the shaft off of the driven gear, that pin WILL go flying far away into never never land unless you are expecting it to do so.
Don't forget the manuals are all available in the Tech Center accessed from the AVA Home page
Regards
Dave

[PKarl]

well where im at is im turning the driveshaft by hand with the final drive removed and wiggling the shaft i dont feel play like a universal joint where else is this noise coming from any chance its clutch plates

[PKarl]

swing arm is off drive shaft is off all looks good now what

[triton28]

On page 10-3 you will find the specifications for gear backlash for both the bevel and final drive gears. Also check the splines on the wheel hub and the ring gear hub for condition and fit. Another thing to check would be the condition of the rear hub shock damper rubbers.
Is this klunk something new for this vehicle or is this a new to you vehicle which may always have had this klunk? Not knowing your situation I can only throw out ideas.
Wish I could be more help but perhaps those items may help.
Dave

[PKarl]

Had it since 2009 never had this noise before i think i got it it appears to have been at the splines where hooks to engine I stretched the spring a bit that keeps tension on the driveshaft its quiet now we will see if it stays...it sounded like a rod was coming thru the block at 2000 rpm went away at 3000 rpm now quiet all the way thru

[triton28]

Well that is one I will remember!
I have some new springs so I am going to record the free, uninstalled length and in future I am going to check any I come across whenever I have a rear drive off.
Thanks for letting us know and I hope it stays quiet from now on.
Dave