Fitting the Driveshaft

Once the engine and gearbox is in place it is time to fit the driveshaft.

If you have the equipment or know someone who has you can check if your driveshaft is balanced correctly. This will reduce vibrations and increased wear on the universal joints.

There are four other parts to check before refitting the driveshaft and they are the two universal joints which must have no unwanted movement at all. If you hold the main shaft in one hand and either end in the other shouldn't feel anything other then the direction you are moving. Try twisting it backwards and forwards and around to see if there is any play. 

Fortunately mine seem good for now.

The next thing is the teeth the slide onto the main shaft of the gearbox. There should be no wear on this at all. 

A small amount of grease is recommended before attempting to fit, as there no option in the transmission tunnel.

Then you should check the face of the axle end to ensure it is clean and smooth.

If your fuel tank is in position the best way to move the driveshaft into position is to slide it down the left hand side of the tank and over the axle.

You will then find that it is challenging to slide the driveshaft down the tunnel and on to the gearbox. The reason being is that because of the universal joint the end of the driveshaft points downwards and it needs to be level.

Some lucky people will have access holes cut into the underside of their chassis. The only one I had was the handbrake mounting point. Which meant I had to use a length of wood to lift the end of the driveshaft whilst pushing it on to the gearbox. All the time not really being able to see what I was doing. It took a while!

With the driveshaft finally attached to the gearbox I could then tighten the bolts to link the driveshaft to the axle.

Once that was all done I suddenly realised the car could technically move by itself. Once I had got the engine running that is!