[DanMZe90]

Hi, I have been taking my BMW to an indie for the past ten years and have been happy with their work and certainly cheaper than BMW.

However, I am a little confused with something that came up on my penultimate MOT that I asked to be sorted but it appears wasn't fully sorted, so has cropped up again.

Last year the following were two advisories:

- Prop shaft flexible coupling slightly deteriorated. Rearmost coupling starting to split

- Prop shaft flexible coupling slightly deteriorated. Foremost coupling starting to split away from bolt centers

A few months on I asked for this to be sorted alongside a gearbox oil change and was quoted £300 for the work. I duly paid the money and had the work done.

I had my car MOT'd with them this year and this comes up as an advisory:

- front prop shaft UJ starting to split around bolt fixings

Thinking they had sorted this previously, they told me they had done the rear and not the front. Not knowing too much about propshafts I took their word but have a slight niggle in my mind that something isn't quite right here. I don't understand why they'd choose to ignore the front (if indeed it is the same problem) if I told them to fix what they'd advised on the MOT. I also wonder how much I'll be charged to sort out the front now when it could/should have been done at the same time...

I'm going to ask them the question again but thought I'd get some advice here to check my thinking!

Thanks

Dan

[Tambohamilton]

The front ones tend to last a lot longer than the rear ones due to the amount they flex. Mine is still fine after 150k miles, but I replaced the rear 10k ago. So I can understand the logic of not replacing it. But if you asked them to do it, they should have done it. If they quoted £300 for doing it (and other work), and you paid for that, they should do it FOC. I imagine you'll need to produce paperwork to prove what was agreed though.

[DanMZe90]

Thanks, to be honest I've got confused with the whole propshaft coupling thing. I thought that 'propshaft coupling' specifically referred to the guibo (which now I think is specifically a Propshaft DriveShaft Center Support Bearing Flex Disc) so the notion of a 'front' and 'rear' confused me. It sounds like the guibo isn't in question at all, it's the two ends that hold the propshaft in rather than the central joining part...silly me! I'm waiting for a response from them to work out if I have been overcharged.

[Tambohamilton]

Now I think you're really confused.

There is one centre support bearing, and a giubo at either end.

[DanMZe90]

Yes I am now! I think I need to find an exploded diagram to make sense of it all...

So the both the rear and front flexible propshaft couplings that are referred to are front and rear 'guibos' and the thing in the centre is not a guibo at all?

[DanMZe90]

I thought there was only the one guibo as pictured?

[DanMZe90]

OK, just watched this chap remove his propshaft and have now got a sense of where both guibos are at each end:

I wonder if I could do the front myself without the pollaver of removing the exhaust? I know that technically there is potential forward/backward movement if it were accessible.

Dan

[jacbo]

I've got a 330D and managed to do both guibos and centre support bearing without removing the exhaust.

Would make it a little bit easier if you removed it but I don't think I would have been able to get the clamp near the front off without cutting it and the whole exhaust looks pretty heavy to lug about

[DanMZe90]

Thanks Jacbo, that's useful to know.

[nomiS330d]

As already said, the front flexi seems to last a lot longer than the rear. When I took the prop off my 160,000ish mileage 330d I replaced the rear flexi which was very split and the center bearing which seemed ok but as i had a new one replaced it anyway. The front was absolutely fine so didn’t bother. I found it a lot easier to remove the exhaust which came off easily. The front clamp just needed slackening off then unhooked all the hangers and out it came.