RE: [alfa] Milano driveshaft questions ...help please?

["Jeff Greenfield" <alfaguy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yup, sounds like a piece of a donut. Probably front or rear, as the centers
rarely fail on the later cars.

If you crawl under the car, you should be able to see the rear and front
donuts, and will probably see a chunk missing from one. I'd replace all
three and the center support and bearing while you are there.

Not too hard if you have the right tools.

Ok, here is the procedure step by step.

Jack the car up and support at both ends on jack stands. Be sure that the
rear jack stands are under the body and not the rear crossmember. All the
usual disclaimers apply, etc.

The hardest part of the job is the first one ...

1) remove the center section of the exhaust system.

2) remove the heat shield and small crossmember near the middle of the car.

3) remove the bolt that holds the bottom of the shifter to the shift
linkage.

4) remove the three bolts that hold the rear coupling to the transmission.
Be sure to only turn the driveshaft in the proper direction of engine
rotation. (otherwise you risk the timing belt jumping, esp. if a mechanical
tensioner has been installed).

5) place a floor jack under the rear axle tube and raise the jack. This will
lower the front of the transaxle separating it from the driveshaft.

6) unbolt the front coupling from the engine. This can be done with some
long extensions through the bell housing.

7) withdraw the driveshaft towards the rear. It will come out in one piece
with the remains of both donuts attached to the shaft. You may need to use a
large screwdriver or pry bar to push it off the flywheel.

8) refurbish the driveshaft as required. Be sure to mark everything so it
goes back together correctly. Removal and installation of the center support
will require the use of a press.

9) installation is the reverse of removal. Leave the steel bands on the new
donuts until after everything is bolted back together.

10) Supposedly, you are supposed to loosen the pinch bolt on the front of
the driveshaft and idle the engine for a minute or two, shut the engine off
and tighten the bolt up. Personally I have never done this and have never
had any problems or issues.

That's about it.

HTH,

Jeff
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-alfa@domain.elided [mailto:owner-alfa@domain.elided] On Behalf Of
X194ME@domain.elided
Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2004 4:45 PM
To: alfa@domain.elided
Subject: [alfa] Milano driveshaft questions ...help please?

Yesterday under somehow hard acceleration I heard a popping noise and I felt
at the same time something hitting the tunnel, looking at the mirror I saw
something bouncing on the street which was a piece (cylindrical shape) of
hard
rubber that has a cross section of roughly 1 2/16 x 1 7/16 it was thorn at
both
ends.

I checked the engine mounts but they seem to be ok (they are also square
shaped), could this be a section of the front flexible joints?

I drove back home (+/-) 10 miles and didnbt notice anything unusual,
however
I took care of not overstressing the drive train and drove very smooth
(specially during acceleration).

Questions:
1)      Could the car be driven with extreme care?
2)      Is there a way to inspect the flex joints without removing them?
3)      The most important one, how hard is to replace the flex joints?

Could someone please share some replacement tips?

Thanks in advance,
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