I am getting a vibration which I am guessing is the propshaft or diff. It is barely audible around town but above 40 mph it gets louder settling to a steady hum between 70-100.

 

I thought it may have been a bearing as one of rear discs gets a lot hotter than the other but the noise doesnt change going around a bend and the bearing feels fine when the car is jacked up and the wheel turned.

 

Any thoughts or feedback. This is my first Z.

Welcome matey :) The gearbox mounting may be causing your vibrations, or the prop centre bearing may be gone. Both are readily available.

if it feels central then its your prop shaft, quite a common problem.

Hi, nice to be on here and what a car!!.....Thanks guys, it does feel central to the car. Is the bearing change a big job?

taken from Legraths post

 

If its drivetrain related you should feel the vibration through the car itself (like the seat and floor) rather than through the steering wheel.

 

You can normally tell if its the bearing before you remove it, the propshaft will be sagging in the middle of the bearing and it might be torn.

 

If its not the bearing it could be the Rear gearbox mount, its worth changing wether or not the prop bearing is damaged as its often the sagging of the rear gearbox mount that damages the prop bearing.

 

Notchy Prop UJ's are another possible culprit , as well as the actual diff itself (although very rare, and usually noisy too)

 

No need to press fit them, not that sort of bearing. Might need to knock the old one off with a vice and hammer if its stuck but thats it.

 

Drop Exhaust.

Remove heatshield (if it still there)

Mark the two halves of the prop with a white market/tipex so you know which way they should line up again afterwards.

Undo the 4 17mm holding the Two prop halfs together

Undo the 2 17mm Bolts holding propshaft to the car

Pull the front end of prop out of gearbox

Undo large nut on end of prop

Pull of Bearing

Slip new bearing on

and put it all back together

 

Make sure you put the spacers back in the same way they came out where the bearing carrier mounts to the car, and that you line the two halves of the prop back up together in same place.

Thanks, going to check tomnorrow in the daylight. Can I ask where the best place to source parts are?

Just for info, I had the same issues 2 months ago or so, Guys on this site put me right. Centre bearing now changed, as well as gearbox mounting and all is well with my Zed world again. Theses guys know everything.......just bloody brilliant...

Yes, I am already grateful for the feedback!!. I have found a garage whos specialise and will change prop bearing and balance for around £205.

 

First I am putting two new back tyres on as they are very low and I am getting 4 wheel allignment done as its pulling to the left.

Just wanted to add......after driving it again today, I would say that the vibration should be described as more of a whine that increases in pitch when accelerating, then drops on deceleration....does this still sound like the prop shaft?

Does sound like the centre support bearing. When the rubber bellows support hardens and cracks up instead of holding the shaft centrally it lets it rest on the bones of ar5e in a manner of speaking. This means the shaft is out of alignment giving vibrations and since there is no insulation support the sound vibrations transmit into the car body.

 

If you can get under it you can check this by carefully jacking up the propshaft next to the centre support mount. You can even temporarily pad the support bearing with some rubber sheets - maybe 2 about 5 mm thick each.

 

With a light you can see if the original rubber bellows is u/s.

 

If this is not the case you could have propshaft universal joints that are partially seized or a diff with no oil in it that is beginning to whine due to wear. This would not be so good.

Thanks, is there a oil fill or plug on the diff?

I have found that the UJ's are the normal culprit, notchy /lumpy, but have not found a source to replace them. So improved things with centre bearing and gearbox mount, but still have vibes from UJ's (SAME WITH 3 Z'S NOW) where can I get them replaced? I also had a bad experience with a 1 piece new Z1 prop. Pease help...

I remember you telling me about the single peice prop Pete, what was the story again?

 

This company might be able to help with replacement of UJs. http://www.propshaft-services.co.uk

When you say whine, it could be normal transmission noises you are hearing.

Assuming you have a manual box....

I had a what seemed to be a really loud whining noise from the gears under acceleration and it turned out to be just a rubber gaitor.

Check that the rubber gaitors have not come away from the body. Remove the centre console and check they are firmly seated to the base plate under the gear stick. There could be nothing wrong with the box - just when accelerating you can hear the normal noise louder due to the gaitors not being in place.

The bottom gaitor secures to the body,the top gaitor secures to the bottom gaitor. I was amazed how much noise these rubbers keep out after refitting them properly.

I've also had a worn prop shaft bearing, but that was definitely a vibration not a whine. The vibration was felt thru the seat and was worse when cold. After a few miles it was less noticeable.

Forgot to mention its an auto.......