BX drive shafts

Dave Bamber · Post by **Dave Bamber** » 22 Mar 2005, 23:23

Is the N/S driveshaft on a BX interchangable between a TD and an N/A?
Reason is my N/A has a noisy CV and I have a good shaft on the turbo donor.

Post by **Jon** » 22 Mar 2005, 23:30

Well, GSF and GKN list them as being different, e.g. a GTi/16v and TD are the same, whereas 16/19/17D and 19D are different. As the gearbox types are basically the same (BE1/BE3) and the hubs are the same, I can't quite see why. The only difference is of course if the car has ABS. I will look into this and report back.

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 22 Mar 2005, 23:41

It's the number of splines that differ for some odd reason.
This means you can not change over these axles in the hub - at least.
Donno if the splines in the gearbox (diff it is) are different - but that sounds really odd if they do.
BUT - it happens that owners and garages mixes up to solve a situation quickly - i.e. changes the hub together with a CV joint [8)]
Dave - if you want to be really sure - then part the CV joint in question from the axle and try if it mates the axle stub protruding the hub on the running car -

Post by **Jon** » 22 Mar 2005, 23:41

Ok, its a case of um, er. The GKN catalogue (which is usually very accurate as they were the OE suppliers) says that they are not the same. I would tend to agree with this on the grounds that the TD uses a completely different CV boot to the n/a diesel.
I did however consult with Mr Citroen who tells me that 17D/19D/17TD shafts without ABS are now one and the same. (they never used to be!!)
So, I guess that it would fit. [:)]

weety · Post by **weety** » 23 Mar 2005, 00:15

i was told once (when trying to source a BX TD driveshaft) that the TD driveshafts were uprated to handle the extra power (dont know how)

Dave Bamber · Post by **Dave Bamber** » 23 Mar 2005, 01:18

Thanks Guys! I hope is does fit as the aggro I've just had moving the green one. As the suspension now won't rise, I managed to punch a hole in the fuel tank with a sticking up paving stone, spill diesel all over the drive and then get the poxy thing stuck on the same bit of paving. Grrr![:(!] It better fit!
Anders. It does seem strange the hub is the different bit, I'll do as you suggest and knock the CV off and see if it fits. Hope so!

Dave Bamber · Post by **Dave Bamber** » 23 Mar 2005, 18:55

The answer is YES they are interchangable. The CV joint looks bigger, but the shaft length and splines are the same.

ItDontGo · Post by **ItDontGo** » 23 Mar 2005, 19:21

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by weety</i>

i was told once (when trying to source a BX TD driveshaft) that the TD driveshafts were uprated to handle the extra power (dont know how)
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
That would seem unecessary as the maximum load the shaft would ever take would be when the front wheels are just slipping and when the car is fully laden. You could achieve this with a 1.4 engine so there would seem to be little need to make the 1.9TD shafts cope with a larger load. Shafts will be designed away from the fatigue limit on a car and I'm sure with a good margin so once again this would not require a meatier shaft.

oilyspanner · Post by **oilyspanner** » 23 Mar 2005, 19:43

I think the TD ones are described as "High strength" but N/A ones will fit ABS notwithstanding.
Stewart

bxbodger · Post by **bxbodger** » 23 Mar 2005, 19:53

It would be most unlikely that they are different-even with a turbo its not exactly a powerful car!!
Were they to be a different diameter then the hub carrier, wheelbearings, disc carrier, diff housing and diff bearings, and the diff itself would all have to be bigger too, far too much trouble from a manufacturing and economies of scale point of view.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 23 Mar 2005, 20:21

I think Dave has the right answer - the outer CV joint is larger for the TD. After all the NA diesel has torque of about 90 lb ft and the TD is about 133lb ft - a fair percentage increase and certainly noticeably when driving. 16 valve and GTi are similar.
Remember the drive shafts are sold as whole units - the joints - although easily detachable are not sold separately. Probably the real question is longevity and the size of bearing surface necessary to prevent the grease film breaking down under load.
jeremy

vanny · Post by **vanny** » 23 Mar 2005, 20:59

I stuck a 1.9na shaft on a 16v a while ago and it fits, the difference IS the CV which is bigger on the 16v/TD shaft and i think (though) havent checked that the TD shaft is thicker. I have both at home and might have a look at this. On the Xantia the TD shaft is stupidly beefy, much much larger than that of petrol engined Xantia's and bigger than ALL of the BX's which could be another reason for the different sized boot?
I tried to put the Xantia ones on the BX but they are too long

Im amazed you managed to damage the fuel tank, must have put a lot of force on it! I remember i was doing some wiring on mine a few years back and put all the tools under it over night. Kep it sank on top of them! The trolley jack had pretty much vanished as the plastic tank had deformed over the jack, started the car, got her in the air and inspected the tank and there wasn't even a mark, VERY impressed i was!
If you need shafts i have a couple laying about!

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 23 Mar 2005, 21:12

Vanny
The thicker drive shafts on the Xantia may simply be there to improve the driving characteristics. XU engines use unequal length driveshafts so under load one will twist slightly more than the other. This means that the wheel on the short shaft will be slightly further ahead of the one on the long shaft which can be shown up as a twitch or pull in the steering. The extra bearing in the off side shaft is supposed to prevent this but I cannot see how as the shaft is still longer on that side.
Thin shafts will also twist more in general driving and a thicker shaft may give a firmer feel to the transmission and for example make it less jerky.
jeremy

Dave Bamber · Post by **Dave Bamber** » 23 Mar 2005, 23:05

Looking at the shafts, I think the TD shaft is thicker. Certainly the CV is bigger but the joint at the gearbox end is the same. The drive train is a lot quieter now as all the clunks and knocking noises have gone.
Vanny. I did give the tank quite a bash, it hit a sharp corner of a sticking up paving stone and ripped a 2 inch gash. Boy did I swear.........