Has anyone ran into problems from using a DSM intermediate axle shaft with a 4g61 block and tranny? Here's why I ask. I'm having problems with my driver side axle setup and I'm trying to figure out why. Here's the timetable.
Starting out with 4g61 and stock km210 trans, also stock CSM intermediate axle shaft (bracket facing towards driver side)
2 July 2012, installed new Rock Auto driver side CV axle onto stock intermediate axle shaft (243k miles)
6 Nov 2012, 5th gear nut loose, pops out of gear, tightened nut but still pops out, trans needs rebuilt (251k miles)
1 Dec 2012, installed DSM FWD tranny and JayRacing alt relocate kit. (251k miles) The JayRacing alt relocation kit doesn't work with the CSM intermediate axle shaft bracket that faces towards driver side. So I kept my CSM intermediate shaft but swapped the bearing/bracket with a 1G DSM bracket assy. This was at 251k miles.
4 April 2013, the car has 260k miles and I notice a noise that is speed related, not engine or rpm related. Its coming from the driver side front. I'm thinking wheel bearing, CV axle joint or that bearing/bracket assy on the interm shaft. The noise does NOT change when side loading like swerving or taking corners hard left or right. That makes me think the wheel bearing is ok. Fast forward to today.
I got the km210 rebuilt (factory rebuild nothing fancy except a Phantom Grip). I install the km210 and the axle noise is still there, so it wasn't the differential in the DSM tranny. That leaves the CV axle or the bracket/bearing assy. I inspected both while I had the tranny out and the bracket/bearing spins freely and doesn't make any noise at all. Maybe there is more stress on it when installed but it seems fine when removed. Same for the CV joints, they seem fine and no sign of grease leakage. (CV axle is only 1yr old and has 20k miles on it)
Here's what I noticed when putting the tranny and axle back in the car. When you put eh intermediate shaft into the diff in the tranny, there is a little bit of play up and down even with it splined all the way in. That's normal. However, in order to get the holes to line up in the DSM bearing/bracket assy with the block I have to let the interm shaft sag all the way down and then actually pull real slightly down even more (not hard, just slight down pressure) to get the bolts to go into the threads in the block. So this seems to me that the DSM bracket puts the interm shaft slightly lower than the CSM bracket assy does and could be just enough to cause a problem.
Which leads me back to the noise. Now I believe the noise could either be the bearing in that DSM interm shaft bracket assy when its under slight pressure installed, or maybe having the interm axle shaft slightly pushed downwards is putting stress on the differential in the tranny and its making the noise and the sound just travels down the interm shaft to the driver side.
Long story but I like providing details.
Sorry. An ideas? I'm going to try and find a CSM intermediate axle shaft that I can swap back into the car as see if it relieves some stress from binding and makes the noise go away. Of course I'll have to grind on the alt relocation kit bracket too since it doesn't work with the CSM bracket.
Its always something isn't it?