Worn driveshaft? VW Jetta

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Fri 12 Sep 2003 13:52
Worn driveshaft? VW Jetta - Nellyspania
On my old VW Jetta (120k) there is a muffled but definate\'donk\' when accelerating hard from a standing start. It sometimes happens if I accelerate slowly and suddenly increase. There are no problems on full lock steering, is this likely to be a driveshaft? My stepfather thinks it might also be a gearbox mount gone.
It is not particulary bad (i have been in cars with very bad driveshafts and they sound far worse than this does) and am wondering whether I should just wait until it gets bad enough to make a definate diagnosis. Also, where could i get a replacement shaft assuming it is one, German and Swedish do not have it as a catalogue item.
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Fri 12 Sep 2003 20:00
Worn driveshaft? - Harmattan
Could be gearbox/engine mount but check for driveshaft joint wear first. Jack up car and secure on axle stands before getting underneath. Grasp the driveshaft firmly and check for up-and-down or sideways movement. If there is more than a modest amount, try to establish whether the play is at the outboard or inboard joint. With luck it will be outboard and you might even spot the cause if the boot is split. Assuming the Jetta set-up is not dissimilar to old Audis you should need only to replace the joint which will come in a kit and almost certainly be stocked by German and Swedish. Again I don\'t know the Jetta but an outboard one I did on an Audi coupe was surprisingly straightforward. That one showed itself, incidentally, on tight cornering and not in forward movement, so the loose/worn mount could be a strong possibility if the driveshafts seem OK.
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Mon 15 Sep 2003 13:28
Worn driveshaft? - Robert Fleming
The front engine mount tends to go on these - can your rock the engine back and forth easily by hand?
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Mon 15 Sep 2003 21:25
Worn driveshaft? - DL
I agree with both the above.....VW driveshafts are usually pretty hardy little units, whereas the engine mountings can become a little tired.

Having owned a few VWs, I have never had to replace a shaft or joint, but engine mountings? Yes.
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Mon 15 Sep 2003 21:48
Worn driveshaft? - Sarb11
I have mk2 golf 62500 miles and have a similar clunk/dunk sound when suddenly accelerating. Have you found the problem?
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Thu 18 Sep 2003 13:30
Worn driveshaft? - veeduballan
front engine mount very cheap to fix, might also be the join at the exhaust manifold if it is a 1.6
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Thu 18 Sep 2003 14:14
Worn driveshaft? - Big John
Check the inboard CV joint behind the exhaust, in time these can get damaged by the heat (or at least the grease does etc...).
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