Citroen C5 Driveshaft, DIY

Citroën C5 ( 2001 2.0 Hdi, 340t km )

Front WD, Steering wheel on LH, Manual gearbox

Symptoms pointing to a faulty RH Drive-Shaft inner Triax Joint  (Spider).

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• Vehicle body shaking during acceleration but as the speed levels out, the shaking is reduced
• Vehicle body shaking going up a hill, especially at 4th gear. 
• Lifting the throttle pedal a bit while climbing a hill makes the vibrations disappear.
• Vehicle tends to "snake" driving slow on a flat surface ( garage ). Steering wheel moves slowly back and forth.
• No shaking felt or very little when taking of from standstill 

In most cases the drive shaft must be replaced, but there is a slight chance the problem can be lack of grease and the spider bearings get stuck, causing the vibration.


The spider itself is also available separately for some makes and models, but not all.

On this vehicle the whole drive-shaft was replaced, incl the bearing, with a used part having 15t km on it.


Link : Changing the Driveshaft


Update 2017-06-15:
On a similar C5 suffering from heavy vibrations one spider bearing was stuck and showed spots of surface rust. The gaiter was dry and wasn't tight enough against the shaft anymore and all grease had slowly escaped.
After a thorough cleaning the joint was reassembled with new grease and gaiter.
The C5 initially showed a huge improvement, but small vibrations could be felt during some load.
After a few weeks use, the vibrations dissapeared gradually.
Whether or not this driveshaft was "cured" is still to be seen, but at least the C5 is out there still..
Worth trying... you might get a few more clicks on the odometer - without changing the shaft..

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