hi
I am new here and I am from Ireland where cars are three times the cost of USA so we run them a long time

I am mechanical if I have to be

The car is a stick shift 5 speed swift 900cc 1998 swift 35k miles and there is clicking in the drive shaft or shafts when you lock the steering wheel

Genuine low milage was my mothers car before she died

The garage says he will replace the passenger side as he said that was gone very slightly and he greased it for now

they say the universal and shaft are one peice so you cant seperate them for buying them
is that true

The (HIGH TAX REGION )cost is 300 euros per side ~$500 not including labour which would be 450 euros ~$700
to fix both is double
car market value is 1000 to 2000 euro or ~$1400 to $ 2400 roughly

The problem for me is I think the noise comes from the drivers side

first question is is it normal for low milage the shafts universals to go

Should I bite the bullet and buy and replace the two of them like will the other one be ready to go south if the other one started to act up as in are they linked mechaniackly and do they tend to wear the same

Could I just drive with this problem for another 10.000 miles assuming I keep pack greasing the unit

At that stage I would probably change to another car

How much work is it to do the work myself and any big risks to do it wrong

any work shop manual online

Any other weak points to watch out for with this car/ clutch brakes / gears / etc



It works great good on fuel mostly ~45 mpg UK gallon or ~35mpg USA
but then I am light on the right foot as fuel costs like $7 a USA gallon

I am dissapointed the issue apeared at so low a millage and car was servised when needed??? unless the garage did a cheater on my mother at the time

If I could know that the car would go for another few years with the repair that would be not so bad and would be worth the repair cost but I dont know how good the swift is for long lifes


all info greatly apreciated

David

 

Mileage isn't as important as years when it comes to rubber parts, i.e. CV joint boots. Once they split, the grease slings out and the joint runs dry and starts clicking. You can repair them yourself if not worn too badly- just remove, clean, regrease, and install new boots. Most of the time they are fine if they aren't worn too badly. The axle shafts aren't too hard to remove if you have some tools. You may be able to buy "parts" instead of the complete axle assembly, but around here they are cheap and easier to replace if they need replacing. Most of the time if they are just clicking they are salvageable to regrease and run.


As far as the work goes, you remove the wheel. Then the big axle nut (32MM or bigger). Then remove the brake caliper, tie rod end nut, lower ball joint bolt. Then pry against the transaxle with a big screwdriver and pry the axle out. It will give some resistance as there is a spring loaded clip that will have to compress before it will pop out. Then raise up the hub assembly off of the ball joint, pull the axle out from behind, and yank the axle out of the transaxle and car. Replace what you have to and replace the axle. Make sure you get the axle back in its clip by slapping it good into the transaxle and trying to remove it by hand. It should stick pretty good and have to be pryed back out if it is in there correctly. Be sure and torque the center bolt and make sure the transmission is full of fluid.

Note- it shouldn't be clicking if the boots are intact. Look for the slpit boot and you'll know which side it is.

 

Thanks for the feedback
Unfortunaly two weeks ago I had to sort the issue as the clicking was getting loader and got a fairly cheap garage to fix it fro E180 ~$300 including labour and the part

It was only one side and the garage got only the worn part and not the whole drive shaft

Suziki agents in Ireland best I can tell are only selling the whole half shaft to joe public and only work shops seem to get the sub units probably a clone from somewhere else

This problem solved for now and I will monetor the boots for this type of problem

David