Play in the driveshaft: should it be there?

[Thundermouse]

A while back I noticed a clunk from the rear of the car on the highway. It would happen while I was already in 5th gear, let off the throttle completely, and then reapplied the throttle. The noise was never loud enough to bother me or make me corncered that something was wrong...

So the other day while I'm under the car I thought I'd look to see what was causing the noise. What I found was some play in the driveshaft. With my hand I could rotate it 5-10 degrees. I didn't think that there should be any play at all. So I took it to the dealer and they told me that after looking at the vehicle, they talked to ford headquarters and they said that the play was perfectly normal and wouldn't cause problems.

Does this sound right to yall, or am I getting the run-arround? Is there any play in your driveshafts? If there should be some play, what is the mechanical reason for it?

 

[Torinalth]

does it sound right? no. is it the same with everyone? yes. to some degree every mustang that i have seen has this, and you get this same post about once or twice a month. i dont know where the slop is, if its in the pinion joint, the differential, or the transmition.

i did read on www.stangpro.com that the carbon fiber driveshaft they tested had taken out a good deal (not all) of the play in the line. something to think about.

Torinalth

 

[Ronald Jones]

I also have this play, but the universal joints on the drive shaft don't have any play in them and the rear joint is bolted solidly to the pinion flange. The play seems to be coming from the pinion gear in relationship to the ring gear. This is common with a lot of the 99+ Mustangs.