[bitman]

hi forum,

while reading all those horror stories about the front prop shaft i had another look this evening.used the angry grinder to cut some metal of the grease gun tip for better fit but still not really getting any grease into the joint. while it feels like the grease gun gets on the grease nipple.

i tried to look at the shaft to find another grease nipple for the sliding shaft but couldn't find it.

do i have another front prop shaft then the ones who are breaking?

many thanks,




Edited by: bitman

 

[Robbev]

My understanding of the prop shaft problem is that they fall off when the UV joints come loose where the bolts are not done up tightly enough.

When I read this on a Kia forum, I checked mine last year (9 months after a Kia dealer service) and found that the front UV joint that connects the front of the rear propshaft to the transaxle was coming loose. One bolt was missing, two were partially unwinding and the fourth was easy to tighten. Luckily I had a spare bolt available.

A lucky escape. I checked all the bolts again before I drove to Spain last month.

Don't Kia check the bolts? I'm wondering if Kia disconnected the bolts in order to drop the rear propshaft in order to grease the sliding shaft, which is virtually impossible to grease while in situ.

 

[bitman]

@Robbev,

if you look at my pictures then the first picture shows the uv joint on the transfer box side.
the second picture shows the uv joint on the front diff side.

is that the same on your sorento?



many thanks,

 

[Robbev]

When I said the Transaxle I meant the transfer case.

The 2nd photo shows the transaxle end of the front propshaft. My loose bolts were at the front end of the rear propshaft connecting to the transfer case.

Any of the UV bolts could work loose causing either propshaft to drop down. My advice is the check the tightness of all the bolts once a year at service time or before a long a long journey abroad.

I found greasing the UV joints very difficult as well, but they looked well greased anyway.