2gen drive shaft issues??

[himajin123]

Ok, so here's the issue that I'm having with my camry; going straight down the road at 55+, I have a front right vibration/ tire shake. If the wheel is slightly to the left or right (slight turning) the problem stops. If I'm coasting or decelerating, the vibration/ shake increases. Slightly accelerating minimizes the issue, but the vibration is still there.

I took the car to a rental shop and inspected the wheel bearing, tie rod and ball joint. All of these items seemed within tolerance. For the process of elimination, I rotated the tires, but no change. What I did notice was the drive shaft (R side, problem side) was wobbling just before the center carrier and wobbling even worse on the inner CV cup. As it wobbled, I could see the tire wobbling too. I realize the problem is in this area, but I'm not sure if the issue is with the shaft or the differential?

Normally I would just assume the drive shaft is bad and replace it, but both shafts are new, with stickers still on them. The car came with the joints in it, so I don't know if it's a reman or a new item. Has anyone had problems with junk new cv shaft assemblies? I drained the differential and filled to capacity, but no change in the problem. The left side inner cup that plugs into the diff only has normal movement.

What's everyones thoughts?
Thanks..

[toyomoho]

Can you describe the problem a little better?

Wobble?

Is the actual CV joint (steel part of the joint) wobbling and if so is this runout such as a bent shaft or lateral such as in and out?

Are you stating you can grab the inner CV joint body and move it around when installed in the diff?

Is this a plug-in inner CV joint (no bolts) or does it have bolts that bolt the parts together. Typically about 6 bolts that are exposed.

It is very possible for a "rebuilt" axle to be bad out of the box. The issue is typically the outer CV joint is bad as in never rebuilt but a new boot was installed.

[himajin123]

The cv joints are the plug in type. The drivers side, inner cv cup has slight play when moved up and down, but I don't believe it to be excesive. The passanger side I'm unable to move when installed, but it could be firm as it's supported by the brace (carrier bearing?) About 1" before the carrier bearing (trans side), there is some run out. The inner cv cup (wheel side) has a lot of run out that is visible, which runs down the shaft to the hub assembly. Causing the wheel/ tire to have run out.

I checked the wheel bearing for drag, looseness and audible news, which it had none. I removed the entire axle shaft and it didn't have any visual defect, but the outer joint was a little stiff in on direction. Since the problem is when going straight, I don't think the stiff cup is a problem. The wobble is felt roughly in the middle of the car, I'm assuming the center bearing area.

Both shafts are brand new complete assemblies. I'm tempted to buy a new shaft, but if the problem lyes elsewhere, I would rather use the monies for the correct fix.