A clinking noise when changing gear or accelerating was the first sign that something was not quite right with the van. The timing, naturally, was excellent. We were supposed to be heading to Scotland over the bank holiday weekend.
My usual garage took a look and found a lot of play in the universal joint. More importantly, they advised me not to take the van away on the planned trip because they did not consider it safe to drive as it was.
That left me with one of those awkward vanlife problems where the mechanical fault is only half the issue. Ours is a long-wheelbase van, so finding a garage with the right equipment and enough room to work on it is not always straightforward. With the problem already narrowed down to the propshaft, I also wanted somebody who dealt with them properly rather than a general garage having a go.
Why I Chose North West Propshafts
After ringing around and searching online, I came across North West Propshafts in Coppull, near Chorley. I emailed them explaining the problem and the response was quick and refreshingly clear.
They booked the van in for the following Tuesday and asked me to get there by 9:30am at the latest. When I booked, they explained that arriving by then meant they could guarantee completing the work the same day if a repair was needed.
That was a big part of the decision for me. The Scotland trip had already gone out of the window, but I did not particularly fancy turning a propshaft problem into several more days without the van as well.
There was also some reassurance in taking a specific fault to a specialist. Another garage had already identified the play in the universal joint, so I was not looking for somebody to start the diagnosis from scratch. I wanted the propshaft assessed properly and a clear answer on what needed doing.
Dropping the Van Off in Chorley
I arrived at the Coppull workshop at around 9am. Reception was friendly and the handover did not involve much fuss. They took my details and explained that the first job was to remove the propshaft so they could see exactly what condition it was in.
They expected that assessment to take about an hour and said they would ring me once they knew what they were dealing with. It was a simple explanation, but useful. I knew what was happening next rather than handing over the keys and disappearing into a mechanical black hole for the day.
They also pointed me towards the nearest bus stop so I could head into Chorley while they worked on the van. When your vehicle is also your transport for the day, that sort of small practical detail makes things considerably easier.
I left them to it and waited for the call.
What They Found
About an hour later the phone rang, pretty much exactly when they had said it would.
The front section of the propshaft needed replacing, but that was not the only problem. They had also found that the rear section had been repaired previously using cheaper parts, and those were beginning to fail too.
That gave me a decision to make. I could replace the front section and deal with the immediate fault, or replace the full propshaft and sort both the current problem and the developing one at the rear.
I went for the full replacement.
It was not the cheap option, which became fairly obvious when we got to the price. But the van covers a decent amount of mileage and is regularly loaded for trips. Fixing the front while knowingly leaving another part on its way out felt like a saving that could become expensive later.
That calculation will be different for everyone. If a vehicle mainly does short local journeys, or you are simply trying to keep an older vehicle running for as little as possible, a partial repair may make more sense. For the way I use the van, I preferred to get the whole thing sorted.
Same-Day Propshaft Replacement
By around 2pm, North West Propshafts called again to say the van was ready.
I had dropped it off at about 9am, so the whole process from handover and diagnosis to collecting the repaired van had taken roughly five hours. Considering I had arrived with a fault serious enough for another garage to tell me not to make the Scotland journey, that turnaround was probably the most useful part of the service.
North West Propshafts says many propshaft repairs and manufacturing jobs can be completed within hours rather than days. That does not mean every job will be finished the same day, but my experience certainly fitted that description.
For anyone relying on their vehicle for work or travel, turnaround matters almost as much as the repair itself. A van sitting in a workshop for several days can quickly start interfering with everything else you had planned.
How Much Did It Cost?
The full replacement cost me £900 plus VAT.
There is no clever way of dressing that up. It was a sizeable bill.
That figure was the price of my particular repair, rather than a standard price to expect for every propshaft job. Different vehicles and different faults will obviously involve different work.
I could also have spent less by dealing only with the front section. I chose not to because of what they had found at the rear and the amount of travelling we do in the van.
North West Propshafts specialises in propshaft manufacture and repair. The company manufactures propshafts as part of its work, although I cannot say that the particular replacement fitted to my van was manufactured by them. For me, the value was in the specialist diagnosis, the quick turnaround and having the complete problem dealt with rather than simply chasing the lowest possible bill.
So, was it cheap? No. Did the price feel fair for what I had done? Yes.
Who Is North West Propshafts Useful For?
My experience makes North West Propshafts easiest to recommend when a propshaft problem has already been identified, or at least strongly suspected. In my case, my normal garage had already found significant play in the universal joint but was not in a position to carry out the repair on the long-wheelbase van.
Taking it to a specialist meant the next step was focused. They removed the propshaft, assessed it, explained what they had found and gave me the choice between dealing with the immediate problem or replacing the complete unit.
The van angle is important to my experience, but this is not only relevant to campervans. The same basic consideration applies to a car or other vehicle if you have a propshaft fault and want a specialist to assess and repair it.
Where it particularly suited me was the combination of a long-wheelbase van, a safety-related fault and the need to get back on the road without the repair dragging on for days.
What Stood Out
The communication was probably the best part of the whole experience.
Emails were answered quickly. The drop-off was straightforward. They told me roughly when they would know more, then rang when they said they would. Once the propshaft was off, the problem and the available choices were explained without fuss.
I also did not feel pushed towards the more expensive option. They explained what was wrong with the front section, told me what they had found at the rear and left the decision with me.
That matters when you are already dealing with an unexpected repair bill. I knew why the cheaper option cost less and why the full replacement cost more, so I could make the decision based on how we actually use the van.
Most importantly, I dropped off a van I had been advised not to take on a long journey and collected it again that afternoon with both the immediate fault and the developing rear problem dealt with.
Would I Use North West Propshafts Again?
Based on this repair, yes.
The £900 plus VAT bill is impossible to ignore, and I would not describe the experience as a cheap fix. But cheap was not really what I was looking for at that point. I wanted a clear diagnosis, a proper repair and a van I could rely on again.
North West Propshafts dealt with the job quickly, kept me informed and explained the choices in plain terms. There was no grand performance around it. They took the van in during the morning, found the problem, rang me, did the work and had it ready that afternoon.
Sometimes that is exactly what you want from a garage.
Review information
- Address: North West Propshafts, Regency Works, Regent Street, Coppull, Chorley, Lancashire PR7 5AX
- Getting there: Head for Regent Street in Coppull and use the Regency Works address for navigation.
- Google Maps: Open the verified Coppull workshop in Google Maps
- what3words: ///privately.opposites.screen
- Phone: 01257 791 681
- Website: North West Propshafts
- Good to know: These details refer to the Coppull workshop.
- VanVentures Verdict: Clear communication, specialist diagnosis and same-day completion made this a strong option for a travel van needing a proper propshaft repair, although the £900 plus VAT bill was a significant cost.
- VanVentures Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)