Drive shaft problem

[pockets1]

I'm fitting a B16A2 to my Mini Clubman (not an unusual conversion) and am having a problem with the passenger side drive shaft. In particular, without the hub fitted I can only move the drive shaft about 30mm each way, vertically. In fact, if I were to describe a circle with the outer CV joint threaded end it would be only 60mm in diameter. This is in contrast with the driver's side which has the usual up and down amount of movement. It also means that I can't fit the hub as the top arm sits hard on top of the CV joint, even with the ride height set to minimum, and no way can I get the ball joint threaded end to go through the top arm.
I have tried reinstalling the outer drive shaft a few times, but no change. The only difference between driver and passenger sides seems to be the three bearings on the yokes on the end of the outer drive shafts. Driver's side has 3 round ones and passenger's side has the 3 bearings mounted on flat washers, and it's the washers that engage in the pot joint. And they are not interchangeable side to side.
Am I missing something, or doing something wrong? They only go in one way, it seems, and I just can't accept that you get only 60mm total vertical movement on one side of the car.
Any suggestions?

[bennjamin]

So you mean the passenger side shaft is catching in the driveshaft cup - you have issues with the tripod bearings. Either they are not seated correctly or something is preventing the shaft from moving on the hub side.
The drive shaft should be smooth and have a decent amount of movement in the cup

[pockets1]

The shaft moves smoothly in and out - no problems there. And the bearings seem to be smooth as. It just doesn't go up and down as much as it should in the directions of compression and droop. Something does seem to be preventing it from doing so.

[pockets1]

Are the yokes the same on the driver's and passenger's side drive shafts?

[bennjamin]

Are the yokes the same on the driver's and passenger's side drive shafts?

Same I believe -
I'd try and take me apart and start again. Btw are these custom shafts or ? What frame are you running?

[pockets1]

I just removed both and inspected them. The yokes do differ: on one shaft they are round, all the way to the end, whereas the other yoke's arms have a chamfer across the tops, one each side of each pole. The chamfered yoke was on the driver's side, which I just changed to the passenger's side, but the problem remains. Have a look at the attached pix. I have also included a view looking into the passenger's side pot joint.

The drive shaft is manufactured by Watsons in the UK. It has Honda splines at the inboard end and Rover 2606026061Metro at the other. All seems OK on the driver's side.

Re the project - I'm in the process of putting some pix together for Ausmini, which is a more appropriate forum for the Mini side of things. I'm here to try the OzHonda guys because the current problem is probably all Honda. However, if you can send me your email address we can chat about it. Meanwhile, I need to get on top of this little issue.