While often sufficiently accurate, approaches using rotor dynamics and bladed disc dynamics are not adapted to the study of certain important cases, i.e., when observing wheel/shaft coupling or when fluid elements are strongly coupled with local structural deformations. The approach proposed here is a step toward a global model of shaft lines. The whole flexible wheel/shaft assembly and the influence of specific fluid film elements are considered in a full threedimensional model. A modal projection associated with a grid located at the interface of the fluid and structural domains provides an efficient and adaptable coupling. The equations governing the whole system are solved within a time marching procedure which alternatively considers the equations of fluid and structure. The technique chosen is applied to two different test cases. The first is composed of a disc and a thin‐walled shaft mounted on a hydrodynamic bearing. The second is intended for studying a more realistic structure composed of a shaft and a wheel coupled with a fluid film between the wheel and a casing. These applications make it possible to identify trends related to fluid effects and couplings between the flexible structural parts.