Aluminum Driveshaft fubared possibly?

Camman · Jun 23, 2004

well I installed my new low price(i got it for 159) FRP driveshaft today. It went in without a hickup and the car is so much smoother now.. maybe even quicker. The problem is when I get on it hard, or hit a bump while accelerating the driveshaft rubs. It hits in three diferent spots, one where the ebrake cable comes out of the floorboard from the handle, one in the middle, and one near the weld on the ds closest to the differential. When I put in the driveshft I figured it was about time I finally toss my dogbone. I also tossed the bumpstop bracket that is on top of the diff, figuring i would get a little more travel in the rear. Well the car rides alot nicer now, but I guess that means I was pretty much riding on the bumpstop before? WTF is there no room to lower the rear of these cars? I have h&r springs, which I believe lowered the rear 3/4 inch. So Whats up with this new ds rubbing? Did I do something wrong? Is my car supposed to be this close to bumpstop in its static height? I realize when I put the bumpstop bracket back on my rubbing problems will be gone(hopefully) but what can I do to get some travel out of the rear end? I used to think the rear just had a REALLY hard ride, but now I know why!! how do I fix this?

Oh and the DS is scored in the 3 places, only the rear one can I feel with my nail, but its not very deep. Will this cause any problems? Should I sand them down to get rid of any risers? Thanks for the help guys

HISSIN50 · Jun 23, 2004

camman, i think the alum DS's are a half inch bigger, which could be it. i have the same issue, kinda, with my stock shaft (rubs the muffler - i need to loosen and play with the pipes), so i have not even tried my alum DS yet. im guessing you were close to rubbing before, and now with the thicker shaft, you are......

im not sure what to tell you - some assessment and grinding might do it, depending upon how close you are, and how things articulate when the suspension moves through its range.

good luck, bud.

Camman · Jun 23, 2004

thanks hissin I think you may be right. I am gonna try putting the bumpstop back in and see if this cures it, if it doesnt I guess its time to yank the rear springs and see where shes hitting.

Wow what kind of mufflers do you have? I run a mac catback and I have about 1/2 inch on both sides of the ds even with the alum. On a not so funny note, when I changed the driveshaft I noticed none of the bolts were tight, two were a few threads out. Seems when I replaced my flywheel 6 months ago I didnt torque the bolts down tight enough Needless to say I torqued the **** out of them this time. How is your car doing man.. long time no talkie

Later bro

HISSIN50 · Jun 23, 2004

i edited my first post, so that it is a little bit intelligible.
i own the world's biggest Flows (they are like Yugos - the whole car, down there). the pass one rubs my STOCK DS a little.

i have thought of ditching them just to get some room down there. when i did U-joints, i could not get the DS out, so i just did them with the DS in the car. LOL. thing is, they sound pretty decent, and im poor. cherry bombs, here i come. LOL. maybe, kinda, ok not really LOL. i might do it. J/K.

a little thread lock is a nice idea on those little lame DS bolts. those 12 point 12 mm bolt heads scare me. get a slightly loose wrench and you are in a world of hurt.

car is doin ok. trying to drive it before we hit the monsoon season. been over 100 for a month or so. i cant take the heat anymore. remember the SNL skit about the two sailors who were nuts? im the Adam Sandler version after being outside in the heat all day.

how is your ride doing? PM me sometime with email, if you want - ill send some pics (i really, really horribly suck with 'puters. but i can send pics with the camera software. LOL).
take care, bud.

HappyG · Jun 23, 2004

yes, most people are riding on the differentail bump stop, and dont even know it, they just see the stops at the end of the axel and think its fine. i have done over 20 spring intsalls and only 2 or 3 werent riding on their stops, but hit them very easily by just bouncing on the rear.

Camman · Jun 23, 2004

so basically there is no suspension in the rear of our cars? wow I gotta do something about this... thanks for the info happyg.

Mike86Stang · Jun 23, 2004

From what I've heard the common practice is to shave them down but not eliminate them completely or just buy shorter stops....

I haven't touched mine & I know it hits b/c a good size bump or pot hole & "bang".

281pony · Jun 23, 2004

would the stop your talking about be located "above the differential in the driveshaft tunnel"?

i got something like a stop with my eibach springs with that description, but couldnt really see it with no lighting so i just left it. havent had any problems so far

Mike86Stang · Jun 23, 2004

There is one above the diffrential center section or "pumpkin" & two on eigther side where the axle tubes are. They are located on the rear frame rails. All together there are 3.

281pony · Jun 23, 2004

ok thanks. the stopper im guessing i got was just supposed to replace the one in the driveshaft tunnel it says.

ill have to go take a look at it again, but it's been causing no problems without putting it on. i want to get an aluminum DS soon though so thats making me wonder.

maverick0716 · Jun 23, 2004

When I put my aluminum DS in I checked for clearance issues to absolutely make sure it was gonna fit. I know how easy aluminum driveshafts are to get dings in them.

Camman · Jun 25, 2004

maverick0716 said:
When I put my aluminum DS in I checked for clearance issues to absolutely make sure it was gonna fit. I know how easy aluminum driveshafts are to get dings in them.

okie, so I put a new bumpstop in and the damn thing is still hitting the tunnel. How di dyou check for clearance? Remove springs and go to full bump? Also, can anyone think of anything else I should check that would make the driveshaft hit the tunnel? Thanks guys

Aluminum Driveshaft fubared possibly?

Camman

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

Camman

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?

HappyG

Camman

Mike86Stang

Advanced Member

281pony

Active Member

Mike86Stang

Advanced Member

281pony

Active Member

maverick0716

Camman

Similar threads

Aluminum Driveshaft fubared possibly?

"How long does it take to get help in here?

"How long does it take to get help in here?

Advanced Member

Active Member

Advanced Member

Active Member

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency