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I'm in a bind and need driveshaft help


macd7919

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Hey guys, so my CV drive shaft took a crap on me the other day. I had a spare used double cardan drive shaft with the flanges on it. I ended up finally getting it on (had to let the rear end hang as low as possible and loosen the trans mount bolts to pry it forward) but anyways, I got it on and buttoned up. My problem is now I have a pretty hefty vibration as I accelerate. It doesn't seem as bad on the high way but is very noticeable at slow speeds and is somewhat noticeable at high speeds.

What could I have done wrong? I forgot to mark the diff when I removed the old one but the balancing weights are still on the new driveshaft and I can't imagine it being off would cause this much vibration but I'm not that experienced with this problem. Any help is appreciated, I have a 600 mile trip I have to make on friday so I'm stressing out big time. I'd appreciate any help I can get.

If it makes a difference I dropped the rear end down awhile back to do some helper springs in the rear. I just bolted it back up with the new springs in without doing anything else, I still had the CV shaft at the time and didn't have any vibration.

One thing I should have mentioned earlier. I have a m50d tranny swap. The Double Cardan shaft I'musing is out of a TK5 based setup (I think) When I put it in it seemed as though it had to be fully compressed to fit in place of the cv style which came out easily. I had to jack the car up, lower the rear as much as I could and then loosen the tranny bolts and slide the trans forward just to barely squeeze the new shaft in. I don't think there would be much movement left in the fitting, maybe a 1/4 inch at best. Am I using a shaft thats too long? I'm desperate here guys, I have an appointment I can't miss tomm 300 miles away. Anything you can do I would appreciate.
 
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heptofite

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the double cardan shafts tend to shake a little, also, make sure you have good u-joints and the shaft is tight and not dented.

and your CV shat was broken due to the helper springs in the rear.
 

macd7919

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There aren't any dents on the shaft....to check the joints do I just see if they have play? The helper springs were only about a 1/2 or so off extra lift but maybe that was enough? The vibration I'm getting now is quite a bit at low speeds...... Since I didn't mark the rear end when I removed the old shaft could it just possibly be off my 90 degrees?
 

4.0B2

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Marking the front/rear shouldn't matter.... I'm gonna say it's just double Cardon joints vibrating bc you have it on something new or the ujoints have slight slack in them. We had one to do that and after about 400 miles it cleared up. Idk why? But it did.
 

macd7919

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Is it safe to drive it 600 miles highway like this? I don't want to risk breaking down. It seems like it's not as bad on the highway but it's pretty bad around town below 40mph. What should I be looking for as far as play? Just grab the shaft and shake it to see if it has movement?

I updated the original post with some more info.
 
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disciplerocks

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I just did this swap for the same reason and mine vibrates too. You'll get used to it.
 

macd7919

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I just did this swap for the same reason and mine vibrates too. You'll get used to it.
This isn't just a little vibration, it's enough to shake my mirrors a bit. Also, when I go over bumps there is a big clank like binding in the joints or something. I'm beginning to think this shaft is too long, hope fully I haven't ruined anything, I drove it 40 miles to work and have a 40 mile drive home.
 

heptofite

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Since I didn't mark the rear end when I removed the old shaft could it just possibly be off my 90 degrees?
this is a myth.
 

macd7919

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From what I read quickly as I could since I'm at work is that the TK DS is 2" longer than the m50d one. Is this true? Could somewhere verify that I have too long of a DS on there? Would that cause these issues?
 

Nathan123

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I had this same problem when I swapped shafts. I had really really tired old leafsprings with air shocks. Adding air to the airshocks would raise the back end about 2 or 3". To get the new shaft in, I had to jack the body up to make enough room. If I ran the pressure that I always ran, I got that really bad vibration (it sounds like a helicopter right beside you). When I put in 120psi, the air compressors max, the noise went away, and acceleration was actually better. This problem completley went away when I put on explorer springs and real shocks. I think thats part of the reason cv shafts crap out, the saggy springss make the shaft compress to much and wear on the joints. So I would say you need a little support in the rear, but before I figured all this out I drove around town for about a month with no problems.
 

macd7919

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Found the problem....It was what I thought....was using the DS from a TK and it was 2in longer than my original. It fit because when it's nearly compressed all the way you can just squeeze it in there. I picked up the shorter model cardon shaft today at a yard and it solved all my problems, thanks for all the input guys!
 

The_Dealer

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Found the problem....It was what I thought....was using the DS from a TK and it was 2in longer than my original. It fit because when it's nearly compressed all the way you can just squeeze it in there. I picked up the shorter model cardon shaft today at a yard and it solved all my problems, thanks for all the input guys!
wanna sell it?
 

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