Drive shaft troubles

jasperjacko

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It appears Modoba has bent the drive shaft. It looks to have about .125-.250 of runnout and causing quite a vibration. Can it be straightened? Is there a beefier unit available? I'm thinking the hard shift of the valve body is taking its toll on the stock drive shaft. Maybe I could replace the solid spacer in the trans with the spring, and still keep the manual shift? Suggestions?
 

NoCar340

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If you're talking about the accumulator spring, leave it out. That's not causing your issue, nor is excessive shift pressure. That will not bend a driveshaft. Twist the hell out of it, yes. Bend it into runout? Not gonna happen unless you've got some seriously neglected U-joints. From your posts about this car I'm guessing that isn't the issue. Something else caused this, such as being leaned in a corner for too long or something being set on it while it was out of the car. That's assuming the runout is in the center of the shaft. If it's at one of the ends, you might want to have a peek at your output shaft bushing or your front pinion bearing, but again--I would assume you'd notice if there was wobble in either yoke.

It can be straightened, but how long are you going to trust it? Fatigue is fatigue... the old "how many times can you bend a paper clip" scenario. Racers will paint a white stripe down the length of the driveshaft as a gauge to show them how far it's been twisted, and when it's time to replace it. You'd be surprised how far they can twist without failing.
 

jasperjacko

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U-joints are great. This thing barks the tires even on part throttle upshifts, that's why I thought maybe that was causing the problem. I've noticed the vibration getting worse so I checked it out. There is some play at the trans yoke/output shaft. Not sure how much or which part.
 

NoCar340

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If you want to lessen your shift severity, start by turning your line-pressure screw in a couple of turns. You can usually soften them quite a bit with just that.

The play at the output shaft is almost certainly going to be the rear bushing. It's essentially oilite, the same stuff they use for pilot and door-hinge bushings. By design, it will wear more quickly than the steel it supports, and it's very often overlooked in a transmission rebuild even though it usually comes in a master kit.
 
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