Drive-Shafts..Anyone else swapped to 1 piece

[LS2Tuner]

Has Anyone eles swapped out that nice 2-piece with the Stupid 1 1/2" rubber mount in between both yokes???? I had Enland Empire make me a 3 1/2" aluminum 1 piece. Had the car to 165mph with no vibration issues. I also added the BMR saftey loop. It was only time before they busted my balls at the track about the loop........The car already went 11.72 with a 1.65 60 ft. with all that slop in the 2 piece.
Any response will be appreciated.

[Sarge]

Yup...I have the Extreme Performance 3 1/2" ....no vibration issues at all....and could feel the instant torque the minute we put it on....had it for awhile now....I've been north of 135mph with no issues at all....

[ramrod]

Just put a Extreme Performance 3 1/2", and a BMR saftey loop in the car saturday night, of course some other mods for a strong bullet proof strip set up. I am dumping some big cash in the car ..

[LS2Tuner]

Cool ....Thanks for the responses.... I'm doing LOT's of other mods st the same time too.

[LS2Tuner]

Heres a couple of pics of the 1 1/2" thick rubber mounts that go in between both yokes on the GOATs in case some others don't understand why we would spend so much money just to go to one piece.

[ericwilloughby]

What's the purpose of the rubber?

[Sarge]

To absorb the "shock" to the driveline....When I changed over to the solid 1 peice...the difference was amazing....instant torque...I never realized how much the stock driveshaft twist before fully engaging.....

[DadsYellowGoat]

I have switched to a 3 1/2 BMR aluminum shaft as well as their driveshaft hoop. There are not many but on ls1gto there is someone posting a picture of a 2 piece shaft twisted off. I know for a fact that an STS powered GTO that has run low 10's at over 130mph has a 2 piece driveshaft. But I know of a second STS GTO that has run into the 9's had a 1 piece shaft. So this falls into that area...."speed cost money...." how much are you willing to gamble?

[LS2Tuner]

I have switched to a 3 1/2 BMR aluminum shaft as well as their driveshaft hoop. There are not many but on ls1gto there is someone posting a picture of a 2 piece shaft twisted off. I know for a fact that an STS powered GTO that has run low 10's at over 130mph has a 2 piece driveshaft. But I know of a second STS GTO that has run into the 9's had a 1 piece shaft. So this falls into that area...."speed cost money...." how much are you willing to gamble?

DAMN I WOULD HATE TO SEE THE FLOOR OF THE GOAT THOSE PICS CAME FROM!!!!

[LS2GTO]

Yup...I have the Extreme Performance 3 1/2" ....no vibration issues at all....and could feel the instant torque the minute we put it on....had it for awhile now....I've been north of 135mph with no issues at all....

Sarge I bought an extreme performance 1 piece a few months ago. I have fears about installing it because the instructions say you'll half to cut off a 1/4" off the tail shaft.

My question is did you have your rear cradle aligned or check before you installed yours? It may be an issue and cause vibration if it's not correctly aligned. Plus there's no turning back to the stock driveshaft once you make that cut to the tail shaft.

BTW nice taste in color and mods!!

[Sarge]

Sarge I bought an extreme performance 1 piece a few months ago. I have fears about installing it because the instructions say you'll half to cut off a 1/4" off the tail shaft.

My question is did you have your rear cradle aligned or check before you installed yours? It may be an issue and cause vibration if it's not correctly aligned. Plus there's no turning back to the stock driveshaft once you make that cut to the tail shaft.

BTW nice taste in color and mods!!

Yes...we had the rear cradle aligned a month or so prior to the new driveshaft.....and yes....get the sawzall out....you must trim a little off....no big deal at all and the enhancement is worth it all for sure...

[Tide]

Yup, swapped the puny stocker for the 3.5 EP one. HUGE difference.

[grampa]

What's the purpose of the rubber?

To protect you from having "little Things", like vibrations and "parts" inside the car or on the ground when your daily driving it. If your gonna hammer it, don't go there often. I got the BMR stuff and been north of 160. Had a little vibration cause I knocked one of the balance weights off the back.

Sarge and the others are right, its worth the work. Do all the "solid stuff" for safety and it will make a "little noise" on the daily drive around, but you won't have to worry about the "big noise" at the wrong time. Gg'pa

[rednari]

Originally, I switched to a Diff Tech's one-piece before changing to an Inland Empire one-piece aluminum shaft. What a difference. The Diff Tech shaft is a poor design which gave me repeated trouble. Those problems are fully setforth in different forum, and I will post a copy of the problems here when I have the time during the next few days.

In the mean time, the Inland shaft operates smoothly through all gears and speeds upto 105. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity (read that to mean I ran out of street) to test it at 140.

Additionally, my 04 Goat had drive train clanking under various conditions. This was especially true when disengaging the clutch at low speeds. The problem persisted during the period of the stock two-piece shaft, and continued during the period of the Diff Tech's shaft. The problem persisted even though the rear suspension was upgraded by adding Harrop's cradle bushings and Diff cover, Hotchkiss sway bar, and Koni yellows.

Then as if by magic, all drive line vibs ceased, as well as the clunking, after the change over to the IE shaft. The shaft exhibits quality construction throughout and uses a standard 1350 spicer u-joint yoke with u-bolts instead of an adapter plate. Both Diff Techs and BMR use an adapter plate to connect their respective four-bolt DS flange to the pinion. The adapter used by Diff Techs is a laugher which attempts to mate the goofy Australian three-bolt triangular flange to the four-bolt DS flange. BMR replaces the triangular flange with their proprietary four-bolt adapter, a seemingly better design.

At a later time, I will show the other threads and hopefully this will lead to a productive discussion of same. Thanx Red...

[Sarge]

Good write up man...and welcome...

[LS2Tuner]

Cool I'm glad to see others have had good luck with their IE.

[rednari]

Thanx, guys...looking forward to talking with you. Red.

[Sarge]

I'm not convinced some "vibration" issues....not all...but some...are caused by improper alignment. Be it not properly installing the shaft and properly torquing the bolts...or the rear cradle is out of line....my rear cradle was wicked out of line from the factory.....like a 1/2 inch...and thats a buttload folks....and I'll tell you from experience....torque the bolts too much and you gonna get some vibration....

[rednari]

Here is the text from the other thread. I hope this does not happen to the rest of you. The posts are as follows:

I wish you good luck with the Diff tech's drive shaft. It is really a POS. I have one which shook so badly the allen bolts loosened on the adapter, which inturn caused it to shake the drive line like a cement mixer.

The adapter was retightened with locktite, but still loosened up after two weeks in service. Thereafter, longer allen bolts were installed and were screwed through the pinion flange. Locknuts were installed to hold the bolts tight. Two weeks later, and... you guessed it... the bolts loosened again.

On the third try, I decided to do two things: (1) to order a new shaft from Inland Empire: and (2) cut recess slots in the adapter to lock in that goofy triangular flange. I have since done both, because I must drive the car while waiting for the new shaft.

On a more positive note, the third repair seems to be holding. The vibs are tolerable at 100 and not severe until 120. This should permit me freedom of movement until the new shaft arrives. Please see other threads on varoius forums where Inland Empire shafts operate vib free at 130 and even upto 160 on the GTO.

Getting back to the real problem, which is of course the poorly designed drive line in our GTOs. Holden uses a two-piece shaft and heavy rubber bushings to reduce vibs. The car in four door form, is a 6 cylinder European style family sedan and was not designed for competition. It requires more thought to build a drive shaft for competion for this car. Diff techs makes a shaft using their standard designs and materials, without considering the special problems presented by the GTO.

Some people also suggest the only solution is to employ a cardan type two u-joint coupler at the transmission yoke to provide more flexiblity to the shaft.
The flexibility is necessary to make up for poorly alined components such as the rear axle cradle and/or carrier.

The GTO's coachwork and handling make it a nice car own. But like many supposedly superior Asian or Eurpean car designs, they do not match up to American roads and driving styles. In other words, they are not durable enough. I am not flag waving. GM is at fault for using such an unsuitable platform to fill a production gap. I trust the new GTO will be designed by US performance engineers and built here to muscle car standards.

If GM subs out the the new GTO to Holden again, it is adios GTO and hello Mustang for me.

I will post my results after I install the new shaft. Good Luck!

... here is the unsolicited response from DiffTechs ...

First I have heard of this......... If you 'really' do have one of our shafts and you have these problems you haven't contacted us about your problems.......that is normally what you would do if you had an issue.

If this is the situation drop me an email and your invoice number all your details and I will happily refund you!

Awaiting your reply!

Email sales@difftechnics.com.au


Kurt

I am the guy who posted the above thread concerning the loose adapter bolts. I also do not understand why it should make a difference that the thread was my second post on this site. I am well beyond 50, and my first car was a '58 Plymouth. I am returning to racing after a 25 year layoff to raise my family.

I do not know why the bolts loosened up. If you read, and understood the thread, that is the operative word, three retightenings where required to tighten the bolts. Each time expending more effort than the last, to stop the vibs. At this point, would it not be a sound conclusion to reason that perhaps there is something wrong with the shaft, such as is it bent or warped or defective in some way. That maybe, just maybe, this particular shaft is defective.

I leave you with this food for thought. I do not doubt that many of you have had a decent experience with these shafts, just be advised there are those of us who have not.

Now for those who have inquiring minds: (1) the car experienced no vibration problems with the stock DS; (2) the car has a Diff Tech's 3.91 ring and pinion; (3) the DS was installed in June, but the first vib was not discovered until July since this was my first occasion to drive the car upto 100; (4) the car has a Harrop's cover, B&G springs, and Koni yellow's; and (5) all the balance weights are attached and the shaft appears straight to the eye.

Kurt has stated he would provide a refund. I will keep you posted as to the operation of the new shaft.


rednari
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11-04-2006, 07:31 PM #1

... the next post is an answer to a question posed by a forum member...

Your question is fair game, and I will attempt to answer it. The question resembles the old expression of what came first the chicken or the egg. In otherwords, did the shaft start vibrating because the adapter was loose or did a vibrating DS loosen the adapter??

I will never truly know since I do not have the equipment to spin and test the shaft, nor do I have the expertise. Breaking the situation down, however, reveals the following: (1) the adapter required retightening on three occassions as stated above; (2) the final retightening required the notching of the adapter so the DS could grip the triangular pinion surface.

Accordingly, since the adapter required notching, I at first thought it was due to a design flaw. This still may be true, but after others reported having success with the design, the loosing may well be caused by a defective shaft which either flexs or vibrates too much in operation thereby causing the adapter to loosen.

I wish I had a street action camera. I would mount it under the car on the chassis and observe the shaft in motion. In any event, the vibs are so severe
that the allen bolts have destroyed the pinion flange threads; hence, my need to use longer bolts and lock nuts and to notch the DS. A new DS and pinion flange is necessary. Red ...

That concludes the post. Shortly after this post, several more posts were sent in by forum members. As I was attempting to post a reply to the new posts, the moderater closed the thread!! He must be friendly with...do I need to tell you.

Also, I have sent Kurt at Diff Techs all the info he requested for a refund. That happened last week and I am still waiting for a response! Red.

[LS2Tuner]

That is a BAD deal!!!!!

NO problems with mine from IE and I've had it up to at least 145mph and many mid 11 second passes....

Good luck on your refund!!!