Jump to content
SAU Community

Driveshaft - one-piece replacement?

slayer
 Share

Recommended Posts

slayer Collaborator

slayer

Posted
Posted

Hi, I just shelled out around $500 replacing all the Uinversals and centre bearing on my tailshaft trying to get rid of a vibration in the drivetrain.

It certainly is reduced, but cuts in again at 80kph through to 100kph.

The guys at the driveshaft place are now (after spending my $500) that its a common fault with skylines and that some people are moving to a one-piece tailshaft to get around it.

Has anyone had any experience with this? How did you fix it, or did you go a one-piece shaft? Another $4-500 for the shaft is not the end of the world, but if it doesnt fix it I will be pretty cheesed off!!

Thanks

Conrad

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rev210 Grand Master

rev210

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by slayer

Hi, I just shelled out around $500 replacing all the Uinversals and centre bearing on my tailshaft trying to get rid of a vibration in the drivetrain.

It certainly is reduced, but cuts in again at 80kph through to 100kph.

The guys at the driveshaft place are now (after spending my $500) that its a common fault with skylines and that some people are moving to a one-piece tailshaft to get around it.

Has anyone had any experience with this? How did you fix it, or did you go a one-piece shaft? Another $4-500 for the shaft is not the end of the world, but if it doesnt fix it I will be pretty cheesed off!!

Thanks

Conrad

Sounds like some bollocks to me. Skylines aren't the only cars with two piece shafts. I'd ask why they think this is a common problem. The only way it would be is if the tailshaft sections get twisted. (something that happens alot easier to a single piece shaft).

If the vibration is at 80kmh and 'WAS' the tailshaft there would be evidence of twisting or dents on part of the shaft (ie: out of ballance - something you can have re-ballanced anyway). Center bearing wear shows as a constant vibration that gets worse as you go faster and uni's well they either have play in them or they don't.

Vibration could be worn engine or gearbox mounts, wheel bearings or steering components or wheel ballance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
51jay Mentor

51jay

Posted
Posted

I'd be getting them to recheck the balance on the tailshafts first then if you decide to go one piece i'd be going someplace else.

80 to 100 hmmm! are you sure at this point that you haven't got a wheel out of balance as well

Link to comment
Share on other sites
slayer Collaborator

slayer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for the info guys - some more info that may fill in the situation a bit better:

originally, the balance problem was noticable at 70kph (plus or minus a few k's) and around 120 kph, noticed it when I picked the car up from the compliance centre.

Once the driveshaft guys replaced the unis and balanced the shaft(and did NOT replace the centre bearing which is what I specifically but it in to get done) the car was disgusting.. anything over 40kph and she shook, I only sped up to 80kph as it was getting too violent.

After their second attempt they fitted the centre bearing and now It vibrates at 80 kph through to 100kph..

the fact that the vibration keeps moving makes me believe its down to the tailshaft, and not a wheel balance or other problem but I could be wrong.

the tyres are all new on new mags and very recently balanced and I dont look to have lost any balancing weights.

Are these guys pulling my chain?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
slayer Collaborator

slayer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Good ideas guys.

I will get an oncar balance this weekend, then see how she pulls up.

then I will take the car (if still got a problem) to another place and get the bearing installation checked, plus check if the tailshaft is actually bent (the other place reckons they checked it but I am not convinced), or see if they can spot any faults.

Thanks

Conrad

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rob77 Veteran

rob77

Posted
Posted

My r33 has a simular vibration and it was the same fault. When it came off the ship from japan and went for compliancing it vibrated. Anyway about $360 later I got all 3 unijoints machined and replaced and the car drives so smoothly up to 200km/hr :) I would say the place hasnt balanced the tailshaft properly.

Rob

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BuzLightyear Enthusiast

BuzLightyear

Posted
Posted

My problem was that I had vibration and had taken the car to two tyre places to get the vibration analysed. Both said my wheel balance was out and re-balanced the wheels, but it just changes the vibrational cadence.

I then took it to a place specialising in on car balance and alignment. This guy told me he gets plenty of people with similar stories to yours - spent hundreds on shafts and bearings, etc- and that in most cases it is after-market wheels (wide) and particularly tyres (especially Australian tyres) which cause problems. Some cars (Magnas and BMW's are very difficult to balance off the car)

He did an alignment and found I was only slightly out, but the on car balance was a real eye opener. As soon as they spin up the wheel on the car, you can see and feel where the vibration is coming from both from the strobe and by looking at the steering wheel and feeling the bonnet. Mine was miles out yet had been supposedly balanced by two shops.

All this cost me the princely sum of $54, which is why I say it's a good place to start as if it isn't a balance problem you will know for sure and will not be too much out of pocket.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
slayer Collaborator

slayer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi BuzzLightYear,

thanks for the suggestion - well I finally got time to take the R33 in for an on-car balance.

They balanced the rears, they were perfect (they were only fitted and off-car balanced 1000ks ago), and as I never have any vibration through the steering they didnt bother with the fronts.

So now I am left with little option but to try ANOTHER drivetrain balancing crowd to check the work of the first bunch of wallies!!

I am really concerned they wont find anything though..

Does anyone know more info on the centre bearing mounting position? I have heard it fits in both ways, but is designed only to go one way - how can you tell if this has been done correctly?

I am getting sick of this problem, driving is not pleasant as most of my time is on the freeway :D

Thanks for the suggestions though guys ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • GTSBoy
      PRP RB26 cast block + head prototype running

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      Nah, it's not the reduced knock margin. It is a direct mechanical effect of having to initiate the combustion earlier, while the piston is still rising, which starts to exert combustion pressure on the rising piston earlier, making the rest of the engine work harder to finish driving the piston up to TDC where the combustion pressure stops being a negative and starts being a positive. Your modern engine that only needs ~10° to make MBT doesn't waste the other 10 or so degrees of crank rotation. That's almost all of it. The difference in knock margin might go either way. Remember that modern engines to which you are currently comparing the long tractor engine (the RB) are now running super high compression, direct injection, tricky cam control and maybe even cylinder pressure sensors. You're not comparing apples with other fruit. It's apples and sea weed, or some other evolutionarily primitive vegetation. And remember, squish only really comes into play at the very end of the stroke. It certainly does good things, but it is not the biggest contributor to what's going on. It is quite possibly much less important in 4 valve head than 2 valvers also, because there is so much less squish available to a 4 valve anyway.
    • Dose Pipe Sutututu
      PRP RB26 cast block + head prototype running

      By Dose Pipe Sutututu · Posted

      Food for thought, a longer stroke motor would need less ignition timing vs. a shorter stroke motor requiring more ignition timing.
    • PranK
      Skid pans in/around Sydney?

      By PranK · Posted

      Thanks Duncan, HART is only 10 mins from me (I did my bike license there), it'd be awesome if it ran these types of things.  Sutton Road does look good and they take fewer cars than SMSP which is good.  Surely you have enough land to lay a few million tonnes of concrete and some sprinklers D? 
    • joshuaho96
      PRP RB26 cast block + head prototype running

      By joshuaho96 · Posted

      I thought an engine that needs more ignition timing to make power is going to result in less power due to reduced knock margin? More time for the combustion to propagate -> more time for it to heat up the rest of the mix to detonation.
    • defari
      Destiny 2

      By defari · Posted

      DCS, war thunder, IL2 - mostly flight sim games.
×
×
  • Create New...