Aluminum Driveshaft Question

[240shorty]

Maybe this should be in the technical? I don't know, but here goes.

I just finished my 5 speed swap. Well... I finished all the driveline part, just waiting on my hydraulic lines from Pinnacle to be 100%. 3 weeks and counting so far, courtesy of shipping mixup. :eek:

But I have an issue/question. I installed an aluminum driveshaft from a reputable vendor (who will remain unnamed pending email response). The driveshaft was for a manual, non-abs 240, which is the correct application for my car. I installed the tranny and everything without a hitch, but could not fit the driveshaft in afterwards. It appears about 1/4" long. It may not seem much, but that is alot when talking about these things. To complete the installation, I had to remove the tranny crossmember and I also loosened the engine mounts, and ratcheted the whole setup forward. This gave me enough space to get the driveshaft on. But now the driveshaft holds the tranny forward so much that the tranny crossmember will not go back on, even with persuasion. It is about a 1/4" short. So I then redrilled the crossmember and cut a notch in it so that it will work with the new tranny position. Problem solved. Well maybe.

The concern I have now is that the yoke of the driveshaft butts up against the tranny tail housing and puts pressure on it in the forward direction. If I run it as is, it will undoubtedly wear on the tranny housing until it removes enough material to turn freely. I'm not sure where to go from here. I could cut a 1/4" off the tranny tail housing so the shaft has clearance, but does the slip yoke have enough internal depth to move forward on the tail housing? My feeling is that I want to get this car on the road and I can probably make this work, but I don't want to hurt my car/drivetrain by doing something stupid.

Any input and/or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Much thanks.

-Steve

Mods feel free to move if appropriate. (Like you need my permission) :hammer:

[Flybert]

Send it back. In the meantime, go pick up a stock driveshaft for $60 and sell it when you get the correct aluminum one.

[240shorty]

Well, that's the easy answer I guess. I really don't want to deal without my car for 1 or 2 more weeks, but I may have to. As for the stock one, that's all I really wanted to do initially. I put a call in to a few yards locally (Mid-Michigan) and came up with nothing. The largest yard in Lansing offered to take a shopping list and promised a callback within' the day or 24 hours. That was weeks ago. Car-part didn't have any hits very close either. I have yet to see a Zenki on the road locally, although I know of a few on the forums in state. Finding parts here is rediculous. Perhaps I'll try again. I also need to see what the vendor says. If they aren't willing to stand behind it, I don't want to be stuck with an oversized paper weight.

Ever since I got my 240, it's been one thing after another. Had to replace the entire timing chain setup, have had multiple vendor shipping issues, and now this, on top of crappy parts availability. I am frustrated to say the least. I want to love my car, but I need it to be driving down the road. It has spent more time, by far, in my driveway on jackstands- I think my 240 is cursed. I really, really, really would like to get this thing on the road soon.

Edit: I just rechecked car-part. Did locate one within a couple hours of me, but it's a far cry from $60. Lists at $150. Still, I may consider it if I have to.

[projectRDM]

5spd driveshafts are pretty hard to find, and that pushes up demand. I sell them for $125+ without any effort. You may not find one so easily for a good price.
As for the aluminum driveshaft, I had a similiar problem with mine when I installed it, though it wasn't as tight as yours seems to be. I took the rear cap off the tail housing (the rubber/steel piece) and that made up most of the difference, but it would still wear the tail shaft seal regularly. Email them back and confirm they sent the correct one, and explain your fitment issues in detail. If they're reputable they should correct the problem.

[OptionZero]

yeah, remember there are actually 4 versions i believe: s13 and s14, non abs and abs.

Also whether you have VLSD or open diff affects driveshaft...is that right?

[240shorty]

R240NA,

Thanks for the response. I did email the vendor and got back:

>This does not sound right at all!
>
> Is your rear end stock?
>
> We don't know too much about the driveshafts since
> we just order them from
> THE DRIVESHAFT SHOP in NY. So when it comes down to
> stocking these, we just
> order through them at what they offer. I would say
> for the best answer on
> your problem, I would contact them directly since
> they would know more than
> us since they made the product.
>
> I wish I can help you any further but when it comes
> to these measurements,
> the best person to ask is the manufacture.. Please
> keep me updated on this
> so I can provide this information to others in the
> future.

I knew this going in. The description offered by the vendor and the DriveshaftShop were verbatim, but the vendor offered a better price then buying it direct, so I ordered thru them. I will have to try contacting them instead.

As for the rear end, I have a stock open differential. My car is a standard 240, not an SE. I too wondered if there was a difference between open and VLSD diffs, but no option was given when ordering. There is also no distinction when ordering thru car-part.com as to LSD or open. The pull down order menu lists MT/AT, and ABS/ No ABS. These are the only options. My driveshaft was clearly tagged as for 95 Non-ABS when I recieved it.

-Steve

[projectRDM]

I bought mine from Enjuku a few years ago, they stopped carrying the S14 version due to the issues associated with ordering the correct shaft. I actually ordered for an ABS car since I'm running an ABS model LSD and it was still tight.
Worst case, you could take it to someone and cut the excess off, then reweld the end back on. That would gaurantee a perfect fitment for your particular application, especially since there's some play between the engine/transmission/diff/subframe mounting points and no two cars will ever be identical.

[240shorty]

Emailed the DriveshaftShop with a similar question, awaiting response. It seems to me, if I were to make a driveshaft, I would err on the slightly short side of things. Why else is there a slip yoke? It is useless if the driveshaft is too long, it can't move at all anyway. I may have to have it shortened. Unfortunate, I guess I expected more out of a $430 aftermarket driveshaft. I doubt I'd be having fitment problems with OEM. Thanks again for your responses.

[kaje36]

taken from www.240sxmotoring.com

To install on KA motors, one needs to bang out the metal shield collars around the tranny ends to make room for the driveshaft joint.

basicly the shaft wont be able to spin becouse the collar is too small, and the shaft wont be able to slide in all the way

[S14DB]

My shaft had Non-ABS on it. Does yours have the build sticker on it? Cause I can see Enjuku mixing stock after they took off the label or something. but not the Driveshaft shop mixing up their labels.

Mine has the sticker on the shaft when I got it from the Driveshaft shop.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/S14DB/240sx/Tranny/InputShaftLabel.jpg

[240shorty]

Ok, maybe it is that simple. I have seen and read that statement. But I always thought it was refering to the protective metal shields on the bottom of the floor pans, not the actual tail housing of the transmission. This is referring to the circle part of the tail housing that surrounds the output shaft? If so, then I only misinterpreted the decription and removing this part of the housing is considered normal?

[S14DB]

taken from www.240sxmotoring.com


basicly the shaft wont be able to spin becouse the collar is too small, and the shaft wont be able to slide in all the way
Yeah, I hit that rubber ring on the tail.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/S14DB/240sx/Tranny/TrannyTail.jpg
You got to take off that black ring to fit the big ass Spicer U-Joints.

[projectRDM]

That's what I meant in my post as well, I removed it for clearance and it fit fine afterwards.

[240shorty]

Ok thanks to all who replied. I just misunderstood the part that needed removing. Went ahead and pounded out the collar around the output shaft. Mine is metal though. Fits alright now. Perhaps they could be a little more descriptive on the website as to what part has to be removed. Or perhaps I'm just a little bit retarded. Either way, I think I'll feel better after I blow up the monkey and grab a beer...

:wackit: :rl:

Now that's what I'm talkin' bout.

[S14DB]

Yeah, the inside is brass. I have more pics but they are not cropped or uploaded.

[whitey240]

similar issue happened to my buddys car after putting in a new tranny. the driveshaft did not fit. so we did a little cutting and everything is as good as new. the car runs fine on the drag strip and everything... get in their with a dye grinder and go!

[crioten]

all that black collar is, is a dust boot of some kind right?

when i did my 5spd swap, i never put it on there lol... and it worked fine...

what exactly does adding an aluminum driveshaft do? i know it will cut down on rotating mass, but im looking at what effects i will feel etc......

[S14DB]

Better pics:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b361/HotTranyAction/ShaftIn.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b361/HotTranyAction/ShaftBlockRing2.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b361/HotTranyAction/ShaftBlockRing1.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b361/HotTranyAction/ShaftBlock.jpg

[240shorty]

what exactly does adding an aluminum driveshaft do? i know it will cut down on rotating mass, but im looking at what effects i will feel etc......


I doubt you'd notice that much, it's supposed to be 40% lighter than stock. That's just the shaft though, the massive yokes and joints are actually pretty heavy. Mostly it's supposed to handle more power: 650 is the rating. Also has greasable, servicable U-joints. As far as reducing the rotating mass, it would have far less effect than getting a lighter flywheel. It probably reduces parasitic loss by about .003%. No real performance gain. My main reason for getting it was I didn't have a stock one readily available for my swap from a local yard; I was lazy and just went aftermarket for convenience.

^^^Nice descriptive pics DB.