Sinking Creek 4WD Association

Looks like the dakota took a little more damge than we thought. Drove all the way home and was up underneath the truck this mornin and notices a little gouge in the driveshaft. Jacked up the rear and put it in drive and it is bent as shit. Not really sure how I am gunna get back to the burg on sunday but i guess we will see :'(

Did you notice anything on the drive home?

Uhh if it went home, it will come back

BadAssEddie wrote:Uhh if it went home, it will come back

That's what I was thinking.

yeh thats what i though but no real noticeable vibration. But when the pops saw the hop he said nope

the hop?

BadAssEddie wrote:Uhh if it went home, it will come back

X2 esp if you couldnt fell a vibration going home at 70 MPH

I wouldn't run it forever but I ran my old Dodge for about 6 months with a really bent rear driveshaft until I finally got it retubed so you should be fine to bring it home. Long story, but I ran over a concrete light base in a parking lot and it was bent really bad ( about 3-4" out of plane and twisted up).

yeah dude...just drive it back and we'll find a junkyard driveshaft and swap it in. aint no thang.

I definately would drive it back but my dad wont let me.

Shit man thats no good. I know a couple people that went home to williamsburg this weekend. If you get stuck a need a ride back up here they could probably give you a ride if needed

KOTABAD wrote:I definately would drive it back but my dad wont let me.

Why?

ISO 1940 G-40 is the specification used in balancing driveshafts. The tolerances developed from this specification are not tight. For your driveshaft, you are talking about a two-plane tolerance of 20-50 gram-inches. This leaves room for alot of imbalance.

The thing one must understand about "balancing" is that you are not really ever balancing anything. You are simply removing imbalance from a rotor until it reaches an acceptable level which is determined via Quality Grade, rotor mass, and operating speed. A low Quality Grade like G-40 and a heavy, relatively slow spinning rotor like your drive shaft still has a fair amount of unbalance even when it is in "spec".

A driveshaft's only purpose is to transmit torque from the output to the pinion, if it still does this, it is a good part. Balancing of driveshafts is done to prevent ride compromise and premature bearing failure. You didn't notice anything, so there is no concern for this in the first place. Only an imbalance large enough to induce a noticeable vibration would be of any concern. Even then, I am not sure if the negative impact on bearing life would even be appreciable.

Your drive shaft has length adjustment ability to account for the shortened overall length caused by the bend. You did not notice any bad vibrations. And, you are not going to be using the bent driveshaft for any real length of time. Explain this to your Dad to show him why there is no reason not to allow you to return to school with the truck.

BadAssEddie wrote:

KOTABAD wrote:I definately would drive it back but my dad wont let me.

Why?

ISO 1940 G-40 is the specification used in balancing driveshafts. The tolerances developed from this specification are not tight. For your driveshaft, you are talking about a two-plane tolerance of 20-50 gram-inches. This leaves room for alot of imbalance.

The thing one must understand about "balancing" is that you are not really ever balancing anything. You are simply removing imbalance from a rotor until it reaches an acceptable level which is determined via Quality Grade, rotor mass, and operating speed. A low Quality Grade like G-40 and a heavy, relatively slow spinning rotor like your drive shaft still has a fair amount of unbalance even when it is in "spec".

A driveshaft's only purpose is to transmit torque from the output to the pinion, if it still does this, it is a good part. Balancing of driveshafts is done to prevent ride compromise and premature bearing failure. You didn't notice anything, so there is no concern for this in the first place. Only an imbalance large enough to induce a noticeable vibration would be of any concern. Even then, I am not sure if the negative impact on bearing life would even be appreciable.

Your drive shaft has length adjustment ability to account for the shortened overall length caused by the bend. You did not notice any bad vibrations. And, you are not going to be using the bent driveshaft for any real length of time. Explain this to your Dad to show him why there is no reason not to allow you to return to school with the truck.

Thanks Alec I def want to drive it back. I am trying to talk him into it. Our mechanic is going to come by tomorrow and take a look at it. I am coming home again in mid october and I would be fine with putting a used driveshaft in when I get home but I just want to drive it back

Call the local salvage yard. Go grab you a used shaft and toss it in! If you drive it down here, Agee's or Bill's should have what you need. Probably cost ~$100 and take you 20min to swap in/out.

Yeh I wish I could but my dad is in the car business and he is getting me a shaft for like 50 bucks or so. But the rents are coming up for the miami game so I think he will bring it back up then