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Drive shafts are a constant concern to us as drivers, this tip
will help all of you who are running the GM constant velocity (double
universal joins in the rear) drive shaft.!
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In this first set of photos are two
views of a GM shaft. Notice the way the edges are colored white and
their shape. The edges of the shafts are squared at the top and bottom
and colored white for you too see clearly. This was a flaw in the
design of the GM drive shafts. The square edges are what causes these
shafts to break easily when the rear end of the car sustains slight
damage. If you take a stock shaft and turn it upside down and rotate
the rear joints, you will see how the square edges hit in several
places as you rotate it. When I say upside down, I mean so the front
of the shaft (trans end) is sitting on the floor with the rear
u-joints closest to your face. You then rotate the u-joints like a
universal socket and you will see how they bind against the end of the
shaft.
What we are going to do is fix this in this tutorial: This will not
take to many tools other than a good small grinder and a thin cutting
blade. What we are going to do is use a grinder to cut down the square
edges, to make them round and then we will check them to make sure
they will not touch anywhere. These shafts are the best drive shafts
you can run in your derby car if you do the following modification. I
personally have run these shafts for many years. With the
modification, these shafts can actually touch the ground without
breaking. This means you have absorbed major rear end damage to bend
the rear end housing forward enough to make the shaft tilt down to the
ground. |
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Using your grinder cut or grind the
square edges down till they are rounded. Be careful not to overheat
the joint because the joints are glued in from the factory. Don't try
to do it all at one time or you may overheat it and melt the glue out
of the joint. This very critical. |
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This photo depicts what your shaft must
look like when you have done this modification properly. Notice the
small white area below where we ground the square edges down. This is
a bump stop on the shaft, and this also must be ground smooth to keep
it from hitting and binding up the shaft. |
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This photo depicts grinding off the bump
stop to complete this part of the modification |
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This photo is a depiction of what your
shaft must look like when finished with the modification. Now that you
have done the work, turn the shaft upside down and rotate the
universal joints. Notice how much better it moves and how the binding
has been eliminated. The shaft will now rotate like a universal
socket, and will allow more damage to your car without breaking, thus
making you stay alive longer and giving you a better chance to WIN the
derby. |
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