Aluminum Drive Shaft ready to install.

[Mark42]

Just waiting for a little warmer weather to install it. Its from a 2000 T/A w/about 70K miles on it. Came with two new GM universal joints which have been installed. Man, that plastic the factory uses to hold the original U joints is a pain to deal with.

After the new joints went in, the shaft was cleaned up, as there was some under coat overspray on one side, and a few scratches. Wet sanded the shaft with 400 grit, then polished with a power buffer and some polishing compound until it had a nice satin finish. Left the aluminum end castings alone, just cleaned off dirt/oil/undercoat. Hey, its just going under the car, why spend the time to make a mirror finish? :mrgreen:

Made sure I didn't polish off any paint marks or the original UAW sticker w/part number (12564003). Also used 400 grit and machine oil to remove rust on the trans yoke spline shaft where it was exposed outside the tail shaft seal. Just wanted to be sure any residual rust would not damage the tail shaft seal. Also put the yoke on the wire wheel to remove rust, then gave it a a couple coats of black rustolium.

So here it is, ready to install. Not bad for $75 and an evenings work, huh?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/mark42/1998%20Firebird/HPIM6487.jpg

[LTb1ow]

Mark, you never cease to amaze me.

[sweetbmxrider]

shiny


i use an oxy acetylene torch to heat the plastic up. it pops like a zit.

[Blacdout96]

i use an oxy acetylene torch to heat the plastic up. it pops like a zit.

:werd:

[Mark42]

Yeah, the nylon even pops using propane torch. Kind of weird the way it suddenly snakes out the injection holes.

[KirkEvil]

What did you have, the two piece driveshaft? And oh yeah...http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww42/KirkEvil/NJFBOA/Smiley/BubbRubb.gif

[transmaro93]

^^^^^hahahahah

[TheV6Guy]

boy thats one nice driveshaft!!! my Bird is quite jelous!!haha

[BonzoHansen]

Lookks real good. Mark, you ought to hang with pampered_z, he likes to polish everything aluminum he sees!

[1984camaroz28]

man that looks good mark.

[T69SS]

Looks awesome, great job

[Mark42]

man that looks good mark.

Thanks Charlie! You remember how it looked when I picked it up at your shop (just the usual low mile dirt and oxidation), so its nice to get a comment from the guy who knows the part! And thanks again for being a good site sponsor and taking care of me with the drive shaft and U joints.

Regards,

Mark

PS, you wanna buy it back? How about $150? :mrgreen:

[Troy]

Looks good. It's supposed to hit 40 degrees today.... that's my temp mark for working in garage with the little propane heater....

[Mark42]

Weather was really nice today. Probably was over 50 in the sun this afternoon. I installed the drive shaft and changed the rear gear lube.

Here you can see the difference between the steel shaft and the aluminum. The steel is 2.5" thick, the aluminum is 3" thick. They have the same yoke, and are the same length from center to center of the U joints. The aluminum is a 1/4" longer overall because the aluminum lobes are so much thicker than the steel ones.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/mark42/1998%20Firebird/HPIM6511.jpg

Got a big surprise from the test drive. The gear noise is much less with an aluminum shaft than steel. Guess the aluminum doesn't transmit or resonate the sound from the gears like a steel shaft does.

The car is nice and smooth and quieter up to about 70, then I got some steering wheel shimmy going on so I think the tires need balancing. At 90 it smoothed out .

Going to have to get the wheels balanced soon.

Can't say if the car is faster or not, but the smooth operation and reduced gear noise is worth it. Any HP gain or faster acceleration is a plus.

[sweetbmxrider]

did you happen to weigh them?

[LTb1ow]

This is still amazes me.

[1984camaroz28]

i bet that driveshaft whould sell for alot of money on ebay

[TheV6Guy]

man that new one looks awsome!!! bet the bird is happy!!

[Mark42]

did you happen to weigh them?

I thought about it, but I don't have a scale that would be accurate at those weights. I have read in a number of places the aluminum saves 10 lbs over the steel.

[WildBillyT]

I thought about it, but I don't have a scale that would be accurate at those weights. I have read in a number of places the aluminum saves 10 lbs over the steel.

Yup, and it's rotating mass, so you get a lower moment of inertia.

Weight:
http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28144

[sweetbmxrider]

ah thanks bill, i was talking about it the other day and thought it was around 5 lbs.

[Featherburner]

This is still amazes me.Wow, have another beer.:cheers:

[Mark42]

ah thanks bill, i was talking about it the other day and thought it was around 5 lbs.

Actually there are three different aluminum drive shafts for the f-bodies with three different part numbers and three different weights. The part number I have is listed as being 11.5 LBS. Others are listed at 15 lbs and something else (I forget right now). I have this all written down somewhere....

Will weigh the old shaft tonight and see what it comes in at using a digital bath scale. Not the most accurate device ever created, but it should give ya an idea of the weight.

[sweetbmxrider]

alright man thanks

[BigAls87Z28]

That actually looks really damn good. Im a sucker for polished aluminum.

[Mark42]

I weighed the steel shaft, and it comes to 19.6 lbs. I contacted three different people who listed aluminum drive shafts part number 12564003 for sale, and asked them to weigh the shafts using a bathroom scale. The weights came in at 10, 11.5 and "almost" 12 lbs. So I am going to make the safe assumption that the documented weight of aluminum drive shaft part number 12564003 being 11.5 lbs is correct.

So there is an easy 8.1 lbs weight savings over steel shaft part number 12556670 by using the aluminum shaft.

The other part numbers for aluminum drive shafts are:

96 - 99 Fbody w/ GU5 have shaft P/N 12559525
00 Fbody w/ GU5 have shaft P/N 12564003
01 - 02 Fbody w/ GU5 have shaft P/N 12564004

It is interesting to note that SI says if imbalance from drive shaft cannot be corrected by 180 degree re-install for 12564003, to use 12564004.

BTW, the lightest aluminum drive shaft is the 1LE 2.75" diameter shaft weighing in at under 10 lbs.

Hmmm. how much do those 17" vette wheels weigh I want to add? LOL!

[sweetbmxrider]

if they are replicas, they are tanks. oems, prob pretty reasonable.

[Slow-V6]

Your luck my 98 had a 2 Piece steel D/S stock.

[Mark42]

Your luck my 98 had a 2 Piece steel D/S stock.

Well, for you it would pay to call the local salvage yards for a drive shaft. Should be able to get one for less than on ebay, etc.

[LTb1ow]

Hmmm. how much do those 17" vette wheels weigh I want to add? LOL!


I have OEM ZR1 wheels and my buddy has replica ones... mine are ~22lbs.. his are friggen steam rollers... :rofl:

Def get OEM wheels if you can afford em.

[siguy]

Looks nice ,,, but dammmm you have tooo much time on your hands .:drool:

[Slow-V6]

Well, for you it would pay to call the local salvage yards for a drive shaft. Should be able to get one for less than on ebay, etc.

Thats what I did. There was a 4th Gen Junk yard in South Carolina back in the day that I got a used D/S from. That was back in 2003.. Damn its been long.