HorseflyDF

I think I have finally tracked down this problem.

The vibrations which comes up around the shifter
over 1500 rpms, maybe from a worn tailshaft bushing seal.

I was able to push up on the driveshaft
yoke and noticed a small amount of space between
the bushing seal and the yoke.

I then pulled the driveshaft and one of the u-joint cups
came apart in the differential yoke.

Then I turned the yoke at the differential with the car
in neutral there was at least 1/2 inch of play before the
wheels turned.

Is that normal?

HorseflyDF

To answer my own post

I took the tailshaft housing off and the driveshaft
Took it to a shop to install new seal and bushing
and u-joints. 80 bucks..

Went to the wrong shop.. gave me back my
driveshaft with a binding u-joint at front and a loose
one in the rear...

After telling the manager how can you expect me
to put this back in my car? And why are you to wasting
my time.. he still insisted that it was ok.

Eventually after I continued to explain that there is probably
a roller that fell down in the cap, he took it off and found
it... this is why I need to try and do everything myself.

I have no luck in finding a good shop and when I did
find an honest mechanic he takes up and leaves the city
a few weeks later..

Well I installed the tailshaft and driveshaft the
problem was not solved and seemed to be worse.
Maybe its my rear thats causing this vibration.

I am thinking about getting the lS1
driveshaft from the gmdealerparts.com for 280.00
with shipping...I just wasted 80 dollars.

Also when I was putting the driveshaft in it got stuck
and wouldnt go in far enough.
I pushed really hard and it went in but I ripped up my forearm pretty good.
thankfully I didnt need stitches.

R1UK

Its the same here, many mechanics give up the job because of poor pay, and sometimes its a crappy job with little reward at the end. I wish i had gone into something else at times i can tell you.
Like you say if you find a good one, its a rare thing.
Putting back a u\j is hardly rocket science for any garage [or maybe it is in the one you used] and to give it you back like that is asking for trouble.
Normally you dont have to force a propshaft in that hard, tho they can be a bit stubborn.
Try turning your propshaft round 180 degrees in the yoke and bolt it back up, see if its better, or worse, then report back.
Hope your arm heals up.

HorseflyDF

This morning..
I jacked the car up and started it up, put it in drive
theres a wobble in the right wheel.
Got under the car and watched the drive shaft seems ok
no unusal noises.

Took the wheels off and brake drums.
Started the car again, the shaking sound finally shows
up at idle. Theres noise and shaking at the right
axle guess a bad bearing or bent shaft. This seems
to be transmitted to the driveshaft which is shaking violently.

With the wheels and brakes back on the driveshaft doesnt
shake at idle.

Looks like my rear end needs work how much
not sure. This is beyond my limited skills.

My arm is ok just a deep scratch which took off some skin...
thanks

R1UK

If theres a wobble in the right wheel, probably as you say, a bent half shaft, or duff half shaft wheel bearing.
Its not that hard a job if you have a workshop manual and some patience. If its the bearing, which is possible, its not the end of the world if you cant find a decent garage.
If its more severe and its the diff, a second-hand axle swap is easy if you can get a good one.
Only because rebuliding a diff\back axle is'nt that easy if you have never done one, if you can get the parts, and cost wise, second-hand might be cheaper and faster.

HorseflyDF

Thanks for the advice
I will be taking the axle off and having a look.
Hopefully I will be able to learn something.
Still looking for my chilton manual..

There are two 9 bolt rear ends with disk brakes
for sale on ebay in my area.
But I have drums now which are in very good shape
including the shoes and hardware which are relatively new.
Not sure if I could transfer the my drum brake components
to a disk rear end.

HorseflyDF

I dropped the cover and the ring and pinion look
ok but I cant get the lock bolt off to take out
the pinion bolt to get to the c-clip to remove the axle.

I tried 5/16 fit tighter then the 8mm but Im rounding
the bolt off now.. this sucks.

I counted the ring 41 and the pinion is 15, so thats 2.73.
Wish I could get that lock bolt off..holding me up now..

84z28350

try vise grips on it since you rounded it off?? if all else fails and you have access to a welder put on the closest wrench you can find and tac it to the head of the bolt.

2.73's wow that thing must be a dog

HorseflyDF

Dont know I never drove a car like this before dont
know what higher gear would feel like.

I think I counted the teeth on the spider gears,
not the pinion itself but in the book is called those
spider gears- pinion gears..

yeah I just got vise grip at sears so ill try that
but I found a post where alot of the guys broke that
bolt.. and had to find another way to get it off..

I might find myself another rear to bolt in then ill have
the problem of hooking up the disk brakes mine came
with drums..

HorseflyDF

Greetings,

Early this morning I got 5/16 socket on the slightly rounded
lock bolt by takin the carrier girdle off that is above
the lock bolt.

One tap with the palm of my right hand on the slide
extension broke the bolt or perhaps it was already broken.

I was thinking of a better design to be used to keep the
pinion shaft in place, perhaps instead of threads in the
shaft what if another pin is used which is held in place
by a bushing and short lock bolt to hold it down.

Still deciding if I should just go ahead and try to source
a used rearend and start over with higher gear ratio
and disk breaks..new control arms and springs shocks
so on and so forth..

To complete this job on the axle I would have to
purchase an axle bearing remover along with the extractor
kit for the broken lock bolt.

At this point I do not know what condition the axle is in and if there is anything else broken or worn out...

The car started right up this morning to bad I cant use it..

HorseflyDF

Hello,

I was able to get back on the axle removal with
the help of from skyway tools pinion extractor lock bolt kit.
Which came today in the mail I went directly to the car. : )

It worked!.. thankfully, now I was able to remove the axle.

I pushed in the axle after removing the pinion shaft and
the( C-clip fell right off.... Is that normal?)

I proceeded to pull out the passenger side driveshaft
which is the one that had the wobble.

The axle bearing seemed ok to me, I dont know how I can check
the (axle to see if its bent) any ideas would be helpful but
just by eyeballing it I cant tell.

I removed the spider gears and one of em had wear on
the outter edge of the teeth that pushed the metal outwards
a bit with a sharp edge.

Thats about it so far..

HorseflyDF

Greetings,

Today I got back on the axles, I figured if I switched
axles (take the left one and put it on the right side etc..)
that would tell me if the right axle is bent axle.

I was able to get the gears back in the case with some
difficulty. I had to figure out the puzzle to get the pinion
shaft onto the spider gears. They have to line up.
I figured it out( remember first timer here).

After doing this I reinstalled the driveshafts switching them.
Got the c-clips on and put the pinion shaft back I didnt have
the shaft lock bolt yet so I used a wooden dowel for now.
Actually it was a twig I found by the car : ).

With that done I put the drums and tires back..
then I turned the wheels the right axle now has the wobble.
So I can elimnate a bent axle as being the problem.

Other problems could it be case bearings bad.. ?
Rim bent? Axle bearings?

I will keep trying to figure it out tommorow hopefully..

HorseflyDF

Hello again,

Since my last post I switched up the axles and rims
and still I get the right side wobble.

Next step would be axle bearings if that doesnt do it
then maybe the right side carrier bearing is bad but I
havent been brave enough yet to try and remove the carrier.

Other than that I stilll havent found the why its got the wobble.
When I checked the axle bearings both sides seem the same
to me..maybe theres to much play in the spider gears..
the cross bolt comes out very easily, maybe I need to get
thicker thrust washers for these gears.

Anybody with experience would like to chime in on these
theories I have would be appreciated.

Only clue is that the right axles splines wear worn but even
when I switched the left axle with the good splines to the right side it wobbled just like the right axle.
Same with the rim switch..

HorseflyDF

Ok finally I narrrowed it down I guess : )

Put axle with worn splines with the married
pinion side gear and yes the wobble is now
on the left side.

So this looks like the problem to much play in the splines
and spider gears. If there is a little play with the spider
gears then the axle can move a bit in and out.

I can get a used rear for 100 bucks or I can spend 125 plus
shipping for spider gear package from ebay not
sure what the dealer would like for new set of gears.


I guess it is a good time to try some lower gears.
Its been interesting now if I could learn to set up a rear ring
and pinion that would be cool.

HorseflyDF

Ok its been awhile since I posted and a few things
have been going on since my last post.

I picked up an open rear with 3.42 gears about 50 miles
from me and after about a week I got the old one out
and the 3.42 in...remember first time for me and Im
in the street so I go at it a few hours a day. Then I have to
go to work.

After finally getting everything in and bleeding the brakes
with the help of a person who happened to see my car
on jack stands for about a month..he stopped his car and
asked if I needed some help he lived around the corner.
: )

Ok so I test drove the car and had to stop right away
I put the lower shock hardware on wrong and the left
parking cable was hanging up since there wasnt a retainer
on the backing plate.
After fixing the shocks up and cable I test drove again.
Around the block one time and a really bad sound from the
middle rear. Looks like I have bad gears Im thinking.
After parking and jacking up I started the car and watched as
the left wheel now has the wobble : (.

Ok so whats wrong ..after draing the differential Im looking
at the spider gears which are real loose now and the left
side gear which splines up witht the axle can be moved alot
in the housing ..I call the seller and he insisted it was good
when he ran it but he will let me get the 2.73 posi if I bring
back the 3.42 open.

Well right now I dont feel like taking this rear out just yet
(my body is tired and sore) so I tried to get another
3 series 26 spline carrier first.

With some luck I got one off of ebay and got a fast delivery
great seller and the carrier is tight maybe my luck is changing.

Im happy but I havent been able to take my other carrier
out yet since its been raining 10 days straight...
My plan is to swap carriers and then bolt on the 3.42 ring gear
and hope it lines up well.

This is where im at now and by the way
once a week I start the car up and a few days ago
the vibration and banging started up with the car in park
around 2000 rpms, so hopefully now that it happens when
its in park I can find out whats banging...

what a long post..
Thanks for listening to my car blues..if anybody is out there.

vincode8

iTrader: (8)

Dave, Your **** out of luck if you decide to try and return the 3:42 open rear I sold you. After reading all your posts , sounds like you have tons of issues. Your problem started out as a wobble with your existing rear and continues with your current rear, the one I sold you. I appreciate you not naming names on who you bought your latest rear from, but the bottom line is that the rear you got from me was in great health and seemingly not the problem.It was only removed for a 4:11 Auburn Posi.
I WAS MORE THAN WILLING TO EXCHANGE THE REAR I SOLD YOU FOR A WORKING 2:73 AUBURN POSI, BUT YOU ELECTED TO PURCHASE PARTS FROM ANOTHER REAR OFF EBAY AND TRY AND FIX A PROBLEM THAT MAY NOT EVEN EXIST . You are on your own now and your own worst enemy, I can not exchange a rear that I have known to be good and is now tapered with. I'm sure the members will agree with me. Good Luck, and don't bother calling.

HorseflyDF

Vincode,

I didnt feel like taking the rear out again since the
car is in the street and the weather is getting colder.
This is why I bought another 3 series carrier,
the carrier you sold me was obviously not right
even though you claim its my fault.
But its a lesson learned.
Thanks anyway for the offer you took back.

Dave

vincode8

iTrader: (8)

Anytime....If your ever in need of a Factory fiberglass hood for your Z28, let me know and I'll make it up to you regarding the so called bad rear. Hows that?