I have an opportunity to buy a aluminum driveshaft from a 98 1le car, my question is...is this item a direct bolt in replacement or do I need to buy other stuff? And is $160 a good price?

 

Direct fit and the price is about average.

 

You may have to use a combination u-joint for the pinion end.I had to do this with my '83 Z28 but this was with a 3rd Gen JG1 shaft.And if you replace the u-joints make sure you specify they are for the aluminum version.

 

I can get a custom made brand new aluminum driveshaft shipped to my door $250. Seems a little pricy for something used.

 

hawks third gen sells one from a 3rd gen used for 150 i know cause i need a new driveshaft and was looking into it.

 

There are like 5 of them on ebay for around $100. I bet you could get a really good deal at a junkyard. Check the classifieds here because they go for less and they pop up alot.

 

Well I already bought it and it looks great. The u joints look like the car was very low miles and it was very nice. It's a driveshaft from a 98 1LE 4th gen.

 

Have you installed it yet? I bought one off Ebay and the yoke wouldn't slip into the tranny properly. I wondered if perhaps it was from an Auto (mine is a T5) but the GM part numbers are same for auto and manual. I couldn't use the stock yoke because of the potential for binding at certain angles so I have to wait until I can take both the aluminum and the stock driveshafts to a Mr DriveShaft and see if they fabricate anything. Hope your experience is better than mine.

 

I havent put it on yet but when I do I'll let you know how it goes, my car is an auto so who knows.

 

The trans yokes are interchangeable between manuals and automatics on both 3rd and 4th Gens.Make sure the yoke splines are clean and rust free and the outside of the yoke is smooth without any burs to damage the trans rear seal.Run a light coat of trans fluid on the inside and outside of the yoke before you try and install it.

 

Hi,

I just wanted to document my *now solved* 3 yr battle with annoying vibration starting at ~78mph- 89 formula 350 TPI in hopes that I may help others who might be stubborn like me and not consider the fact that the original steel drive shaft can go bad over time- somehow. I have battled this thing on and off considering *everything except* the driveshaft.

An aluminum driveshaft from a 98 LS1 optioned camaro with dampener solved the problem. I can cruise fast again!

Here's the list of things I did and found during the process:

1. worn out torque arm bushing- replaced with poly- no effect.
2. new rear wheel bearings - no effect
3. new slightly bent passenger axle shaft- no effect.
4. new stock rubber tranny mount- no effect.
5. lowered/ raised tranny mount- no effect.
6. new u joints on drive shaft - no effect.
7. new bushing in tailshaft of trany- no effect.
8. inspect differential carrier/bearings etc. - no effect
9. double check motor mounts thinking they sagged and caused the driveline angle to change- good mounts.
10. new front wheel bearings- no effect.
11. Finally crawled under car while running with a permanent marker- touched driveshaft several times. I noticed a fatter line on one side.
12. Tried the clamp method of balancing- no effect.
13. Finally bought and installed 98 camaro LS1 optioned aluminum drive shaft from junk yard -- problem solved.

My only thought is that I either bent the driveshaft on a rock, or it twisted or bent on it's own over time.

Good thing is that I replaced alot of stuff that really *did* need replacing anyway.

best regards,
-Brent

 

I changed to aluminum driveshaft and solved my vibration also.

 

So I guess theres a good reason why I bought mine. I just thought it was stronger and lighter so I wanted it. How much power can one of these driveshafts handle?

 

So just to clarify, you had a vibration, and the driveshaft was the LAST thing you thought of? .....Nah man, just messin' with ya. Any of those things could've been it. I actually installed a tranny mount spacer and that solved "most" of the problem. I picked up an adjustable torque arm to fine tune the pinion angle in hopes of a complete fix to the problem.

But seriously, to get back on topic, during my search for a fix to my vibration, I read COUNTLESS threads on multiple sites about crappy OE steel driveshafts. The "performance" issue seems to be up for debate, but for the piece of mind of having a "balanced" driveshaft, aluminum, or at least aftermarket steel, is the way to go. Stock steel sucks.

 

I had a viberation and a rumble at hwy speeds and it turned out to be the 700R4 lockup torque converter. I installed a non-lockup torque conv. and man is the car ever smooth now. The driveabilty is so much better because I got rid of that lock, unlock, lock, unlock BS.

Auggie