drive shaft protection?
- Thread starter adam
- Start date
Attach hoop to frame around driveshaft with 1/4 or 3/8 flat bar. Alow for driveshaft up and down movement. Even at an angle the flat bar bracing will keep the shaft from coming through the floor, and that's what you want.
Mike
Well-Known Member
Och, you know the truth behind this - real race cars use couplers.
Screaming Metal
Active Member
Mike, my friend, you are just totally hardcore!!Och, you know the truth behind this - real race cars use couplers.
RazzBarlow7
New Member
Well, when you consider that there may be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/4 inch of fiberglass between you and a hunk of heavy steel spinning at 4000-6000 RPM or so...need is relative. Do you WANT a little extra protection that costs you a few dollars and a few hours? Probably.
Och, you know the truth behind this - real race cars use couplers.
And they go way to fast to turn left!
jimbo01
Member
There was another thread on here awhile ago and if I remember right his driveshaft didn't break because of to much horsepower as much as it did the dip in the road. Once again if I remember right the tube came out of the transmission probably due to being cut a little short or the dip flexed the drive train enough to allow it to come out. He was pretty darn lucky that the driveshaft didn't become a pole-vault and launch that car into an ugly mess. It's not only the up motion that can be dangerous if the driveshaft breaks.
Many, many (& a few more) years ago (1968) I owned a 4 cyl Holden Torana (which probably doesn't mean a whole lot to most of you). That damn thing used to make around 1.25 Mice power and had a lot of trouble getting out of it's own way, let alone anyone elses. Anyhow, one day as I was powering along the road I managed to snap the diff input staft. The tailshaft hit the road, lifting the rear of the car about 3 foot of the ground. Lucky enough it landed back squarely on it's wheels and I was able to coast to a safe stop. Haven't owned a car since that didn't have a tailshaft loop (although I must admit a couple of them were just chains bolted to the floor.
GAB
Member
Here is a little different approach to this problem. It seems to me that if you keep the enclosure for the spinning shaft in a circular form the tendency for the shaft to oscillate and start hammering stuff would be reduced. Don't know that to be fact, but it seems logical. With that in mind, here is what I came up with:
I made a couple of them and gave them to guys to try in buckets and they had a problem with space. The tops were too close to the floor board on existing builds. Might work if planned for in new constructs.
I made a couple of them and gave them to guys to try in buckets and they had a problem with space. The tops were too close to the floor board on existing builds. Might work if planned for in new constructs.
Screaming Metal
Active Member
WEDRVIT
New Member
Hi George remember me with the blown out aluminum half shafts, I could use one of those setups with my r4 being hung from the top of the housing instead sitting on the bottom. I got a regular loop in the middle but it won't totally stop the front if the yoke or joint fails. Been doing some high 11 runs at the 1320 lately and with over a quarter of a million miles on the ol bucket, might not hurt. Mail me some info hlalcox@yahoo.com Thanks HarleyLike most things, for every plus there is a minus side. This thing would probably take out the tailshaft housing if a shaft did get loose. Simple to install, but too expensive to produce for the market. Oh well, it was fun to design and make.
Cool32
Member
When I first started to run the T in my avatar at the drags I broke a front uni (no loop) on a launch and it took a chunk out of the floor, fortunately with only a 10"shaft it could reach the road surface. If it had occurred at speed or a shift change it could have been a lot worse.
A tail shaft loop serves 2 purposes,
1. if you lose the front uni joint the shaft won't drop onto the road and dig in or come up thru the floor.
2. if you lose the back uni joint the shaft won't come up thru the floor.
oh there is a 3rd, damage in around the chassis components, paint etc, which may not be life threatening but costly and a pain in the butt to repair.
For the cost of a loop, definitely worth it.
A tail shaft loop serves 2 purposes,
1. if you lose the front uni joint the shaft won't drop onto the road and dig in or come up thru the floor.
2. if you lose the back uni joint the shaft won't come up thru the floor.
oh there is a 3rd, damage in around the chassis components, paint etc, which may not be life threatening but costly and a pain in the butt to repair.
For the cost of a loop, definitely worth it.
GAB
Member
®
Hello Harley,
I sure do remember you and your car. For the others whose curiosity you have aroused, one very cold winter day, I got a call from a buddy that a fellow had contacted him with a problem on an aluminum Corvette rear end. He had a half shaft with a problem and I don't recall exactly what the nature of the problem was. Oh, one other little thing. Harley and his wife were on a trip from home (Anamosa, IA ?) to Phoenix. It was decided that the half shaft needed to be retubed. One slight problem. No 3" aluminum tube in my inventory...but I did have some 3"solid round. After some whittling to get things copacetic with each other, we started to weld it up. You got any idea how much heat it takes to weld something like this? I have 300 amps of welder and 90 amps of circuit breaker, so this turned into a rather laborious task, weld for a minute, wait for 5 for breaker to reset. But in the end we prevailed and off they went. You don't still have that thing in there, do you?
I'm not sure what you are saying about your setup. Are you saying that you have rotated the tailshaft housing 180 degrees and the transmission mount is now hanging from above. I guess that might work but I doubt that much room would be saved.
If you mean that you would rotate the loop 180 and use the two lower holes for the top of the brackets mounting points, I think that the transmission mount would be in the way.
Hello Harley,
I sure do remember you and your car. For the others whose curiosity you have aroused, one very cold winter day, I got a call from a buddy that a fellow had contacted him with a problem on an aluminum Corvette rear end. He had a half shaft with a problem and I don't recall exactly what the nature of the problem was. Oh, one other little thing. Harley and his wife were on a trip from home (Anamosa, IA ?) to Phoenix. It was decided that the half shaft needed to be retubed. One slight problem. No 3" aluminum tube in my inventory...but I did have some 3"solid round. After some whittling to get things copacetic with each other, we started to weld it up. You got any idea how much heat it takes to weld something like this? I have 300 amps of welder and 90 amps of circuit breaker, so this turned into a rather laborious task, weld for a minute, wait for 5 for breaker to reset. But in the end we prevailed and off they went. You don't still have that thing in there, do you?
I'm not sure what you are saying about your setup. Are you saying that you have rotated the tailshaft housing 180 degrees and the transmission mount is now hanging from above. I guess that might work but I doubt that much room would be saved.
If you mean that you would rotate the loop 180 and use the two lower holes for the top of the brackets mounting points, I think that the transmission mount would be in the way.
WEDRVIT
New Member
Up dated the rear end to complete c4 10 years ago, those old shafts ran me well over 100,000 miles, got 260,000 miles on it now. My trans cross member is on top of the frame and I made a mount bracket that uses the two top extension housing bolts and a old flat head motor mount so it hangs down about an inch from the cross member. This design makes the frame stronger, no bolt in cross member, and trans service is much easier because I have had to service the trans, several times. What's the approx. outside diameter of your fixture? Trans mount on an r4 is on the case. Harley
GAB
Member
Harley,
I guess that I wasn't paying attention in your first post that you have a 700R4. What I was designing for that transmission was quite a bit different and it never got beyond the drawing stage. The opening for the driveshaft to pass through was 4.25". Here is what I was toying around with for the 700:
I guess that I wasn't paying attention in your first post that you have a 700R4. What I was designing for that transmission was quite a bit different and it never got beyond the drawing stage. The opening for the driveshaft to pass through was 4.25". Here is what I was toying around with for the 700:
WEDRVIT
New Member
I like it George. I've got the mill, lathe, and plasma so I might give it a try and I think I'll add a large piece of tubing between the rear and middle support to try and contain flying pieces. With a bar added across the top it could replace the old mount that's been there since day one. Thanks for the drawing, another project HarleyHarley,
I guess that I wasn't paying attention in your first post that you have a 700R4. What I was designing for that transmission was quite a bit different and it never got beyond the drawing stage. The opening for the driveshaft to pass through was 4.25". Here is what I was toying around with for the 700:
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