Project: Recycle

[SCOTI]

The ECE x-member is in a 'stock' location as in I was able to utilize factory holes in the frame rails for the mount hardware. The total height of the trans spacer is 3.5" which includes a 3" block, a .250" trans mount spacer, & a .250" shim to dial in the exact height I want.

I recall Nathan saying the motor is moved up about 2" & forward about 1.5" w/the Dropmember/sbc combo. He also recommended setting the trans @ 5° down. A 2pc driveline would mean no cab cutting; 1pc driveline = clearancing req'd (less clearancing needed on 6x-66's vs. 67-72's).

With the 2pc driveline set-up per Nathan's recommendations, it would work. Even though it would work, it would not be ideal (there in lies the catch-22; we're dealing w/extreme drops & their subsequent extreme angles). There's no achieving 'perfect world' angles w/these extreme drops. That being said, I priced a 2pc driveline from 2 different sources & the quotes were $600-700 (price included new yolk, balanced front shaft, balanced rear shaft, 1310 F/R u-joints, HD carrier bearing, & CV or slip joint (w/warranty).

At $600+ bucks for a functional compromise, I decided to spend much less, trim the cab, & have the same functional compromise. I also planned for a fail-safe. If my angles don't work, I can drop the trans a little more, use a CV joint, raise the pinion to near zero & Nathan says I'll be good to go. The 1pc/CV set-up also fits under my raised d.shaft hoop.

Also.... If I would have left my rear wheel C/L alone (instead of moving it back 1" to center it within the wheel-well), I wouldn't have to do anything to the current d.shaft I used for mock-up. I have another d.shaft that's slightly longer & will have it cut down to the necessary length.

[aggie91]

After reading all this again about the angles and what you did, I now have a headache...

I think all your work is going to pay off big once you get it all together and having fun driving it. Makes me think that I need to revisit my driveline angles once I decide what my ride height will be this time...

So, When is the cab going onto the chassis?

[SCOTI]

And the dance continues..... one step forward, 2 steps back.

I had the morning off so I made plans to be @ a local d.shaft joint when they opened up. I brought 2 shafts w/me. One of them was the one I have been using for mock-up; the other was an extra that was about 6" longer.

I taped & marked the mock-up unit to allow quick & easy measurements from a reference point on the shaft. I explained that the shaft was used in my mock-up process & physically fit but was just barely too short in my mind (quick glance was 50% engagement of the output shaft). They wanted the measurements from the trans output shaft tip to the end of the u-joint flange. I explained I didn't measure but that I wanted the 'new' shaft to be 1" longer than my mock-up unit. He took some measurements of the 2 units & cut the longer one down. Welded + balanced w/some fresh u-joints & I was on my way. I did pause for several moments because although the new shaft was shorter than before, it sure looked to be greater than 1" longer than the mock-up unit. I decided it was my eyes playing tricks & headed to the shop.

I got to the shop..... my eyes were correct. The new shaft would not (could not) physically fit between the trans & rear pinion even w/the d.shaft yoke fully bottomed out on the trans output shaft. I called them to break the news & the shop foreman repeatedly said "this is why we have our customers measure the distance between the trans output shaft tip to the end of the u-joint flange...... It eliminates these mistakes." So I measured exactly as directed. I even took reference pics of where I was measuring from.

I got back to the d.shaft place & explained that there must have been some confusion between the builder & myself. I again said the new unit needs to be about 1" longer than my mock-up piece & that it should be easy enough to figure overall lengths & handed them the dimensions of my set-up as requested.

They whacked another ~1.5" off the d.shaft, re-welded, & re-balanced it. I also paid an additional fee because after all, if I would have provided the requested dimensions initially, it would have been right the first time.

I drove back to the shop to install the 'new.2' shaft...... Viola..... it doesn't fit. Now, 'new.2' is closer to going in.... but it doesn't. Again, w/the yoke fully bottomed out on the trans output shaft, the pinion end is just barely is too long (.125" maybe) so you can't seat it in place.

I placed the 'new.2' shaft next to my mock-up shaft..... it's about 1.x" longer (still not 1" longer). I can see now how those critically important dimensions helped so much. [/sarcasm]

2 trips (min 30mins away) to down-town Dallas.
Paid for shortening the same d.shaft twice.
3/4 tank of gas.

I'm still using the mock-up d.shaft. I took better measurements & have about 60% of the d.shaft yoke engaged on the trans output shaft splines. I'll live w/that vs. another trip.....

The guy that worked on the shaft was great to work with even though this was an excersize in futility (I'd buy him a beverage or 2 if I saw him out on the town). It would however be nice to serve some 'crow' to the shop foreman w/his repeated "this is why we do it this way" comments so I'll prob go ahead & call Monday just to poke a hole in his sails.

[watahyahknow]

i can imagine his answer will be sum tin like "you didn't measure right "

in hindsight it might been handy to first have them or a machine shop nearby cut the driveshaftyoke off so it can slide into the pipe drive back make it fit on the truck before taking it to the shop again for welding and balancing , that way its easier to lob off Wat's needed to make it fit
if you have to pay them to do the job correct again anyway this might be the right moment to try another drive shaft shop ........ i think that would hurt him more than just keep trowing money down on the counter at his shop

[ratty 46]

Oh ... ya ... I've been down that road with the driveshaft guy too. It's a bit frustrating at best.

ya just gotta work trough it.

Ratty 46

[watahyahknow]

make them put it in writing before you give them the driveshaft , so you have proof of the deal just to be sure .
i seen it happen that there was a price to pay after the job was redone and it was like "no money no driveshaft" ....... you did have all new bearings and stuff in there and allready payed for .

[aggie91]

I was going to post this yesterday, but I am in Italy for work and my internet connection ran out before I got that far...plus I was too worn out to log back in...

I was reading your "issues" with your drive shaft and was going to recommend that you not cut the splined end of the yoke off. if it is bottoming out, wouldn't it be hitting on the "yoke" part externally on the tailshaft seal and not internally inside the trans?

Sounds like you have gotten it worked out with the shop and hopefully you will be back on track.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by aggie91

I was going to post this yesterday, but I am in Italy for work and my internet connection ran out before I got that far...plus I was too worn out to log back in...

I was reading your "issues" with your drive shaft and was going to recommend that you not cut the splined end of the yoke off. if it is bottoming out, wouldn't it be hitting on the "yoke" part externally on the tailshaft seal and not internally inside the trans?

Sounds like you have gotten it worked out with the shop and hopefully you will be back on track.

I had a little over .125" to work with. After measuring again for verification, it wouldn't have been worth the effort to machine the end of the yoke as I still would have been too long. Hopefully, they can trim an additional .500" off the new.2 shaft again w/o too much drama. I'm hoping he doesn't pop off about me measuring incorrectly..... the gloves will come off @ that moment.

[daverod]

I had to pay twice. Did give me alittle break. Seems to happen a lot. I wonder why.

[watahyahknow]

because they make more money doing it wrong

[daverod]

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by watahyahknow

because they make more money doing it wrong

Kind of counter-productive when they have to do twice the work. I only paid to shorten it twice. The u-joints & balancing were paid for only once. It was balanced each time & now will be done again....

$20 each for u-joints
$40 to shorten
$35 to balance

$155 total so far (which is still decent).

[n2billet]

Are you getting close to swapping the cab to the new frame?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by n2billet

Are you getting close to swapping the cab to the new frame?

Not any closer than last Saturday.

I got the gas tank mounting straps welded up on Tuesday & that was about it for the week. I've been sick since last Sunday & just now getting back to normal. I wanted the gas tank in place to finalize the fuel lines.

Maybe the week of spring break will be the swap date/s since it will be quiet around the house .

[n2billet]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Maybe the week of spring break will be the swap date/s since it will be quiet around the house .

Oh, I take it that the girls are leaving town? Excellent plan...

[watahyahknow]

keep youre cellphone near just in case sumtin happens in the shop while youre under the truck , they might not hear you calling out

[Jonboy]

Let me know, I'm in.

[SCOTI]

Not much this week, but every little bit helps.

I got the mounting straps for the blazer tank finished & tested them out. They're just steel strap w/nuts welded in place that will slip inside the tank spacers I made. Makes it easy to get the tank secured now since I just have to install the bolts from the bottom of the frame vs. trying to fish my fingers in between the rails to hold the hardware. The tank is securely bolted w/.375" GRADE-8 hardware to some 2"sq stainless tubing then the tubing is bolted to the frame rail (also w/.375" GRADE-8 hardware).

I cleaned up the ECE T/A x-member & got some color on it. I got the official 'buddy' approval tonight that it was a clean install (thanks Matt).

I'm still on schedule to hit the d.shaft shop on Sat morning @ 08:30 so I should have that finalized.

Yesterday & today was spent trying to figure out how the heck I'm going to snake a fuel line from the rear tank fitting, through the rear c-notch area, past the Z'd/boxed-in frame kick-up, & then past the Dropmember crossmember-reinforcement brackets.

It looks like 2 possibilities..... 1) Eliminate the engine fuel pump & go w/a low GPH electric fuel pump that's fed w/some braided fuel line. This would still have to snake through the c-notch & Z'd/boxed-in areas, but could terminate around the front shocks & run up the rear of the block to the carb vs trying to get it past the crossmember reinforcement brackets. Or 2) Just do the braided fuel line from the tank to the block mounted fuel pump & up to the carb. This might be a tight squeeze & be difficult to keep the hose from chafing anything. What I don't see happening is a 1pc hard line front to rear....

I also cut up a valve cover to start determining the breather & PCV possibilities. I'm going to research some compatible hose options tonight & use a 2nd extra v.cover as a test subject for welding the fittings (to get an idea on warpage/spacial constraints etc...).

[SCOTI]

Driveshaft is now in!

I went back there 1st thing this morning & they were real nice about everything. The owner/mgr said there were 2 possibilities.... 1) I measured wrong; 2) they measured wrong. I told him I was confident in my ability to read a tape-measure correctly. I supplied the same dimensions as the last time & sure enough, they were .500" off & admitted it was their mistake.

It was difficult trimming of such a small amount because of how the equipment works but he got it done. Cut, re-welded, & re-balanced @ no additional charge. Popped right in & fits like it should.

I also sold my TT2's that have been sitting in a corner of the garage for 2+yrs now. That puts some $$ back into the parts budget which allows keeping the CC account interest free .

[Alan's Classic]

Determination paid off on the drive shaft. You can Check that off the list now.
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[VA72C10]

Glad you got it fixed and they did the right thing!!!

[watahyahknow]

this calls for a testdrive

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by watahyahknow

this calls for a testdrive

Still have a few items to go on the list before a 'test drive' is possible....

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Good to see the shaft problem fixed..

[67cheby]

i am glad they didnt try to SHAFT you this last time (pun intended)