drive shaft

[bigd65]

is there a front and rear of the one piece drive shaft. i noticed while i was doing the U joints that one side it had a larger weight than the other side. the larger weight was on the front (tranny side) and the smaller weight was on the rear (differential side) when i put in the new JOINT on the front, i got the JOINT in backwards(the grease mite,zerk whatever you wanna call them hit the yoke and broke off) i got the old grease mite of and removed the yoke and jut reinstalled on the other side. i figure the whole shaft is balanced so it should not make a difference. well as i drive it at highway speeds, i feel a small vibration. now im thinking this is from the tires needing reballanced, have not been in 5 years the tire have been on. i dont recall if it was there before. i also think this vibration could be just from lack of play in the new JOINTS that the old ones had.
is there a front and rear of the drive shaft ?
------------------
85 C10 LWB 350/700R4
"THE GHOST"
Jeff Dodson

[swervin ervin]

Jeff,

I've always tried to install the driveshaft back in the orignal location when I had mine out. I even mark mine when I remove it so I get it back in the same spot. It really shouldn't matter because when the shaft is balanced, it's not in the truck. It's balanced as an assembly by itself.

If you think it's not right, I would turn it around. If for nothing else, just to get it off your mind.

[TX_Mudder]

Jeff, when I installed my new rear driveshaft I asked which way it should be installed. They told me it should be like this:
First pic is of the front side (would be your transimission, but since mine's a 4x4 it's my tcase.)
Second pic is of the rear axle side.

Pic 1

Pic 2

Hope that helps.

It won't have vibration because of a lack of play (new joints.)

It's always a good idea to have it rebalanced if you think it may be out of whack. There's a good driveshaft shop in Dickinson called Midway that has a good balancing machine. It's the saem machine that Denny's Driveshafts (you see them in magazine ads) has.

I used to run greasable ujoints.
I run only nongreasable now. I've had both, and the nongreasable last longer im my experience.
-- Mike

[bigd65]

Mike, how about the larger weight near the front of the shaft and the smaller one near the rear. its reversed now, but that is the way it was when i took it out. and being that i removed the original joints it had to be set that way from the factory. well i guess i will just turn it around anyways.

[TX_Mudder]

I'm trying to figure out what you mean.

On my driveshaft, there are two balance weights (look like washers.)
They are both on the longer section of the driveshaft, but at opposite ends.
How is it reversed? Are you saying you will be installing the entire driveshaft reversed (relative to to priot position) ?
If so, that's fine. The driveshaft is balanced so that that is no problem.
-- Mike

[bigd65]

My drive shaft is a one peice for a LWB. on one end there is a larger weight than what is on the end. when i took it apart the end with the larger weight was on the front. i got the UJOINT in backwards and the zerk hit the yoke. so instead of pulling the whole joint, i just flipped the drive shaft and put the yoke on the end with the smaller weight (the end that hooked up to the differential) i have sense took swervins advise and just for my own piece of mind and switched it back the way it was fromn the factory. well it didnt change anything, so i have to find this small vibration, maybe its not a vibration maybe a small bounce in the drive train ?. i dont know if that is even the best way to describe it.

[TX_Mudder]

Ok, I understand now.
The driveshaft is balanced independent from anything else so you should be able to mount it either way without vibration problems (since it is a non-CV shaft.)

Not sure about your continued problems. Unfortunantly it could be lots of things. I hope you figure it out anf it's not too much $$
Good luck.
-- Mike

[low 84]

get the tires balanced. trust me it helps. with them not being balanced in five years they could be as much as 3 or more ounces out of balance on each side. you can feel .5 or .75 ounce out of balance. last time i balanced mine one would show a different amount each spin on the balancer and not balance out. i took the tire off and i had like a qt. of water in it - hehe. i think some one filled it with a compressor that had alot of condensation, anyway i'm babling now, i would get them balanced. mine would vibrate between about 45-55 mph and feel ok the rest of the time, now it has no vibes at all.