Supershafts
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- Mar 28, 2012
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- Long Island, New York
ok i'll take a look
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ok i'll take a look
edit: driveline length is 54.5" from the center of the U-joints, he told me that 75% critical speed should be about 4000rpm
The balance machine they use goes up to 4000rpm. I didn't get a model number. It does not however accommodate the slip yoke, so it's just the driveline side of the front u-joint, in the rear the pinion flange is left on the driveline.
The guy told me that there was a little bit of buzz at 4k so he put a new weld yoke on the front. With the new yoke he was able to reduce the balance weight by half so that could be it.
I saw it run in the machine, and it was really freaking smooth, but the guy tells me that it was pretty smooth before so meh.
I'm also trying a different slip yoke.
Bummer on the heavy equipment! have you check bellhousing alignment?
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Can you hear a low "booming" sound in the car when the vibration is apparent? If the vibration is at driveshaft rpm (not tire rpm) there usually is. A vibration analyzer or one of those reed tachometers is useful to identify the frequency/rpm of a vibration and select repairs to fix what's really broke.
http://jandngarden.com/products-page/accessories/genuine-briggs-stratton-19200-tachometer/
Do each of the U-joints pivot VERY freely in both directions? If the caps are pushed in they will bind. Binding u-joints will try to toss the trans or diff back and forth or up and down once-per-rev, much like unbalance. The solution is usually to carefully strike the welded yoke (not tube) in each direction with a copper or lead hammer to use the inertia of the tube to push the caps outward. In extreme cases the snap rings must be ground a few thousandths thinner to allow the caps to move outward a few thousandths and free the joint.
I'd measure the tube runout at each end an inch or so away from the weld with the DS installed on the car. Also in the middle. First there should be less than 0.010" or so IF the DS was well made >>AND<< the slip yoke and flange are well machined, AND the u-joints are free. Some are not. I'd mark the high spots and record the runout so the next time it goes in a balance machine the tube runout in their setup can be checked. If the runout is not within 0.005 of when installed in the car, the centering provided by their fixturing is bad and/or they need to support the shaft by the yoke when balancing.
Here is a driveshaft in a StewartWarner/ProBal machine.
http://www.pro-bal.com/images/machines/big/pb1000-d.jpg
the left end has its yoke attached and is supported by an overhead clamping roller fixture. The right end is held in a fixture that picks up the u-joint caps. The center support bearing is on its own stanchion. Any stiffness in the u-joint will confuse the balance machine, just as it can "vibrate" the trans or diff.
If your u-joints are free, and the balance shop lacks the tooling, skill, or desire to balance the shaft assembled, the driveshaft can be balanced on the car using trial and error and a couple of hose clamps. the screw portion of the clamp is the "weight". the high spot you detected with the scribe (if it still exists with smooth, free U-joints) may be the "heavy spot" and the clamp heads should be installed opposite it as a first trial.
Go 2.5 degrees off the shaft, if the shaft is sloping down 1 degree go 3.5 below that , ultimately you want 0.0 under load for the least losses
measure it on the shaft and on the comp flange at the diff, you want to try and get it so that underload depending on how much the diff may move it's at 0.0 degrees, Marty