Drive shaft question?

[David Thomas]

Just curious, has anyone dissected the rear drive shaft section at the rear CV joint? How is the inner tube/rubber/outer tube attached to the CV joint head? I would think the inner tube is welded to the CV joint with a rubber damper in between the outer tube that is visably welded to the CV joint head.

Reason I ask, Honda GoldWings also have a drive shaft that has the rubber between the inner and outer tube. The Rubber is vulcanized to both tubes and acts as the power transfer connection for them. There is no solid welded connection  only the rubber.

Are the Cadillac drive shafts made that way, too?

[David Thomas]

I corresponded with Driveshaft Specialist, Inc. in San Antonio, Texas, last year about building a complete new driveshaft. They estimated a cost of $600.00 or so for a new driveshaft. They wanted my driveshaft for a pattern. Before building a new one, they would inspect the old one to see if the CV heads were in rebuildable condition, to see if it would be cheaper to retube and rebuild it.

I have not done this yet. I suspect they have better equipment to align the CV heads to keep the ujoints centered, than most local shops. Keeping everything centered is the key to smooth and noise free running with these CV joints.

I bought a used re-tubed drive shaft and rebuilt it myself. It runs pretty smooth but there is a very slight rumble still there. It also has a buzzing noise that starts around 45 mph, I suspect that is comming from one of the ball sockets. Even though I put new parts in them, the rear pocket was a little rough and it had been into before. So far this particular driveshaft is the smoothest and quietest I've had in the car. I may send off one of the other shafts someday, when I get the extra cash to spare.

Good luck, I hope you find a solution with yours.

[Frank Murch]

Yea, I am there too.   I think it may boil down to this.  If you want an original car, the tube in tube drive shaft is the - original.  I am also thinking GM could pull this off with larger and more capital equipment. The average shop does not seem to be able to do so. 

I think the fix is a new tubular drive shaft to replace the old one. Obviously this part never was a GM option, so it is a custom and non-original solution.

I am in the middle of it my self.  I spent about $1000 in 2011 to rebuilt the entire drive line.  It was much improved, but still has that vibration issue. I have not gone to the custom replacement.  Mine vibrates starting at about 60 mph and peaks at about 70 then fades above that.

Also, I would write with more authority if I really knew - like I said, I am in the discovery stage

[David Thomas]

Thanks, Frank. If the rubber is the power transmission connection on the rear section of our drive shafts, I can see why drive shaft shops recommend re-tubing them to eliminate the old rubber joint. The shops I have corresponded with tell me that rubber sandwich is what is causing the common drumming noise so many of us have in our cars.

If I had an old worn out rear section, I would dissect it to find out for sure, how it is put together.

[Frank Murch]

I think they are. The problem is they vibrate and are hard to rebuild