Drive shaft issues

Discussion in '1947-1954' started by Elky67, Jul 3, 2012.

  1. Elky67

    Elky67 Member

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    Hi folks,

    after having the truck on the road for a few weeks, i discovered a grinding,
    whining, clonking noise out of the driveline:(.

    As my truck is a GMC longbox 1/2 ton, i have the drive shaft extension in it.

    I already ordered the u-joints, the bearing etc., but examining the second yoke,
    it seems like it got damaged, due to loose and broken bolts.

    Now my question, would anyone of you guys have a good used yoke available,

    might deadzone have stuff like this?

    I really want the truck to be on the road again soon and be reliable, as summer won´t last forever;)

    Thank you all for any help or trace...
     
  2. vwnate1

    vwnate1 Member

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    JOE To The Rescue !

    Yes Joe will have what you need .

    What you need to do now is : take the old bad parts and lay them on clean cardboard etc. so there's good contrast and send him photos of what you need .

    Be sure to count the splines and tell him how many...
     
  3. Elky67

    Elky67 Member

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    Pictures...

    Thank you Nate, for your reminder; stupid me, forgot to include the pictures i already made.

    Here they are, hopefully you guys can see, what is important.

    I counted 10 splines...
     

    Attached Files:

  4. vwnate1

    vwnate1 Member

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    ! Ouch !

    Sadly , this isn't as uncommon a thing as you'd think .

    Was Joe able to help you out ? .
     
  5. Elky67

    Elky67 Member

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    Lucky me:)

    Nate,

    a buddy of mine, (he´s a milling/lathe machine expert by trade) came by on the weekend and i showed him my damaged and rounded yoke and asked for his advice.

    He told me, to weld on the missing millimeters and then take the yoke on a lathe and turn it down smooth to the desired dimensions.
    For a vehicle with an output of about 90 horses, he wouldn´t see any issues
    doing this.

    I gave it a go on Saturday and i think, it´s nearly as good as new again and hopefully the rest of the parts show up soon; can´t wait, to take the truck for a spin and it should be much more comfortable to drive.

    Thank you anyway for asking, if all failes, i would contact Joe for a replacement, but shipping stuff from the USA to Germany is unbelievable expensive at the moment. A parcel the size of a cigar box is caculated about 30$$$:eek::eek:

    I´ll take a picture and show you the result.
     
  6. vwnate1

    vwnate1 Member

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    Journeyman Repairs

    Good ! .

    I'm glad to see you took this route , I hesitated to suggest it because it takes a Journeyman Machinist to do the job , .002" off and it'll shake like a paint mixer forevermore....

    Having access to good help is a real gift .
     
  7. Elky67

    Elky67 Member

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    Here we go, with the reworked yoke; i think i´ve welded on about 2mm (0,0787inches), that´s what i thought was missing, compared to the front yoke on the tranny.

    After the welding and slowly cooling down, i turned the surface down, to smooth it out. When this was done, i took the yoke on the milling machine, to
    cut the center part to the exact measurement (1inch).

    Hopefully it´s good to use again another 50+ years:rolleyes:


    By the way, what does journeyman repairs mean?:)

    In the meantime, i added a "new" accessorie to the truck...
    An old oak wine barrel, ment to be the tool box and dry storage area.
     

    Attached Files:

  8. vwnate1

    vwnate1 Member

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    Oaken Keg

    That's a nice tool box there :D .

    Journeyman means one who's a fully competent at his Trade .

    I'm not really good to explain things , I hope that helped .

    Similar to " Maestro " in many other languages .
     
  9. Elky67

    Elky67 Member

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    Back together

    Since the missing parts showed up lately, i´ve put it all together. The "okie" bushing wasn´t available, so i made one on the lathe.

    Now i took the truck for a little spin and checked for leaks, as i changed the automatic oil also, while everything was apart.

    My concern/question is, how hot can/should a closed driveshaft tube get, in normal driving condition?
    I tried to touch right at the joint after the tranny and i would say, it was nearly as hot as the tranny case, after about a foot, it was just worm?

    Is this normal, or might the bushing be to tight?

    Thank you alls once again, for any help on this.:)
     
  10. vwnate1

    vwnate1 Member

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    Hot Oakie Bushing

    It's too close tolerance .
     

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