when are ZXT Half Shafts necessary?

[That Ozzy Guy]

The whole story.

I dumped it in first about half an hour before it broke off and I heard a loud bang from the back. This was the initial crack but the uni held on so I drove it home. I drove for around 3km before the half shaft came off. I was at the lights and was taking it very easy when all of a sudden I heard a bunch of crunching which I thought was the diff gears. The car came to a stop naturally and trying to move it again was painful to say the least. The shaft would just turn and hit stuff around it. Once we got it on the tow truck we realised it was the shaft and not the diff. My night and mood improved after that. :classic:

I think the wise thing to do would be to upgrade them to CV's in my case before it happens again. Any help on how I go about doing this would be fantastic.

[sjcurtis]

George,

sorry to see the results of more bad luck for you. I am glad to see you are running the R200 so your half shafts will be easier to get. As far as the mod goes you have all the contacts on your supplier list, use the phone, someone will be able to set you right. For the rest of us please post the fix, the shop and the cost, I think over half the Aus readers who use thier gas pedals would benefited.

Good Luck

Steve

[Ben]

Hey George,

Are you aware of the maintenance history/condition of you 1/2 shafts (and all driveline uni's)?

My dad lunched a uni on the racetrack in his 1600 a few months back - but it was the only remaining unit from new.... So he wasn't too upset.

If you haven't checked your uni's I'd be replacing them all & taking it from there. I was putting 250HP thru a stock setup for a few years with no hassles. (And there's more of that to come)

But, if they were fresh - what brand were they?

Then again, having just looked at your gallery, a CV upgrade may not be such a bad idea....

[That Ozzy Guy]

Originally posted by Ben

Hey George,

Are you aware of the maintenance history/condition of you 1/2 shafts (and all driveline uni's)?

I can't really answer that question but I'd say they were fresh in 1991 when the car was built. That is unless they had been broken after that and replaced. *shrugs*

With some help from my father I took the uni and shaft out today. Wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Here's some pics.

Now I need to know how to disconnect the uni from the shaft?? I've taken out the clip but I hit a brick wall after that. I found a thread about it here so I'll try it out another day. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6124&highlight=half+AND+shaft

[That Ozzy Guy]

Another pic

[Ben]

Well you certainly lunched that one!

Do the stampings show a brand name?

The long & short of uni removal is lots of lubricant & elbow-grease.

[That Ozzy Guy]

Originally posted by Ben

Well you certainly lunched that one!

Do the stampings show a brand name?

The long & short of uni removal is lots of lubricant & elbow-grease.

The launch must have clean broken the uni and then the force of driving it must have broken the other end and it poped out.

Here's a pic with the brand name. The bottom line which is hard to read is GM8.

[Ben]

If it has a grease-nipple fitting (it look like it has) then it's an aftermarket uni.

Some aftermarket uni's are weaker than the factory ones.

Try CBC for a replacement & let them know how tough it needs to be!

[That Ozzy Guy]

Yeah it does have a nipple. It actually broke off so now there is only a spring hanging from the hole. Always wondered what was inside the nipples.

I'm thinking I might just replace both sides with CV joints Ben. Will cost me more but at least I don't have to worry about it anymore. If I can find a cheap uni I'll whack that on for the time being so I can drive the car untill I'm ready to convert it.

Cheers

[sjcurtis]

Hi guys,

that uni failed from lack of grease not brute force. If you look at the plate end one of the bearing caps has been working(red brown dust around the edge) as the needle rollers inside sarted to get hot and lockup, starting to fail. George you were just your lucky self again, I could have jumped in the seat and dumped it with 6**** on the TACH with no fail then you would try and bang. It was an age related failure just grab a good drive shaft check the uni's and throw it in. Work the mod out to CV's in your own sweet time.

Oh check all your unis feel for any movement look for any sign of something diffrent if you are not sure post the pics and we can check for you. If you do go for new uni joints, I agree with Ben go quality, your suppliers will know.

Cheers

Steve :classic:

[Ben]

Indeed - every uni that I've replaced has been full of dust - dust that used to be needle rollers.....

Remove the other 1/2 shaft & the tailshaft & inspect the whole lot.

On 2nd thought - replace them all & get the tailshaft balanced, install a loop while you're at it.

Generally speaking, the splined section of the 1/2 shafts will twist before the units will break (seen it).

[That Ozzy Guy]

Well that is certainly interesting to know. Thanks guys.

How often should they be greased up?