66 Riviera Driveshaft Rebuild

Discussion in 'Got gears?' started by Airflow, May 17, 2010.

  1. Airflow

    Airflow Well-Known Member

    Hi there guys... :)

    What parts do I need to COMPLETELY rebuild my driveshaft??

    Driveshaft support-bearing, CV and UV joints etc,etc??
    I'm new to this "scene" so bare with me..

    If someone could "make me a list of parts needed", along with who might be selling me the parts i need, I would be eternally grateful..:)

    P.s The driveshaft itself is fine, I just need the CV/UV joints etc, and seals

    Sturla
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2010
  2. JZRIV

    JZRIV Platinum Level Contributor

    Sturla,
    I would use CARS. They have everything you will need. You may find better pricing on the U-joints if you shop around but in your case it may be best for shipping if you get it all from one place. But then again there are 5 joints!

    http://www.oldbuickparts.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=19

    There was some recent discussion on same topic not too long ago. You may try searching.
     
  3. DaWildcat

    DaWildcat Platinum Level Contributor

  4. Airflow

    Airflow Well-Known Member

    Thanks guys..:)

    Okay... Here's the thing.. I think it's the joint closest to the rear axle,that's causing the vibration I have..

    And yes I will order from Cars..BUT..
    If someone could make me a list of those CV joint's (or whatever they are called) needed to fix THAT specific joint along with Support bearing holder and the bearing itself, that would make my day easier ( on the driveshaft inventory list from Cars)

    As for "balancing" the driveshaft..Huhhmm, I'm not sure the local mechanic shops around here have the necessesary skills to do that, so it might be a good idea to ONLY replace the "faulty" joint?

    As for seals ( auto transmission/splines) Is this "easy" to replace or does it require a teardown/rebuild of the autotrans??

    Sorry for "lame questions" ,but yeah I'm a newbie.. :)

    Sturla
     
  5. Lucy Fair

    Lucy Fair Nailheadlova

    Rear trans seal is easy,just pul it out and replace.As for driveshaft parts,here is what i did.I bought Nos CV joints and 3 nos U-joints + 2 new U-joints from cars.Remeber that You need 3 U-joints witch are thiner due to clearance near baal studs.I also bought nos central splined yoke .Driveshaft is now smooth as new.
    :3gears:
     
  6. 66rivnail

    66rivnail 1966 Riviera

    Hmmm, I bought 5 U-joints that were all the same when I had my shop rebuild my driveshaft. Did I mess up? I am getting conflicting information as to whether there are 2 that have different part numbers. Could someone verifiy with acuracy from a parts catalog that there are 2 different ujoints.
     
  7. JZRIV

    JZRIV Platinum Level Contributor

    There does seem to be some confusion on this and it could be variation between other years or perhaps from an outdated joint design. I haven't commented specifically because I'm not 100% sure and don't want to post misinformation but since you brought it up, here are my personal experiences.

    I recently restored my 66 Riv driveshaft. Because of similar posts in the past, I spent extra time inspecting the CV joint design, U-joints and clearances within the CV joint at extreme angles well beyond what it would see in the car. I couldn't see any potential issues using the joint style that has a depression in the center or with one that does not. So based on that, the same joint in either style could be used in every location. I am fairly confident about this on 66-67 Rivs but can't say for any other year because the CV joint design may have changed and that might be where the joint design is critical but I don't know.

    The only joint that is close to contacting/bumping the opposite yoke when flexed is the one at the transmission. It doesn't take much angle at all to make it hit but......taking into account the design, the section that connects to the transmission stays in a parallel straight line coming out of tranny because of the center support bearing. There is no flex to speak of in this section other than a tiny amount of give in the rubber mounts. Now, if the center support rubber or the rear tranny mount would fail completely, then this joint would flex enough to bump the yoke but thats a totally unrelated issue to what we are talking about.

    I'll take one more look at it tonight to be sure but I saw no reason the same joint with or without a center depression couldn't be used in every location on the 66-67 shaft.

    PLEASE SEE UPDATE IN POST #11 - This info may not be accurate for all cars.
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2010
  8. 66rivnail

    66rivnail 1966 Riviera

    Jason,

    Thanks for the great information. I bought my spiders from Rock Auto and the part numbers made reference to specific locations on the drive shaft. I looked in my service manual but didn't see any notation or difference in the blow up diagram. I was confused enough to call them. When I discussed this with them they said their reference material did not make a differentiation between positions. I asked why the different part numbers then and they said some are greaseless, some greaseable, some heavy duty some not.

    I looked in the Cars catalog and they do list 2 different part numbers. I am so confused. I have not put more than 10 miles on the car since the rebuild but I do not want to ruin anything.
     
  9. JZRIV

    JZRIV Platinum Level Contributor

    A couple other notes. If the joints in the CV section go in OK and aren't hitting/rubbing after the install is complete, they aren't going to. The relationship or gap between the u-joint center area and CV ball socket section does not change with driveshaft angle due to the boxed design of the yokes.

    U-joints from various manufacturers could be an unknown variable in this whole process. No matter what, the installer should be knowledeable enough that if there is a clearance problem due to joint design, it will be clearly visible and they should correct the problem before going any further. The original joints have the recessed area but I see no relativity or need for it on the 66-67 design driveshaft. There seems to be plenty of room without the recess. Perhaps it was a left over feature that was needed on an earlier model CV design.

    I know the joint I got from CARS PN UJ574A-4 would work in any location.

    UPDATE PLEASE SEE POST #11 for Correction. This info may not be accurate for all cars
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2010
  10. Airflow

    Airflow Well-Known Member

    Hiya all..

    Curious as I am, I had to start "tinkering" with my driveshaft....

    6 bolts and a a major amount of gravel in my hair, I finally got it out of the "driveshaft tunnel".. (lying on the ground is not longer fun when it comes to mechanical work..)

    Anyway, I thought I'd take some photos for you..

    And yeah....drumroll.. The joint closest to the rear axle had taken a serious beating..

    An update will follow shortly..

    Sturla

    http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac270/Airflow_album/DSCF0021.jpg
    http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac270/Airflow_album/DSCF0020.jpg
    http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac270/Airflow_album/DSCF0019.jpg
    http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac270/Airflow_album/DSCF0018.jpg
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2010
  11. JZRIV

    JZRIV Platinum Level Contributor

    Nice work Sturla. You are off to a good start.

    UPDATE - I checked an old 66 driveshaft I had stored and it is different than the one from the car I am working on now. It does have a CV joint design where the spring from the center section contacts the joint in the depressed area. In this case it would be most important to use joints with a depression in them.

    So I am really confused now and previous info posted by me on this subject should be taken accordingly. :Do No: I have a feeling a lot more digging will need done to get to the bottom of this one. Maybe they used different driveshafts or maybe the one I recently worked on was replaced with one from a later year.

    Here are a couple pics of the shaft I was working on and there is no contact between the joints and CV spring center section. There is no dampener ring on this shaft but there is one on the spare shaft. I noticed Sturlas does not have a dampener ring either which would be right behind the center support. :Do No:
     

    Attached Files:

  12. SportWagonGS

    SportWagonGS Moderator

    I'm getting ready to do a center support on my 69 Riv, what sixe wrench is that nut?? and what tool are you guys using to get it off?
     
  13. JZRIV

    JZRIV Platinum Level Contributor

    It's channel lock size. On the nuts I've removed they weren't very tight and came loose easily with a good pair of channel locks. The nuts I've seen are aluminum. It serves no functional purpose when the shaft is on the car other than to hold the grease seal in place so its not like it is torqued or anything. The biggest wrench I have is 1-3/8 and that wasn't big enough.
     
  14. SportWagonGS

    SportWagonGS Moderator

    Thanks, I'll give that a try, I think it gets torqued to 60 foot pounds according to my manual
     
    Lucy Fair likes this.
  15. JZRIV

    JZRIV Platinum Level Contributor

    You are correct the book does say that. Considering the nut is aluminum and when you tighten it you are squeezing a rubber seal, just use good judgement on how tight to make it.

    With the shaft on the car all it does is hold the seal in place. There isn't nearly enough movement in the slip joint to have any chance of coming completely out to where the nut would need to stop it. And even if it did, an aluminum nut probably isn't going to stop it. Almost seems like they made a design change but never updated the book.
     
  16. SportWagonGS

    SportWagonGS Moderator

    sounds logical to me, I got it apart last night, just used a huge adjustable wrench since my support rubber was shot, will have to be more careful putting it back together with the new parts.
     
  17. gashog

    gashog GasHog

    JZRIV how do you get those shafts so clean?
    Are they new?
    I have some vibration I'm troubleshooting and could use some help with that cv joint.
    My 73 uses the same design.
    Do I need to replace all parts of that cv joint or just the u joints contained inside?
    I see the three parts are about $60 each from rock auto.
    Any part numbers you guys could share would be great.
     
  18. Lucy Fair

    Lucy Fair Nailheadlova

    I know this post is old,but i have some news about that alu lock nut wich holds not only the seal.I have ordered new support and new bearing from CARS.Support looked nice and bearing had Made in Japan on it so i was all happy.When it came to fight i notices that new bearing doesnt look like original one.ID and OD is the same but it doesnt have same widht.original is 0,59 of an inch and new is only 0,472.You can think its not much but it is alot here.You cant hold this bearing in support with wire retainers couse there is 3 mm of play....Well i have a lathe so there was no problem,i have just made 2 spacers.
    Well about locknut,here is one to Jason,it is very important to have this one as tight as you can.If you wont secure it very well,i.e. Locktite thread glue,you have 99% chance to destroy your driveshaft.If locknut will get loose,bearing starts to turn over driveshaft.Long story short:
    alway make sure that this nut is thight and secure,driveshaft spins very fast and it took me only 300 miles to almost kill shaft and destroy new support:Smarty:.

    Sorry for that long BUMP.


    Peace Kacper
     

Share This Page