Marc, I have a '66 Wildcat 2dr. hdtp. that still has the shaft in it. The car has 76K on the clock. Let me know. Tom T.
Thanks for the offer Tom, be rest assured you were going to be the first one I'd call. Hopefully I won't need it; I'll see what these guys have in mind. But if it turns out that they're all wet, I'll call you. They are the best driveline outfit in Alberta, so I don't know; - I'm torn with the idea of keeping it stock or making it driveable, and right now driveable is winning. They've guaranteed I'd end up with a vibration free and reliable set up that is going to withstand the torque. They build shafts from scratch, so maybe they're on to something. It's just why do I have this feeling it's not going to be as easy as that? That's what I don't like.
The 2K is for the complete axle and driveshaft overhaul. How much for the shaft with shipping to Edmonton, T8H 0J9?
I'd have to pull it out, split it apart & bring to someplace for a quote. Can't do that right now unless you feel you need it. I KNOW it's a good shaft as I drove the car for almost a yr. before I started parting it out. $250.00 for the shaft plus shipping costs.
No sweat Tom, I'll let you know if and when I need it. The price is more than reasonable and I appreciate the kind offer and that you'd do that for me.
I just got the car back; so far it feels like a new car! Had it up to 80 in a passing maneuver and it performed like an Electra should, nice and smooth. I hear road noise from everyone else and just my exhaust, not axle or driveline whine. There's also a year or 25,000 KM warranty on what they did, so we'll see... I don't think I'll be needing that driveshaft Tom, I'll know better after the big trip to the coast in a couple of weeks. Wow...It was quite something to drive, that car just glides...the only issue they found that they couldn't fix was that the rear wheels are out of balance, so that's next. So I'm falling in love with this car again...I hate when that happens! ...Not!
So what was the final diagnosis? Tires, drive shaft, u-joints? I'm no sure I see it spelled out for future reference.
How about all of the above. The bearings in the axle were gone, that created a howl. The major source of vibration was the front CV joint on the driveshaft was destroyed. So a modern one was fitted in. The ball part of the ball and socket had more or less disintegrated. Parts for the new CV joint are current and "off the shelf". The crossmember was rattling and vibrating like crazy. All of these various moments had cracked and taken out the transmission mount. The secondary source of vibration is the two rear wheels, it appears that they need to be balanced or straightened out. There's a definite wobble at higher speeds going on there. What was still good; the gears and the clutch packs, they spec'd out ok and were vibration free and not worn out. But all the bearings were shot and the one on the driver's side had started to come apart. So new seals and bearings. The car only has 112,000 miles on it. I don't know what happened because I've never seen a Buick rear suspension as destroyed as this one was. My Wildcat has 140,000 miles on it and there's nothing wrong with it. The guy I bought the car off of told me that he did some pretty nasty things with the car, usually involving copious amounts of booze and pharmaceuticals. Considering I've started at the rad cap and rebuilt everything going back, I'd have to conclude he drove the car like it was stolen and destroyed it.
Do you guys know what factory torque specs are for the driveshaft bolts on a gm 10bolt 8.5? Putting mine back together today as well
Larry- yep- the strap bolts to hold the driveshaft on the yolk. I am replacing gears so I had it off.