when you switch rear ends do you need to extend the drive shaft from a gbody that had a 7.5 when you swap to an 8.5 rear? also any ruff idea what they might charge to extend or shorten it. im guessing the 7.5 drive shaft might be longer since the rear is smaller but i have no clue. i just ran across an craiglist add for a Grand national drive shaft for $100 and it came off an 8.5 rear end? so should i mod the 7.5 shaft i have in my car or just get the 1 of craigslist and if i do get the GN shaft will it bolt right in. whats the best and most cost effective way to go about this
7.5 to 8.5 rear driveshaft question
- Thread starter youngdeezy
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Yes, you do need to either shorten your drive shaft of get a shorter one. Im pretty sure one from a GN will work. As far as shortening the drive shaft yourself, i dont know much about that. Im sure someone will chime in with some good advice.
thanks and i have NO intent to shorten it myself, i'll take it to the shop for that to get done right and balanced. better yet i'll do it the old way research. im just gonna call a driveshaft shop and ask what the charge for that service. if it less i'll get mines serviced, if its more or same price i'll jump on the GN 1. its craiglist so im sure i can give the guy 75/80 cash and walk away with it
Well, to give you an idea I just had this done at the driveline shop locally.
Now I had all the pieces for a custom driveshaft and just needed them to cut, weld and balance it but yours would me similar.
Weld yoke to driveshaft tube: $40 per end (In your case you'll only need one end)
Balance driveshaft: $38
Labor: $18-20
My total bill came to $125 before tax so I think they gave me a bit of a break on the labor, etc.
Now the driveshaft ended up being 1" too long so when I took it back they cut it, rewelded and balanced it for $30.
So going by those prices above I would think you could get yours modified for less than $100. Depends on if you want to go to the trouble of taking it to a driveline shop or just buying the one off Craigslist and dropping it in place.
Now I had all the pieces for a custom driveshaft and just needed them to cut, weld and balance it but yours would me similar.
Weld yoke to driveshaft tube: $40 per end (In your case you'll only need one end)
Balance driveshaft: $38
Labor: $18-20
My total bill came to $125 before tax so I think they gave me a bit of a break on the labor, etc.
Now the driveshaft ended up being 1" too long so when I took it back they cut it, rewelded and balanced it for $30.
So going by those prices above I would think you could get yours modified for less than $100. Depends on if you want to go to the trouble of taking it to a driveline shop or just buying the one off Craigslist and dropping it in place.
I had to have my driveshaft shortened for my TH400.
They cut and balanced it for $90, and it was ready the next day.
I already had new U-joints in it, but if you don't, now is an excellent time to replace them.
They cut and balanced it for $90, and it was ready the next day.
I already had new U-joints in it, but if you don't, now is an excellent time to replace them.
thanks guys and im so happy i looked online for local shops. i found an old place that did some driveshaft work for me about 6 years ago. good guys and perfect fit. to cut and balance he told me it should be about $125 + tax just like you fe3x. they worked out a deal with me when i was there back in the day (cheaper in person) than over the phone. I'll stick with the driveshaft shop this time around and it cant hurt anything by getting reconnected with some good auto guys
If it were me i would buy the GN drive shaft and be done with it. It will end up costing you less and you don't have to have anything cut and it will be stock driveshaft to stock rear end. I just purchased a GN rear myself and i am going to have to do the same thing you are, and i've had my driveshaft cut and balanced before but it always had a vibration before and after it was cut and balanced so i would go for original shaft. Besides, isn't the driveshaft diameter a little thicker for the GN one than it is for a 7.5 rear??
Blake442 said:
I agree. If it vibrated before and after then its probably not the driveshaft. Could be tires. Could be the pinion angle and trans angle aren't inline with each other.
I don't think so, the driveshaft itself has dents in it like someone put it in a vise when changing the ujoints or something, the guy told me that it was the best that he could do considering. They can only do so much for a bent or dented driveshaft, it's not like they balance them at 100+ mph which the car does see often. So no i don't have an underlying problem it is a shoddy driveshaft which i intend to replace, thanks for your concern though. BTW tires are brand new and balanced.
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