HowzDat Posted May 14, 2006 Share Posted May 14, 2006 So last night I blew apart one of my half shaft u joint bearings. The shop it was towed to wants to replace all of the u joints which I agree with, Both half shafts which I can also see, but they also want to replace the drive shaft. does that sound right? The owner of the shop is going to give me an estimate on monday. Im not sure what I want to do yet though. Oh and its on a 240z with a chevy 327 (Brett's old z) and it has a R200 3.9 non-lsd rear end from a 280zx. any and all advice would be greatly appriciated thanks, mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tony78_280z Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Give us some history of the drive shaft. Why does the shop say it needs to be replaced? I would fix what is broken. Repack all the u-joints with grease and wait for the next one to go out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowzDat Posted May 15, 2006 Author Share Posted May 15, 2006 Well I got the car about a week ago.The guy at the shop told me he wants to change the drive shaft to prevent future problems. the drive shaft is fine right now though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tony78_280z Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Well I got the car about a week ago. Soo.. you don't know how the motor, tranny, drivshaft, & motor mounts were fabbed and installed? The guy at the shop told me he wants to change the drive shaft to prevent future problems. the drive shaft is fine right now though.What future problems? Is it balanced properly? Sounds like "the shop" is trying to rake in a few extra bucks to me. What I would do... Get the one ujoint replaced (you shouldn't need to replace the whole axle) and then take the drive shaft (they are pretty easy to drop) to a different shop and have it tested for balance. The other Ujoint will start to slop before it goes out completely. So check it for slop periodicaly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowzDat Posted May 15, 2006 Author Share Posted May 15, 2006 ok thanks. yeah I didnt think I needed the driveshaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowzDat Posted May 15, 2006 Author Share Posted May 15, 2006 well the shop called back and said they wanted to do the flange short shafts and halfshafts. they said 750 for parts and 320 for work. I asked about the u joints and if they where going to redo all of them and they said no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 I'd suggest you fix the one U-joint that's bad and check the others for wear. If they're not worn don't replace them. Maybe consider a CV swap if it happens again. The CV's are much stronger and can handle more misalignment. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=109183& Find a different shop too. That place sounds like they don't know what they're doing and they're ripping you off. $750 for U-joints, even if you replaced all 6 (4 on the halfshafts and 2 on the driveshaft) seems about $650 too high. http://www.thezstore.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=SDC01B http://www.thezstore.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=SDC01A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowzDat Posted May 15, 2006 Author Share Posted May 15, 2006 ok thanks I was going to replace all the u joints just to be on the safe side and I got the car a week ago and I would better know where I am. I think I will call them back and get an estimate on switching to cv joints instead and go from there. If not I think I will take it somewhere else and just get the u joints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 I'd be shocked if this shop was able to give you an estimate on swapping to CV joints. This is not R&Ring a water pump or doing a brake job we're talking about here. They can't look it up in a book. You'd be extremely lucky if you found a shop that knew that you could swap CV's into an S30 at all, let alone where to get all the parts, etc. If you want the shop to swap you over to CV's you should buy all the parts necessary and take them to the shop and have them installed, but again, based on the shops previous estimates I'd get my car the hell out of there. They already wanted to overcharge you by $700 or $800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowzDat Posted May 15, 2006 Author Share Posted May 15, 2006 So the shop called back and I asked about the CV joints and they didn’t think it was possible which is what I was expecting. But the guy was also trying to tell me that the u joints aren’t replaceable and he would need to do the whole shaft. Luckily for me Joey had a spare r200 axle and the shop said all I need to do is pay for the work. Apparently they already have the back of my car all torn apart so they weren’t very happy when I started suggesting taking it somewhere else. At least I know where NEVER to take my car when I have a problem. Well thank you guys for all the help and a very special thanks to Joey for helping me out with the axle. thanks, mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tony78_280z Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 They started to do work before you OK'ed it? That is way, not cool. How about posting thier buisiness name and address so the rest of us can steer clear of them? I like to give props to good vendors and rant thos that aren't. Howzdat, I hate to break it to you, but you own a Z now. You either better have very deep pockets, or learn to do things for yourself. Most shops can't or wont work on your car. Those that do, will see you are driving a "custom" or "collectors" car and assume you got deep pockets. And any 'mods' you wanna make, the shop will tell you it can't be done (when we here know you can) and/or will charge you 10 times the amount. Do your own research. No Kidding, start your library. I didn't know sheet about cars before I bought my Z. And pay only for the work that you can't possibly do. If you don't own a press then take the removed axle and new u-joints to a shop that does and only pay them for the work you can't do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Z Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Apparently they already have the back of my car all torn apart so they weren’t very happy when I started suggesting taking it somewhere else. All torn apart? Those halfshafts can be out in 10 min (8 bolts) each side once the car is jacked up, the driveline is only 4 bolts so maybe 5 min. It's not like they have been doing much, pay them for the work they've done and tow it to Joeys if you don't want to deal with their BS. Or, tow it home, take the halfshafts to a driveline repair shop, have them install new ujoints, and put the halfshafts back in yourself. Good luck man, I hate dealing with chumps like the ones who are currently holding your Z hostage. Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowzDat Posted May 16, 2006 Author Share Posted May 16, 2006 I went to Joey's and got the axel went back to the shop and they had it in the car in less than 20 min. It cost me 120$ and a lecture about how since I didn’t do his suggested repair is going to lead to me flipping the car and killing myself next time this happens. After I convinced him it was possible to change the u joints he admitted that he found them too but didn’t think that it was a good idea because of the above reason. Then he went on to tell me that the 300zx rear end and the cv joints aren’t any stronger and that it just depends on how I drive the car, also that it would just be more expensive. After that I got an autobiography about his professional drag racing days and how the only reason he is alive is because he never got parts from a junkyard. O well I am just glad to be out of there. I am defiantly never going back to that shop. Thank you guys for all the help. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2126 Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 Just a thought! If the first shop you went to is as full of bull as you have indicated, please post the name and location of this shop so other members do not have to go through your learning curve. Shop owners who take advantage of one's lack of mechanical knowledge, or what ever the reason is, are just seedy low-lifes....sometimes refered to as BOTTOM FEEDERS!!! So, do your part to help eliminate their kind. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tony78_280z Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 I went to Joey's and got the axel went back to the shop and they had it in the car in less than 20 min. It cost me 120$ and a lecture about how since I didn’t do his suggested repair is going to lead to me flipping the car and killing myself next time this happens. After I convinced him it was possible to change the u joints he admitted that he found them too but didn’t think that it was a good idea because of the above reason. Then he went on to tell me that the 300zx rear end and the cv joints aren’t any stronger and that it just depends on how I drive the car' date=' also that it would just be more expensive. After that I got an autobiography about his professional drag racing days and how the only reason he is alive is because he never got parts from a junkyard. O well I am just glad to be out of there. I am defiantly never going back to that shop. Thank you guys for all the help.[/font'] Mike Anyone ever flip over a car from a U-joint going out? I wouldn't drag race (much) on junk yard part either. But you didn't get the u-joint from a junk yard did you? Good for you, lesson learned! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleMX Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Well Mythbusters did an episode on that with a big brown dodge. They tried to make the front u-joint fail then catch in a pot hole to flip the car. It didn't work, all it did was knock a hole in the trunk! Myth busted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowzDat Posted May 19, 2006 Author Share Posted May 19, 2006 Yeah I am just glad I am out of that place. Thanks everyone for all your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted May 29, 2006 Share Posted May 29, 2006 Ok, today i checked under the car as i heard the dreadful clicking noise, sure enough... driver halfshaft has play. This is my second set of half shafts and i'm only N/A now running MS. I know guys running 15psi and not tearing up these. I never drop my clutch, and i don't pop it when i shift. As that's what destroyed my first set. I'm looking for a way to either beef them up or fix them so they don't grenade on me yet again. I was told my suspension is too soft in the rear by a guy at a machine shop. It has MSA performance springs on it... so i'm kinda weary toward that but maybe it has merit. Either way... any "Ghetto" ideas are welcome as i'm a broke college student and can't afford Ross's crazy priced bling parts to go CV. (Even though that would be the permenant solution). -Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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