Neil W. Bellenger wrote:
> <a small vibration started out of the blue when I left Cleveland. I
> could even feel it at low speeds.>
>
>
>
> Glad to hear that you made it back OK, Mike.
>
> That vibration was the double cardin joint in the front drive shaft
> stiffening up and introducing runout in the shaft.
> Less than 1/8 inch of runout at the joint puts enormous stress on the ends
> of the shaft, especially at turnpike speeds. Since the joint is closer to
> the T-case and the joint itself contains a fair amount of mass, it will
> rapidly tear the case apart, fracturing it between the main shaft and the
> front output shaft.
>
> Visually, the joint may look OK but I'll bet that when you get the front
> shaft removed and flex the joint through its range of motion, it will feel
> stiff or "notchy" and the centering ball will be rusty.
>
When I first heard about Mikes mishap the first thing I thought about
was Dakota and his T-case. As we learned there, his drive shaft was
bent. That was the first thing I thought of that may have caused
this... however Mike had put on milage since the BBQ and Daktoberfest
without issue. Sounds logical to assume one - or both of those joints
failed. I assume the are the original factory joints with 100K+ miles on
them.
Do these joints have grease fittings? The double joints forward of
Christine's NP231 didn't seem to have zerks. Rear shaft did however.
Don't know if the joints on the Ram do or not. Prolly not heh.
While Steiger Quick Set Concrete(TM) may not have been directly related
to Mike's mechanical failure... as we all know, once a truck has gone
through The Pit, any and all mechanical, electrical, and structural
failures can be blamed on said Pit.
If we follow that line of deduction, we can assume that the dunk in the
lake is not what rendered Christine inoperative, but instead the satanic
effect of The Pit. *cough*
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terrible Tom -- AIM & Yahoo Name: SilverEightynine***** Countdown to 2004 DML BBQ (209) Days Left! *****
'89 Silver Dakota RC, V6, 4x2 -- '89 Silver Dakota RC, V6, 4x4 '01 Graphite Ram Offroad Sport, RC, 360 V8, Auto, Short Box! 4x4
http://home.earthlink.net/~silvereightynine/ http://www.twistedbits.net/WWWProfile/dakota/LkxxVw49jp7dU/
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