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Has anyone every made one of these to align the front half to back half of the split driveshaft? And if so, out of what material and how did you get it perfect measured and the tool itself aligned? And then did it work? And anything else you can share. Many thanks, Bill
Bill,
i made one a few years ago and still have it, made it with light weight box steel 25mm x 10mm only because i have a ton of it laying around & i have a mig & arc welder, wood will work as well (use pine - glue & screw), it help align the drive shaft ok & i found a visual alignment is need as well for the center bearing mount, but one important thing to check is the center bearing housing, it's a metal right angled (90deg)ring, mine was bent to at least 100 deg maybe more, so visually i couldn't see the problem till i replaced the center rubber mounts & discovered the bent ring, my problem was shaft knocking on the floor pan and slight vibration......problem solved.
Tom - Thanks for the input. As I don't have access to a welder, welding is out of the question. And I don't think wood and glue is the way to go, as straightness is imperative. But... you've given me a couple of ideas using box metal as you did for yours. I will just do it with JBWeld and screws. So... the local hardware store will get a bit more business from me in the near future. Thanks again for the input.
Bill,
I started building this alignment tool today based on your pictures from the Hanes manual. I'll send a picture tomorrow. I'm using wood because it's what I have, a piece of 1" oak dowel with 1/4" baltic birch furniture grade plywood for the uprights. And like you, my go-to adhesive JBWeld, I love that stuff. I'm kind of anxious to see how my current DS aligns with the tool.
As i mentioned you'll still need to do a visual check as in "eye ball" check of the center bearing assembly, it's a bit deceptive in some cars of how close the center rubber mounts are to the floor pan
As i mentioned you'll still need to do a visual check as in "eye ball" check of the center bearing assembly, it's a bit deceptive in some cars of how close the center rubber mounts are to the floor pan
It's late and most of me has gone to bed, but you've mentioned a couple of times to eye ball the center bearing position when using the alignment tool. I'm thinking the tools purpose is to put the two shafts in proper alignment and to do that the center bearing is moved L/R or spaced U/D. What would I be looking for in addition to those movements? I'm also a little fuzzy on ".......how close the center rubber mounts are to the floor pan", my center bearing is caged in metal and there isn't any rubber that can get close to the floor pan. I must be taking something way too literal.
If I waited 'til morning to make this post I could probably figure it out, but I wanted to ask the question now so as not to lay awake all night.
Dave,
i don;t know your setup as in using a hoist or ramps or? checking the vertical alignment is straight forward - shim or no shims, checking the horizontal can be a bit more tedious, the middle bar that goes through the center of the mounting plate isn't so easy to eyeball but patients is a virtue, the picture below shows the 2 rubber side mount of the center bearing, after you have done your horizontal adjustment, line yourself up from the dif looking to front and see how the drive shaft line looks, hence see how close the rubber mounts are to the floor pan in equality, most likely wont be the same which is not unusual, visually (eyeball) how straight it is, you might have a luck day & get it 1st time.
Or if you do not wish to go to all of that trouble of fabrication you can borrow the tool if you are a member of JCNA or a Patron of the Coventry Foundation. We have 2 of these in the East and one in the West. They are precision devices. Best of luck.
Dave,
i don;t know your setup as in using a hoist or ramps or? checking the vertical alignment is straight forward - shim or no shims, checking the horizontal can be a bit more tedious, the middle bar that goes through the center of the mounting plate isn't so easy to eyeball but patients is a virtue, the picture below shows the 2 rubber side mount of the center bearing, after you have done your horizontal adjustment, line yourself up from the dif looking to front and see how the drive shaft line looks, hence see how close the rubber mounts are to the floor pan in equality, most likely wont be the same which is not unusual, visually (eyeball) how straight it is, you might have a luck day & get it 1st time.
I apologize to you xjtom, and all the readers of this thread. I got excited with Bill's initial post and saw a new tool I could make.......forgot to look at his sign-off and realize he wasn't talking about a Series 3 car. I see now with your picture that my center bearing is entirely different than the one being discussed.
Good luck with your alignment tool Bill, I know you'll let us know how it turns out.
And I could have been more clear in stating up front that my car was a Series II. In my defense, I didn't know there was a difference between the SII and the SIII center bearing philosophy. Do now though.
Drive Shaft Alignment Tool
