Drive shaft question

[Whitephrog]

I have a relatively small dent in an otherwise very good drive shaft. The dent is about two inches oen from the yoke. I've been told that a dent will cause the shaft to be out of balance. What's the opinion of this learned group. Okay to use? Toss it? Repair it? If the latter ...how's that done?

 

[Rut]

Ray,
i would put it on some rollers and see if its still straight. If it is I wouldn't think it would affect the balance, but that's a WAG.
Rut

 

[Keith_M]

I would suggest that you find a local shop that does drive shaft balancing. They will be able tell you for sure. I think you'll want to get it balanced no matter what.

 

[LarryK]

Check for straightness and balance, should be good to go after!

 

[Gerard]

I would suggest that you find a local shop that does drive shaft balancing. They will be able tell you for sure. I think you'll want to get it balanced no matter what.

X2 This usually isn't terribly expensive to do either.

 

[Pythias]

Balance shaft work is surprisingly inexpensive. I once had two put together into one (the holes were wallowed out on one, the other bent,) balanced and U joints installed for about $80. .... Take it to a shop and let them do their magic.

 

[Whitephrog]

All good advice. I intended to take it to a shaft shop to have the U joints installed any way.

 

[bthompson]

If you're a skinflint penny pinching cheapskate like me, then put it on, drive it, and see if you can notice the vibration. Chances are it'll be fine.

If it's really out of balance, you might try what I used to do with my Alfa GTV6: put a screw-type hose clamp around the driveshaft opposite the dent and test drive it. If the vibration's worse, move the clamp 90° around. If that makes it better, move it 45° more and test it again, etc. Keep splitting the difference until you get the smoothest rotation. If there's still a slight vibration, add a second clamp and repeat. If you're patient and have more spare time than money, you can get the balance surprisingly close.

 

[bug_sixty]

flea bay one...done and moving on