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1957 fleetwood prop (drive shaft) query

Started by bazilman, January 12, 2017, 05:46:43 PM

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bazilman

I have a vibration coming from my drive or prop shaft as we call them here in the UK so an overhaul is in order. I ordered the 3 new UJ's, the 6 bushes and a new centre support bearing from caddy daddy. The shaft is currently in the workshop being balanced. My query is this - when you cast your eye down the length of the shaft, should all 3 UJ's be in exact line with each other ? The front and the middle UJ's are in exact line, but the rear UJ is not in line with the other 2 and is "out of true" by about 30 degrees. Is this normal ? I hope that makes sense ? Many thanks in advance for your help guys.
Craig Dunn

The Tassie Devil(le)

Boy, 30 degrees out is not good.

The Crosses of the Universal Joints are supposed to be in line.

Could it be that the front and rear haft weren't lined up on the spline when the joints were previously replaced?   Is it possible for there to be this much misalignment when putting the shafts back together?

Bruce. >:D

'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

TJ Hopland

When there is two I believe they are 180 apart but I am not sure what having 3 does to the mix.    Are 2 of them at one end pretty much on top of each other and the 3rd is at the other end?   

If one is say a the tail of the transmission and that section of shaft is more or less straight to a carrier bearing then after that you have another shaft with a joint at each end and that is the one that is at an angle those two should be 180 offset and the one at the back of the trans does not matter because in theory most of the time its going to be straight.   If there was a angle involved you would need a pair of joints to stay smooth. 
StPaul/Mpls, MN USA

73 Eldo convert w/FiTech EFI
80 Eldo Diesel
90 CDV
And other assorted stuff I keep buying for some reason

m-mman


It is called driveshaft TIMING or PHASING. (Google search term) and may have been the root cause of your vibration all along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O27wUPdUkdM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idk3BVDVHq4
1929 341B Town Sedan
1971 Miller-Meteor Lifeliner ambulance
Other non-Cadillac cars
Near Los Angeles, California

CLC #29634

The Tassie Devil(le)

The second youtube video is the best explanation I have seen.

Thanks for finding and posting it.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

Roger Zimmermann

It seems that this question is coming from time to time. When I replaced front the universal joint and center support from my '57 Brougham, (the drive shaft is of similar construction) I did the same observation: the rear u-joint in not in line with the others two. It seems that this is the way those drive shafts were manufactured.
I had vibrations too; however, by playing with the transmission mount and lowering the rear suspension (the car is still on air) there is a huge improvement.
You probably noted too that the rear part of the drive shaft is made with a larger tube; the connection with the smaller tube is done with rubber. This complex construction should prevent vibrations if all other factors are in line.
1956 Sedan de Ville (sold)
1956 Eldorado Biarritz
1957 Eldorado Brougham (sold)
1972 Coupe de Ville
2011 DTS
CLCMRC benefactor #101

bazilman

Many thanks for your quick responses chaps. Your help is very much appreciated.  ;D
Craig Dunn

The Tassie Devil(le)

Actually, my '60 CDV had a 7 Degree misalignment of the rear universal, and I fought that vibration for many years, and shimming the centre bearing stopped it.   But, also my top ball joint at the centre of the diff was totally worn out.

Seems like Cadillac did that for a reason.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

Janousek

Does the 57' have a rubber cushioned driveshaft?

I restored a 59' that had a rubber cushioned shaft that had deteriorated allowing the two halfs to twist in the rubber causing it to go out of phase.    It had a vibration from 45-55.  I had a new one made without the rubber cushion and it cured the problem.