Was playing around today and the drive shaft in my Z decided it would like to get out and see the world. I think it forced out a U joint bearing cap. When I reinstalled the drive shaft after the rear change I wasn't sure the cap retainer clip was all the way in and I was right. I gotta get under the car but initial inspection says the Borla front pipe suffered a large dent and the drive shaft is of course trashed.

Hope I can get a replacement pipe from Borla.

Re'

 

Just need a piece of exhaust pipe and a new driveshaft?? You're damn lucky if that's the worst of the damage!!

 

Just jacked the car up.

:Borla pipe forward of axle totally crushed.
ent in floor near seat belt mount in tunnel. (small)
:Stock torque arm bent.
:Ujoint bold bent and nearly broken off. (seems it backed out) CRAP!

 

so your saying that you dropped a shaft at 135? Ok.. I had a blowout at 150 once.

 

Nicely done, I was racing a 3rd Gen once and he threw the DS half way through the race. I felt kinda bad, but he started it

-Dustin-

 

OK?

 

Pics of the damage.

 

With things blowing it up at 135MPH you are probobly luck to tell the tale.

 

Might be a good time to throw in a driveshaft safety loop this time around.

 

No too worried as the rear of the shaft is what fell. There was no real possibly of serious injury to driver or passenger, but it was diffinately a hairraising experience and consittering the drive ahaft was spinning 6500+RPM there could have easily been more damage.

Already shopping for one. As was brought up by the above remark, it would have been ugly ig the front of the shaft had dropped.

 

The bearing housing retainer clips must be firmly seated in there groove or this will happen a good percentage of the time, especially at speeds in the 135 range.
I've had that same thing happen to me. Nowdays, "usually ", I always seat the retainer clip in that cap after first compressing the joint bearing assembly toward the direction so that the female clip groove will allow full seating of the clip without the housing-to-cap clearance causing a lack of it being able to fully seat, whether internal or external type.
But even after several years of experience with this issue, it happened to me agian with the u-joint I installed in my front end of the 4x4 truck recently.
It happens, but is preventable provided the retainer clip and seating groove for it are not damaged.
Glad you survived that 135 deal without more damage!!!

 

That sucks don't it? This past fall my buddy and I were in his 383 stroked El Camino and he dropped a gear and hammered it. As soon as it hit hi gear the driveshaft snapped in two. It put a hole in the floor under my a$$, completely broke the tailshaft and the whole bell housing, and even bent the converter snout.

 

I guess this is why you don't test if the clip was seated or not with a 135 MPH test run...

Glad you made it out with out too much damage, but hey, this give you the excuse/opurtunity to upgrade. Wait a second, I should try this!

 

What the hell did that feel like when it let lose is what i want to know?!

 

I did the same thing last year on the dyno at 6100 rpm. Broke aluminum DS right in half, broke rear yoke, split tail shaft, bent new Spohn trans mounted TA, and damaged same section of Borla pipe, as well as beat up the rear of trans tunnel and broke the e-brake cable mounts Front was looped but the rear half of the DS flew all over the place and then went across Heffner's (yeah the Viper shop) floor just missing a few Vipers!

Now I have a Spohn tunnel brace mounted TA and TWO loops...I had a muffler shop weld in a piece of aluminized pipe for $50, but you can get that section of stainless from Borla, but I'm sure its $$$...We are welding in a cut out in that section of pipe anyway...

--Alan