My05

Aftermarket Aluminum Driveshaft failure at 70mph…

Okay everyone, I need some serious help quickly….. Sorry for the lengthy write-up but it was ugly….. (the important stuff is at the beginning)

Last night while driving around 70mph on the freeway, a strong vibration began to increase and before I could process it the d/s broke , hit the ground and went crunch. It was a crazy sound as it got destroyed. The car shook the center console, it popped it loose, and caused the top half of the plastic cover of the e-brake lever to snap off.

As I began to pull over the sound continued, smoke was coming from under the car, and when I pulled to a stop smoke continued to come from under the car. Then shortly after stopping the engine shuddered and shut off on its own.

Basically the transmission fluid was leaking out. The front half of the d/s looked like it was still attached, the center was destroyed, and the rear of the d/s was hanging down, but still attached also.

And, my passenger side seat will no long slide backwards when the lever in front is pulled up (I’m going to confirm this later today when I get back to the car).

So here are my concerns:
* I need to know if my transmission or engine have been damaged (any guesstimates as to what could possibly get damaged?).
* I need to determine what kind of shop to bring the car to. I want a thorough review of the carnage, including any possible issues with the frame since something must have flexed causing the passenger seat to no longer move.
* If the shop sold this product, are the liable for the damage that has occurred? This d/s blew apart at 70mph on the freeway with my 5yr old daughter in the car with me. I like the guys at the shop, and they did a great job with the gear install, but this particular product failed, within a month of the install.
* I don’t want to take it to a Ford dealership, although they would probably give the most thorough inspection, while ensuring that my warranty is now voided. Should I take it to a performance shop, but could they diagnose whether there are transmission problems? Engine problems? Should I take it to a general repair shop, a transmission shop?

Next, is it possible that my transmission is damaged? How about my engine since it died once I pulled over (or could the computer have shut it off?)?

And the fluff:

The beginning…
I had the aluminum driveshaft installed by Jaws Gear in Sacramento, CA within the last month. The first time around when I started up the car and pulled it out of the garage it rattled the whole car, especially the windshield. I figured it was going to settle in since this is the way they handed me the car (apparently they hadn’t had any other problems on their installs and hadn’t tested the car). After driving it for a day or two I brought it back in to get looked at.

They rotated the d/s 180 degrees and gave it back to me. There was still too much vibration at 70mph+ so I took it back again. This time the shop that makes the driveshaft tested to make sure it was balanced, shaved a little off somewhere, but said it was balanced. When the shop went to reinstall it they noticed that the adapter they used didn’t sit right, they tried to shave off the part that caused it to sit wrong but were unable to. So they went in and installed u-joints. Now it ran smoother.

Then it happened…

KdF

My non-knowledgeable opinion (i was not there/have not seen damage) is that the engine should be fine , Tranny is toast along with undercarrage. Thats why the seat wont move. Figure on at least a new floorpan , rear-end , tranny , exaust , console and any other parts I can`t think of. Bet the shaving of the aluminum D/S weakened it beyond structurely sound. I allways saw weights added for balancing , the shaving part perked me up whan I read it.

Good luck my friend!!!

My05

Lol, un-*%#$'in believable... I'm afraid of the damage... I figured as much though. Now is it possible that the shop that sold this should be held responsible??? This is a lot of potential damage within a month of their install of their product. They did add a weight to it as well but he did say that they shaved a little... thanks for such a quick response.

tom281

I would first take it back to the shop that installed it, and then likely I would take it to a dealer or other reputable shop to get an estimate. I say this because too many times you'll read about shops that fix their screw-ups just enough to get the car running again, then they stop. Having additional input from an impartial shop may be helpful.

As far as damage, honestly who knows- good luck either way man.

dustindu4

that sucks

what brand of driveshaft was it?

Glenn

man your very lucky. I have seen some very nasty flip overs from broken d/s. I would also take it to the shop that did the install. Do you have a lawyer? In case they try to give you aby grief. You trans very well just need more fluid and be fine. Check the rear seal.

dustindu4

Assuming the driveshaft was actually balanced, it sounds like the shaft wasn't installed properly on the car, putting it out of balance. The vibrations tore the shaft apart. the fact that they "turned it 180 degrees" seems hokey to me.

Webba

Yea and like was said before the "shaving" doesnt seem right. How the F do you balance something properly by shaving a sliver here and there. Sounds like this shop shouldnt be doing anymore of these installs. I would consult a private party...other garage you trust...before I would even let me monkeys who installed the driveshaft see it. That way nothing disappears or changes. You are seriously lucky nothing happened to you or your daughter.

creedog

I would like to know as well.

classj

They did this to your car and you want to go back to them?????????????? I would stay away.

I have one word for you. Ford dealer. Flatbed the car to a good dealer. Tell them that you will pay for their labor to diagnose the damage and give you an estimate to repair.

Call up the shop that did the work, tell them that the car is at ford, and this is what happened. Offer to meet them at the ford dealer to look at the damage. Get the repair estimate from ford, and ask the shop what they want to do.

I would definatly bring in a third party here. Your idea of fixing the car, and the shop that butchered your cars idea of it might be two different things.

Cheese302

From the post seemed that it was a custom job done by a draveshaft shop.

GL with getting everything fixed up.

My05

Thanks for the feedback everyone… Here are some answers and my thoughts going forward:

My car is a manual. And there was no driveshaft loop.

The install was done by Jaws Gear and Axle in Sacramento and they offered to do the aluminum driveshaft when I had my rear end gears installed. They have a shop that they go through so they provided the source of the part, the part itself, and the install. According to Jaws Gear they had a shop that made the driveshaft and they were the ones who shaved something somewhere. So it doesn’t appear that there is a brand name associated with this particular one fortunately for everyone out there.

I liked one idea I saw posted of taking it to a Ford Dealership and meeting the shop rep there to get a third party evaluation. I have to get my daughter to daycare so I’ll be back again shortly.

Thanks…

sodaman

Well the seat probably doesnt move any more, because the drive shaft when broke, slammed all over the place, denting your undercarriage would be my guess. Probably made some dents bend around that sheet metal area causing warpage etc. The leaking transmission fluid is probably from the seal damage done by a unbalanced driveshaft, was probably in there wobbling around, and wore the seal, now you have a leak. Engine well it probably shut down due to some wack readings etc, also may have busted the fuel lines etc when drive shaft swinging around at 70mph. That driveshaft may have hit some wires, etc. Well if you ever want your mustang to be the same I would highly recommend a dealer look at it. Going with anyone else your undercarriage and everything else may never be right again. OH yah sorry by the way, that sucks.

p.s. anyone doing a perfomance drive shaft I would highly recommend getting the ds safety loops, this may have prevented the destruction that just happened here.

Lowe!

Does anyone make a DS safety loop that bolts to the stock carrier bearing holes/location??

neil07gt

Ouch! I would take to a dealer and let them survey the damage. Then I would be prepared to pay to get it back to stock. If you do take it back to the original shop be prepared to fight it out. Sounds exactly like the shaft was not installed properly because it probably didn't fit right to begin with.

Note to self: cross the aluminum driveshaft off my list

Cowtown

I'm sad to hear about the problem. You are certainly lucky you didn't catapult the car, I've read about that a few times in my many years on Mustang forums.

"back in the day" a driveshaft safety loop was considered de rigeur for any aftermarket drive shaft installation, I am a bit concerned seeing a lot more people skipping them with the new cars.

G.T

Reminds me of an episode of MythBusters where they sorta busted this one

TillmanSpeed

I hate to hear that! Sorry about your luck! I would definetly reccomend a DS safety loop, but I don't think it would have done much in your situation.

If you're in the market, I sell the Coast Aluminum Driveshafts for $589.99 which are garunteed, use dana spicer joints, and balanced to within 1/8 of a gram. They are made of T6061 aluminum, and if the pinion angle is set right, you'll have NO PROBLEMS.

I'm really sorry, maybe we can work something out to save you some bucks!

CR
Tillman Speed

ford4v429

I dunno, but might suggest even talking to your insurance agent- comprehensive might(might) cover damage from mechanical failures, perhaps then they could do the legwork on getting whoevers liable to pay them back...dunno, but wouldnt hurt to call and ask- wouldnt even necessarily have to give them specifics, just ask if their comp policies cover this type damage.
something else- your comprehensive USUALLY has 'diminished value' claim stuff written in- if a new car has panels replaced/painted, its not new anymore...many policies can pay you the diminished value, then they tack that into their suit against whoevers liable...wether part failures are similar to collision, who know, but still I'd check, as this could be a hefty chunk of change to repair.

the dealer inspection/estimate might be good OR bad...if its logged into the system as modified, any vibration related failures will probably be kicked as not covered from that point on...Personally, I'd go to a reputable collision shop before risking any warranty issues. this is going to be a beat and paint job underneath at a minimum, probably a cut/replace...collision shops do this stuff everyday.

good luck- sad to hear of such stuff, but glad it was 'just metal'...

My05

I'm scheduled to bring it in to a Ford Dealership tomorrow. Can anyone else post their thoughts? My car already has the 4.10 gears installed and a Bamachips tune. Wouldn't I be better off getting Ford to do a thorough inspection since ideally it should be covered by the responsible shop? Otherwise I wonder whether I would need to take it to a body shop as well as a mechanic shop. Is this extra work worth the piece of mind of having Ford analyze the damage?