I found a past body shop that I've used that's capable of handling everything, so it's going there tomorrow!

 

You're classic bro

 

hope the damage aint too severe, and the other shop makes right with you.

 

I would talk to a lawyer before I spoke or did anything with the car. You may have a few problems. It depends on the laws of the state you live in. I would say it's a safe bet your insurance would deny the claim because of the mods. The shop that did the install could try to blame the manufacturer of the drive shaft for a defect. The manufacturer could try to say the shop was at fault for altering their design. Good Luck, I hope you get this worked out.

 

Note to self: stick with the stock drive shaft. Is an aluminum one even worth the money?

 

you bought a driveshaft made by a wrench monkey and and not by a known company with eningeers who know what they are doing. The shop is responsible for almost murdering you and your daughter. Thanks God that you weren't as dumb as the shop the made or sold the part, and you pulled over.

 

No ofeense but this kind of "is it really worth the extra.." thinking is why you are in this mess in the first place. Had you gotten a name brand trustworthy driveshaft and mechanic to install it and not hack this one to sh*t you wouldnt be in this mess. You are very lucky you guys were not hurt. If it were me Id go the extra. My life and my sons life is worth it. But thats me. Maybe yours isnt???! Do it right and only do it once

 

LOL

I wasn't trying to be funny about this, he's in a jam and if he wants to replace it, I'll hook him up because he had this problem. The car has to be safe. Maybe if he buys the driveshaft, I'll give him the safety loop for free.

I feel bad the shop he got it from really screwed him on the installation.

CR
Tillman Speed

 

[quote=Adam2004;848835]Note to self: stick with the stock drive shaft. quote]

"Note to self..."

 

Sure the aluminum one is worth the money. You just have to go with a trustworthy brand, and spend the extra 32.99 for a universal driveshaft safety loop.

If you purchase the right one, there is no hassle other than checking the pinion angle. That's it.

If someone ever tells you "they can make one for you" or "do one up for you", just read this thread over in your mind. Sometimes.. the brand name is worth the extra dough!

CR
Tillman Speed

 

Okay everyone, I'm heading out to bring the car home. It'll be 4-5 hours before I can get back here but some pics will be up today...

 

Going to the dealer is a waste of time...and an added expense.
Go to the guys that fix wrecks....the best body shop you know of.
The dealer doesn't deal in wrecked cars, so all your paying them for is their opinion.
Once you have the estimate to repair the car....go to your lawyer and have him call the shop that installed the driveshaft....that'll get them to sit up straight and they'll know your not messing aroumd.

Good luck and thank the Lord you and your daughter are OK....

hags1

 

Ask the shop what they set the Pinion angle too.
I'll bet they never set it and unless you have aadjustable upper or lower control arms they didn't even think of it. When you go from a stock 2 piece shaft to a one piece shaft the angle to the pinion changes and causes vibration. This is even more critical when you lower the car.

 

Finally pics, the car has not been put up on a lift yet so these are just ones I was able to take with the car on the trailer...

As you can see it cracked the transmission wide open, the d/s appears to have broke at the yoke (I think its called - where the larger part of the d/s meets the smaller diameter portion that attaches to the transmission).

The tunnel was beat up enough that it bent both rails that the seats slide on so both seats have difficulty moving. We'll see tomorrow what a general estimate looks like.

 

That is brutal man! Thank God you are alright, that could have done some major damage to more than just your car!! My dad always tells me the story of his 63 Galaxie w/429. He was drag racing it about 35 years ago and as he crossed the finish line @ over 100mph, the driveshaft let go. It ripped through the floor boards, tore THROUGH the roof, and went flying off into the woods bent like a boomerang. He said it flew about 100 yards into the woods, over the timing shack at the finish line. The guy in the shack said as it flew over his head it sounded like a Huey helicopter. Dad said it missed his right leg by about 6 inches. It was a stock driveshaft on a mostly stock car. CRAZY!!

 

I thought I had heard that an aluminum d/s would get smashed before going through a floorboard, but you never know....

 

Yeah, you just never know. I mean, at high enough speeds, a piece of straw can get lodged a couple of inches into a tree trunk (as in a tornado). The lightweight aluminum shaft though probably wouldn't do as much damage as a HUGE steel one from a 63 Galaxie (4500lb car w/425 factory hp) It was probably 3 feet longer than the Mustang one too!!

 

Wow! That's the first aluminum driveshaft that I've seen break. You're definitely going to need a new transmission with that big crack on the side of the housing. I think the fact that it broke in the middle actually caused less damge than if it would broken at one end. If it was installed incorectly, which seems to be the case if it was vibrating and had been balanced beforehand, then the shop should pay for the repairs. Is your car lowered at all?
Best of luck!

Rich

 

No, it's stock height...

 

I hope all works out right.....meaning that your damages are covered.