Author Topic: suggestions for drive shaft protection  (Read 6841 times)

Offline noslin

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suggestions for drive shaft protection
« on: October 29, 2017, 08:33:25 PM »
i have seen some trick setups when it comes to protecting the driver from driveshaft.  one car uses a v-band clamp attached to third member, one car used a slide setup one tube into another that attaches to third member, one car had nice bolt together top to bottom...  im just looking for something simple right now.  what is legal material wise?  does it matter how its mounted?  meaning, does it have to be attached to third member or trans?  or can you just make a mount off bottom bars to support the tube?

ty
dean

Offline Paul New

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Re: suggestions for drive shaft protection
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2017, 04:35:27 AM »
What kind of vehicle, u-joints, or is it a coupler?

Offline rooman

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Re: suggestions for drive shaft protection
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2017, 05:11:05 AM »
Dean,
         the minimum requirement for a car with u-joints is .120" steel and for couplers it is .063 aluminum. There must be an inspection cover for access to the coupler clamps. We had an incident at Gateway earlier this year with Mark Vaught's car when it appears that the roller bearing in the back of the trans (shorty 'glide) came apart and the subsequent vibration caused the rear coupler clamp to move forward on the shaft. The end result was that the male coupler came out of the female on the pinion shaft at around 8,000 rpm. The shield was the legal .063" deal in a clamshell, top and bottom half design but the impact tore the material below the bolts that held the two halves together at the rear and the coupler made it out of the shield and exited through the cowl just below the windshield. The front bolts held and apart from some distortion the cover was basically intact. If you are running this style of cover I would suggest backing up the bolts with a pair of band clamps around the assembly at each end. The fact that there was only about 3/8" of material below the bolts is what allowed the impact to open the cover up.
  The car now has a Rob Moore cover package with adapters at each end  for V band clamps holding one piece sleeves that are .120" thick. It is not especially cheap at $600 but it comes ready to install apart from cutting to length to suit the application and it is anodized black. With labor and material costs, plus the clamps and anodizing I could not have duplicated it for the money.

Roo
Yeah, I am from the south--any further south and I would have been a bloody penguin.

Offline Paul New

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Re: suggestions for drive shaft protection
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2017, 05:41:23 AM »
Those a  band clamps in the 4” size are difficult to find also, or at least they are for less than $100 ea.

Offline ricardo1967

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Re: suggestions for drive shaft protection
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2017, 02:27:33 PM »
Those a  band clamps in the 4” size are difficult to find also, or at least they are for less than $100 ea.
Paul,
R.G. Ray clamps (top tier manufacturer) can be found on eBay for much less than that.

Offline noslin

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Re: suggestions for drive shaft protection
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2017, 07:12:44 PM »
it will be for coupler setup. 

interesting on the wall thickness between u-joint and coupler; .125 steel vs .063 alum.  i can see having the .125 steel for u-joint as i imagine one of those would do some real damage.  the 063 alum surprises me as i would not think this would hold anything.

i found 'nitrodriveline' URL but it is dead for Rob Moore.  seen a few things on McKenny's website from him.

so, is there a v-band collar being welded to the third member and to the trans tail cone?  im not running a shorty glide, has tail cone.

ty
dean

Offline rooman

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Re: suggestions for drive shaft protection
« Reply #6 on: October 31, 2017, 05:16:16 AM »
Mark's car has a shorty kit and a Strange Ultra center third member. Robs package comes with a V band flange to bolt to each of those. The one for the third member is a pretty complex piece of machining as the 12 bolts that hold the pinion support are recessed, requiring raised bosses on the adapter. I presume that he also has an adapter for a standard 5 bolt pinion support but I don't know about a regular tail housing 'glide.

Roo
Yeah, I am from the south--any further south and I would have been a bloody penguin.

Offline noslin

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Re: suggestions for drive shaft protection
« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2017, 04:54:09 PM »
Mark's car has a shorty kit and a Strange Ultra center third member. Robs package comes with a V band flange to bolt to each of those. The one for the third member is a pretty complex piece of machining as the 12 bolts that hold the pinion support are recessed, requiring raised bosses on the adapter. I presume that he also has an adapter for a standard 5 bolt pinion support but I don't know about a regular tail housing 'glide.

Roo

sounds like a really nice setup.  my thought is/was to use prob 1/8, 3/16, 1/4 inch alum tubing probably;  whatever i can find with proper OD to slide over PG.  make two piece setup where one slides inside the other.  weld a mount to the tube in front of third member to hold back piece.  maybe make a band to go around tube that attaches to the mount.  or maybe use steel like .125 wall and make something that way.

i have 12 bolt strange ultra center section.  its a nice unit.

do you have contact for Rob Moore's or pictures of setup?  the mount to third member sound real nice. 

ty
dean

Offline hotrodpete

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Re: suggestions for drive shaft protection
« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2017, 06:25:37 PM »
after looking at the cowl Roo is talking about it got me thinking. The light aluminum may keep pant cuffs from getting caught up but that's about all. 
I went with Neil and Parks, they have a cone that has the 5 bolt flange and they weld an aluminum pipe to it. they use a .125 and a .250 dia by I believe 4 inch. the outside of the .250 is then turned down so one slides over the other to be able to tighten the shaft clamps.  The front mount is still undecided but I was told not to mount it to the chassis, the trans is a better choice due to movement. there is not a lot of clearance on the couplers.
It all sounds good but it is in transit so until I have it hands on I am unable to get photos.

Offline GlennLever

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Re: suggestions for drive shaft protection
« Reply #9 on: October 31, 2017, 10:18:31 PM »
This is why you want to do the shield right, this shield was done right and is the way mine is gone. I will be upgrading it over the winter. There is also one lucky guy, just grazed his shin.
Glenn R. Lever
Rochester, New York 14617-2012
My Cars https://www.lever-family-racing.com/

Offline rooman

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Re: suggestions for drive shaft protection
« Reply #10 on: November 01, 2017, 04:40:25 AM »
Dean,
       the link to Rob's web site is bogus (hijacked, I guess) but here are his contact details: 
Moore Performance / NITRO DRIVELINES
3740 GREENWOOD ST
SAN DIEGO, CA 92110

Website: www.nitrodriveline.com
Phone: 619 296 9180
Fax: 619 296 9187


Yeah, I am from the south--any further south and I would have been a bloody penguin.