Snowtoy:

Did you leave the carrier bearing hanger or did you remove it?

I ran a one-piece d-shaft for about three years. All of them were balanced but the angles were not right and most of them ended up being bent and I still ran them. In those three years I never had a problem with them other then vibration when they were bent.

The driveline shop left the upper mount in place, and I haven't bothered with it since. At the time of the conversion I wasn't sure how the longer lower hanging d-line would work on the trail, so I wanted to have the option of going back to a 2pc if I found the need.

IIRC there isn't that much room between the skid plate and the tank, and even a small indentation can reduce the capacity of the tank. This may not be a problem for you, but if as long as you are willing to replace the tank with a used one, the machine shop shouldn't be unwilling to pay for one, especially if you are willing to cut them a break by doing teh work yourself. Along with the letter, I would send them copies of 3 estimates of what it would cost to have a shop do all of the work, including a replacement d-line. This may also help to sway them to pay up for the what you are asking, after all you don't have to do the work yourself.

If they haven't returned the check to you yet, make sure to put a stop payment on it, you never know they may deposit it after recieving the letter just for spite. Also make sure to send the letter registered, if you have to take them to small claims court you want to have documentation of everything from the initial work order through trying to resolve the matter w/o the court.

For a little more info on my 1pc d-line, I re-measured it today, and it is 67" long w/a 3.5" diameter, so the machine shop is wrong when they told you a 60" d-line is the max you could go.

Snowtoy: thanks again

I measured my flang-to-flange and it's just barely over 64".
That's odd that yours is so much longer.

I'm kinda nervous about leaving the 2 piece hanger in there but I may want to go back to a 2-piece driveshaft someday too so I figured I'd like to leave it if possible.

SBDriveline called me last night, my driveshaft is on it's way <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Odd, or just genetics?

Lol. Sorry. Coulnd't leave that one hanging.

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" />

My truck had a 3" suspension lift on it when the d-line was made, not sure if that accounts for the extra 3" or not.

The upper bracket wont be in the way of the new d-line, it would be nearly impossible to get the drive shaft to hit the upper bracket. You would have to violently compress the rear suspension from jumping it before the d-line would hit the bracket.

well i've been running the SBDriveline dshaft for about 3,000 miles now and it's happy as a clam. it vibrates pretty good at 80+mph and you can "feel it" from 65-80ish.
it's not enough to make me hate it and im sure i can cure the vibration with shimming my axle and such.

anyways the real reason for my posting is that my lawyer friend finally got a letter back.

...not from the machine shop.. but from an attorney they've hired.
Well this'll be fun.

I haven't seen the letter but my attorney is going to bring the letter to me tomorrow and we'll go over it.
I guess basically what the letter said is they told me it would malfunction and i said i want it anyways

which is BS.

i'll come back with updates when i get the letter <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

boy what a pita

That arguement is so weak I can't believe an attorney would have made it. When they took on the job to make you a drive shaft, they took the responsibility for it failing either by their improper design or craftsmanship. They can't claim they are not responsible for your damages, they were the experst here, not you. If they felt and stated that it would fail, than they should have not attempted to make you one, they don't have to do as the customer wants. All they had to do is tell you sorry it can't be done and send you on your way. Their letter is an attempt to scare you into not wanting to spend more money on an Attorney than you have in damages.

I would bet the shop owner has a friend or a relative who is doing the work for free, since it would have already charged them more in attorney fees for the office visit and the letter than your total damages.

i'll ask that you guys try to keep this information at least a little bit secretive as my lawyer and I would like to hold our edge over them. I just like to get the opinions of my experienced 4wheeling peers <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I totally 100% agree and this is my standing.
I will boast that (with y'all @ 4x4wire.com, Roger Brown, and Steve Johnson/SB Driveline's help) I basically AM an expert on the whole thing now but only because I have to be.
So I am POSITIVE that it's possible and I really don't see what other reason they would have to dispute it besides they don't want to pay up.

I can't imagine they'd find it cost effective to hire an attorney so I'm assuming you're right that they've got the whole lawyer friend angle covered too.

Anyway... this basically just sucks. Maybe someday I'll get reimbursed <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Thank you all for all of your help
I'll be back with more updates as they unfold. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/drunk.gif" alt="" />


<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> Friends <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />