Aluminum drive shafts?

roachie

roachie

Taco Master
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Nov 2, 2007
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Anyone ran one in a mild street truck? My 99 5.4 has one and I'm debating on replacing it with a steel one when I do the swap.
 
Not a truck but I replaced the steel one in my camaro with an aluminum. More less for balancing issues but its held up to what I've thrown at it... The newer GM trucks come with an aluminum.....
 
The new trucks come with one. Depending on the length you do not want to swap to steel. I put a steel one in mine and now I am limited to 70 MPH so I am going to swap it again.
 
Dont get me wrong aluminums great in terms of them being lighter and etc., but i have seen duramaxes twist them up like a soda can and they were bone stock... If there is one that is a bit more solid that someone makes id be all for it.
 
I have one in my garage you can have for free... I found it on the side of the road and figured I could get a few scrap dollars for it. Then I picked it up and a bag of soda cans weighs more, lol.
 
I use AL shafts in everything, even my trucks, sold the last one with a 88" AL shaft 5" truck was around 400hp 800ft lbs.
The latest is at probably 850 ft lbs, also AL, i believe she's 89" at 5"
Drag it, tow...everything but sled pull, but she'll leave every light floored with 10k being dragged behind.

Not to mention the countless thousands of trucks i've converted from 2pc to 1 pc AL shafts since 1990.
No failures, and that includes a truck that was originally converted from a 2pc to a 1pc in 4' Al and wasn't making 550hp then... now it is and still hasn't hurt that 4" AL shaft.

The above doesn't mean you can just up the hp on your truck and not upgrade the shaft. The shafts are designed for the use and power those trucks are making.
 
JFlagg said:
I have one in my garage you can have for free... I found it on the side of the road and figured I could get a few scrap dollars for it. Then I picked it up and a bag of soda cans weighs more, lol.
Click to expand...

Yeah and the 12 lb AL shaft accelerates faster and gains mpg.

I wouldn't put any shaft in anything found on the side of the road....

Would you eat a burger you found on the side of the road, it looks fine.....

.
 
97 D-Tec said:
Dont get me wrong aluminums great in terms of them being lighter and etc., but i have seen duramaxes twist them up like a soda can and they were bone stock... If there is one that is a bit more solid that someone makes id be all for it.
Click to expand...

The wall thickness on the stock shafts aren't that thick, but the companies making them in the aftermarket are a bit beefier.
 
I have one in my mild street truck and have yet to have a problem. I have 200+ passes on slicks with it. Not launching over 10lbs though. On the street it takes some nasty abuse. I would be more afraid of a heavy truck with one.
 
We had one in the prostreet truck I now own a few years back when the previous owner had it needless to say its not alluminum anymore. I priced one when I was having driveshaft made for the swb dually I built that School Bus now owns with me not proving anything it was going to run around $900 but they wouldnt guarantee it lasting so I went with steel in it as well.
 
The AL shafts can handle tons of power, the factory is worried about mpg and makes then as light as possible to deal with what the truck has being driven normally. . .

So when you're after mpg you want the lighter wall tube, lighter weld yokes. . .

The slightly heavier wall and yokes that could support over 7500 ft lbs aren't much heavier, maybe 1.5 lbs, but expense and the factory has no intention of the trucks being raced
 
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