Before Propshafts people used diamonds.
The Internet is a wealth of information; sadly not all of this information is true.
It’s pretty much a default setting now to “Google It”
I will admit I “Google it” several times a day to find answers to random questions which is great to settle arguments quickly, but it’s not that great for that all important information.
Before Google came along most people would bring the problem up down the local pub and someone would ALWAYS have the answer. Every now and then you would drop on someone who would actually know what they were talking about but more often than not you would get Barry the Bulls***ter.
I have read hundreds of forums and watched dozens of videos regarding Propshafts and universal joints and I would like to share the most popular misconceptions.
1) As long as it’s straight it doesn’t need balancing.
Majority of Propshafts are made up of a minimum of 5 components.
Getting a propshaft straight is relatively easy with a few measuring implements but this doesn’t mean it is in balance. Propshaft components are forged and then machined. Forgings create imbalance due to rotational weight differences.
Propshafts need to be balanced.
2) You can balance a propshaft with a jubilee clip.
No you can’t.
Without going into the maths, on a standard kit car propshaft there can be anything from 250,000 combinations of balance points to put your jubilee clips assuming you know how much weight you need to add.
The correct statement should be “you can try and balance a propshaft with a jubilee clip, but you might as well save your sanity and time and get a propshaft company to do it”
3) You can get them cheaper on EBay.
Actually I can’t disagree with this as you can get everything cheaper on eBay. BUT!!! you get what you pay for. A universal joint is made up of around 125 individual parts. Each one of this is precision manufactured to extremely high tolerance’s to allow for good tight fits but also allow the joint to move freely once assembled.
This doesn’t happen for £1.
4) My mates a good engineer he can do it.
Your right he probably is and we wouldn’t doubt any engineer’s skill.
Propshaft engineering is a specialist area in its own right there are certain things that we do that are slightly different. We also have specialist machinery that you will not find in even the best engineering shops.
5) Take it off and turn it through 180°
Ok, this sounds like it might make a difference as you are taking something off and turning it round.
Propshaft Spin and in rudimentary design are very similar to wheels. (They transmit force in a rotational motion)
You wouldn’t cure a tyre problem by taking it off and turning it through 180°.
If you do solve a tyre problem or propshaft problem by doing this it is more likely to be a problem with bolting but the tyre and the propshaft on (human error).
If not you have a serious problem somewhere else.
This all sounds like a bit of a moan/ rant but you can save yourself many hours of head scratching and “googling it” by just picking up the phone and calling your local propshaft company/expert who should be happy to help.
If they aren’t happy to help you can happily call us on 01257 7916981 anytime to ask your questions.