I reinstalled the V8 driveshaft behind the I-6 /C4 tranny when I swapped from the 302/C4 combo. When I did it, it went in fine on the new C4 (the same spline layout, and it bolted onto the original rearend. The Mexican rear end is a 3.07 ratio and uses the old style U-bolts. The Canadian donor car's rearend is 3.08:1 ratio and uses the 4 bolt system. It has counterbalancing 'collars' on each end of it, whereas my original is the old style monolithic tube. I measured both before I decided to use my own, and IIRC the donor was maybe 1/2" shorter. The problem with the donor driveshaft is that it uses 13mm 12-point bolts, which means I'd have to use the pinion and gears or swap the whole axle. My concern is whether that 1/2" difference in length is required. The books I have don't spec out any difference in wheelbase between a 2-door (donor) and a wagon (mine) and I haven't found anything on driveshaft length differences. I just wondered if anyone might have some info or suggestions. I haven't moved the car since I did the swap, so I don't have anyway to tell if it's too snug or not. Everything bolted in at the tranny and motor mounts on the 'also swapped' I-6 K-member and I could move it forward in the mounting slots by a 1/4", if I had to. I'm tempted to just try it when I get wired and running next week, but I'd hate to blow the tranny's new rebuild if I didn't ask. ???
i dont recall the exact details on the rear differentials but could,nt you swap yokes ??? and then on the driveshaft lenghts you do have movement fore and aft as the rear suspension travels up and down,,,,next thing would be more work and or cost,,, but cut the driveshafts and reweld and balalnce with the needed ends to mate up to the given rear end your using :banghead3:
Thanks 80, they're pretty cruddy/rusty on the donor but I could heat it up and change them over. I think I'll measure them more accurately - maybe cut some stakes of wood from yoke to yoke. It's a couple of days away (too much rain and chilly). If I'm really lucky, the mounting holes will be the same, or they are the same length!
if you never changed tranny mounts and the overall length of the tranny is the same ..then you should be ok theres actually more of a science to it...but ....thats alotta typing...
That's what I thought too, but I saw something somewhere about a 1" difference and I can't recall if it was the yoke or the overall length. I used the original tranny mounts (Frame and rubber insulator to tranny.)
I couldn't tell what you intended by reading the posts. If your not changing out the rear end I think you should use the original drive shaft from the V8 set up unless of course it's trash. It would be the simplest solution. What you don't want to happen is for the tranny end to bottom out in the tranny tail shaft if you bottom out the suspension. Otherwise that 1/2" doesn't matter. If your changing out the rear end then use the donor driveshaft as well.
I'll know better tomorrow! I'm putting on the 8th coat today. Snow tonite! Are you close to all those fires down there?
No fires near us in the upper desert but I'm seeing now that 250,000 are evacuated in San Diego. Just a horrible situation.
Good that you're not caught in that disaster. I learned something about Canada, though. Apparently we rent our super waterbomber aircraft regularly after August to California for exactly these situations. We had a lot of fires in our Northern forests, right across the country this year, many lost their homes, crops and farm animals too. But you guys have had it rough near towns and suburbs, this year. whew!
