$teve

Went through I believe 6 Spydershafts and could not get rid of a vibration that started at about 85 and got progressively worse. Even tried another brand shaft and still had a vibration. Put Spydershaft back in. Following Spydershaft guidance, focus at that point became pinion angle and I tried adjusting my UCA 1 turn at a time pretty much throughout its entire range. Slight changes, but problem was still there.

Saw a post on the forums about a Spydershaft with runout that was discovered when when the car was run on jackstands and the spinning driveshaft was observed. I did the same on shaft #5 and was shocked at how much runout there was. Reported back to Spydershaft and got #6 and the last shaft from Spyder and along with the following note:

"I've spec'd and tested everything i can possibly think of.
runout:
front <.002" installed
rear <.001" installed
end flange (u-joint saddle/cradle) thickness at bolt holes is within .010" on all for both front and rear saddles.
It was balanced at 3000rpms on the machine (max before flexion and distortion affects data) then
tested in my car on the lift (suspension unweighted) to 140mph in OD.
It also was road tested to 115+mph (6000+rpms in my car) with zero vibration on acceleration, deceleration or sustained cruise speeds (various). "

Well, vibration was still there and I did the visual runout check again. Here is a video of #6 Spydershaft:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCU7LsfXMFg


Sent that video to Spydershaft asking to get a true shaft, here is the response:

"The tailshaft moves a great deal in most cars and this may contribute to the appearance it has while spinning. No matter what it appears to be doing I can honestly say that driveshaft was tested in my car at over 6000rpms in high gear which is 6000+rpms driveshaft speed with no vibration. If this shaft vibrates in your car but not the other two it was installed in I'd have to say it's something in the car. I don't know what, obviously not the tires, but the odds of getting 6 bad shafts from two different companies is pretty slim. "

Despite Spydershaft offering me a refund, I decided to have the shaft checked by a dedicated driveshaft shop that has been in business for decades. I wanted to eliminate the possibility that it was the tailshaft as was suggested. Shop told me shaft had excessive runout in the front, a burr on one of the flanges, was 1 ounce out of balance, was missing protective plastic covers on the CV joints, and the slip joint was not lubed. They claimed that the shaft was so far out that it shook their balancing machine when they got it up to 2,400rpm. They told me they could repair it. I said go for it, what did I have to lose. Put the shaft in and ran the car on jackstands to observe runout. Here is the video of the repaired shaft


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOF31qHiQ3A


Shaft looked straight as an arrow. Took the car out for a ride and got it up to 110mph - NO MORE VIBRATIONS. YOOHOO!!!

I've made this post as factual as possible and left out my opinions and frustrations. Note that legal action was implied by Spydershaft in recent exchanges where I demanded reimbursement for fixing the shaft:

"I do not wish to but in order to protect the reputation and integrity of my company/products I am prepared to pursue this further if need be."

I suggest you draw your own conclusions from the videos.


BTW - I can't say why the car shook with the other brand shaft. It may have had runout, but it may have also been the pinion angle setting at that time. Note that I did not do the 1 turn at a time systematic checking of pinion angle until I put the Spydershaft back in. Can't say if that would have solved it, but I did not try that route like I did with the Spydershaft.

I encourage Spydershaft to post their own version of the story and explain the before and after videos.

Pwny

Big fail on Spydershaft's part.

2kanchoo

Man that's a lot of trouble to go through. If you don't mind telling what is the name of the shaft repair shop and how much did it cost to get it fixed? This could help a lot of people, cause instead of sending it back and getting a bunch more like you did they could just send it to that shop and have it repaired.

70MACH1OWNER

Glad you got it fixed. You had to be pulling your hair out for sure.

EastCoast07GtCs

Glad to hear it's all resolved for you. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been as patient as you, it tool alot to stick it out go through all that. If a refund was offered, I probably would have gone with that. Thanks for sharing your experience.

08VistablueGT

What a nightmare for a driveshaft, but at least it's all over with.

cobra4548

Ditto on the info for the shop that fixed you problem. I might have the same issue with my spydershaft and would like to get it fixed.

06GT4RAD

Is there a way to get the info one the shop that fixed this issue? Some of us may want to go that route and have the shaft checked out.
Maybe you could talk with the shop and ask them if they are willing to do this for some of us. Also what was the cost for this?

Torrence

I just bought a spydershaft, I hope I don't have any problems.

GRAYPNY

Guys! I ran a Spydershaft for 2 years and never had an issue. I'm sure that $teve had the issues that he described but I know that Ron has sold 100's of his shafts and this is the worst case I have ever hear or read about.

Poco

Your lucky the drive shaft never came apart,that could have caused some very bad damage to the car or personal injury to your family or yourself.

Pwny

Wow, it looks like other people are having this problem as well.

Guess I'm going Coast now!

ryan1112

Go with the Coast. I just installed mine and I took it up to 130 MPH with no vibration. It's also not a good idea to use a new pinion flange because you can't get the preload right without taking apart the rear end. I know that lots of people have gotten away with it but I lost a pinion bearing on the highway before and it sucks. There are going to be some people with the spyder shaft that are going to get a rude awakening sometime down the road when that bearing locks up.

Pwny

Are you saying that you previously had a Spydershaft and the bearing gave out?

ryan1112

I lost a bearing due to a bad gear install once and a friend lost one due to changing the flange for a spyder shaft.

Pwny

Thanks for the heads up.

MaverickMLFD371

good thing i'm going with coast....

Pwny

Same

SoundGuyDave

Always the contrarian, I am a HAPPY Spydershaft user... Install was not difficult, and I did spend the time to properly set up the pinion angle. No vibrations AT ALL up through around 135MPH (braking zones in 1 and 5 at Road America), great product, and I would do it again. I've installed three of them (buddies cars) besides my own.

uberPony

Powerhouse shaft never gave me any problems. I do not like the idea of changing pinion flanges at all.
I prefer the billett adapter used by powerhouse.
I have had mine two years and tested to 170 MPH