Took my Z to a local shop to get it repaired. I told them to replace the u joints and torque arm bushing it needed while they had it apart. Turns out the oil burned up the clutch and pressure plate so they had to be replaced. I was bummed at the additional cost but excited at the prospect of the new clutch because I thought the car was pulling really hard with the bad clutch. So, they replaced the RMS, clutch, pressure plate, both u joints and the torque arm bushing. $1490.00 parts and labor, not too bad.

Took it easy the 1st couple of times driving it but it seemed to have a slight vibration around 50 to 60 mph. The 1st time I got into it I was passing, went from 5th to 3rd and pushed it to the floor. I ewnt through 3rd, 4th and 5th gears. I thought the car was coming apart it shook so hard. Took it back to the shop and they determined that 5th and 6th gears were going out on the T56. I drove the car around town while I searched for a new/rebuilt tranny. The vibration just didn't seem like a tranny problem. I took it to another shop and they determined the driveshaft was the culprit. They actually took the DS out and tested the tranny and differential separately. When the DS was placed back in the car the vibration returned.

I had actually already found a T56 for $2195.00 at Advance Auto, ordered it but never picked it up. The salesman was very cool about my situation and allowed me to get the car checked so I wouldn't be blowing my money on a tranny I didn't need. I found a drive line repair shop that would fix my DS or build a new one for me. $50.00 for high speed balance.

Turns out the 1st shop's mechanic put the DS in a vice about 1 inch from the yoke and pinched it, bending the shaft at the yoke. The u joint also wasn't set properly. Because the "dent" was at the end of the shaft and it created an angle on the shaft I told them to build me a new shaft instead of screwing with the old one which may or may not have been correctable.

I got a shiny new DS that was made of a lighter, stronger material and was 1/3 thicker (same outer diameter) than stock for $169.00.

Car is smooth as glass now. The original shop reimbursed me for the cost of the new DS and installation.

 

Some people shouldnt have a set of tools and be able to work on other peoples cars. I know Ujoints can be a PITA but....... any dent to a driveshaft and your going to have a vibration,that guy SHOULD know that. You got your money back and everything is peachy so.....

 

But the fact that the original told him that 5th and 6th gear was going out.....really? Trans was fine before it went into the shop and magically 5th and 6th gear went out.

 

It is an unfortunate situation because this garage works/worked on my daughters vehicles and several friends vehicles, as well as 3 of my own. The owners have had the garage for many years and have raced for many more. I guess the guys turning the wrenches aren't as qualified. I'll be using the garage down the street when I need major work done from now on. They are closer to home, cheaper labor, the owner has an 80 Z28 and a blown Vette.

The owner actually still works on cars.

Their recent correct diagnosis of my Z's vibration put them in a higher trust category.

 

MOVING THIS FROM THE NEWBIE BOARD. I've had my Z for several months now and I have been very impressed with how easy this car is car is to drive on the street. I drive it every chance I get. It will hold it's own in a drag race. I am still on street tires and traction is an issue. I bought a new set of 17x9.5 wheels and some MT Street SS tires. I was having trouble hitting 3rd gear with the factory Hurst shifter so I got the Hawks Sinister precision shifter. I blew out a head gasket so I took the opportunity to pull the engine and replace all the gaskets and take a look at the internals to see exactly what I have. This engine is completely stock. That is very surprising considering how strong it runs. Everything looked brand new so I didn't change anything except to add a bolt in Comp Cams bump stick for supercharger applications, 218/230 495/510 114. Interesting not on the camshaft. Summit, JEGS and Comp Cams does not have a SC grind cam for a stock engine. Comp Cams told me if I gave them the specs that they could make a custom grind for me. I started Googling more and found Hawks Motorsports had the one I ended up purchasing. Kind of weird that Hawks has this (and another more radical) in stock but Comp Cams does not. I also got a Grant 4 spoke steering wheel just for looks. All of the parts are not on the car yet but will be very soon. Really excited to see what difference the cam and drag radials make.

 

Just curious, but why would you put a cam meant to be used for a boosted application, in a N/A car? Unless you plan on adding later on. But if you plan staying N/A, there is a wide selection of better cams.

The reason no on else makes a boosted cam grind for stock engine is because most engines that utilize boost are not stock. They are forged, lower compression, with all other bolt ons, and heads matched to the application.

 

It has a Powerdyne 11A on it. There was another thread on the newbie board where I discussed some of the things going on with what was, at the time, a new car to me. There are some gaps here because of 2 threads.

Sorry for the confusion.