I have a 96 RS Camaro with a 3.8 L engine and a split drive shaft. My question is " I have a vibration problem that starts at about 55 - 60 mph. Could it be the drive shaft. And if so, can I upgrade the drive shaft to a one piece aluminum that are available from the LS1 camaros?

 

can you feel the vibration in your front seat
sam

 

Yes. But not all the time. Thats why I'm confused of what might be causings it.

 

The 2 piece shafts are a double wall tube design there is another smaller dia. tube inside the main tube isolated by rubber inserts at each end. The middle joint is a ball style CV. Two years ago the CV was not serviceable and you had to buy a new shaft from GM costing between $700-$900, I don't know about now. The problem is that overtime the inner tube wears out the rubber mounts and starts to shift inside the shaft, causing an inbalance in the shaft. Another issue common to these shafts was CV failure. They simply cant handle the torque loads they're subjected to over time. We repaired a vibration complaint on a pontiac T/A that had one of these shafts in it. We built a one peice steel shaft for around $250, modified the tourqe arm and never had a problem since. That was 2 yrs. ago.
Now, before you change the shaft, check the tire balance and chk for a slipped belt, inspect all wheel and axle bearings, and chk the shocks and struts. If you have 30k to 50k on the clock the CV is more than likely the culprit. You can not have any rotational slack in the joint, if you do then it's bad. In either case, a one piece convertion is always the best mod you can make to these cars.

 

Thanks for the info V8ChevyGuy. Will check those things mentioned and elimate them one at a time. Will post my results for others to see.

 

The answer is "yes, sirree!" to both questions you ask.

The aluminum driveshaft should swap right in place, no problems. Swap shafts anyway. It will eventually become a problem.

 

I have a similar Problem. I have a 1995 Camaro 3.4L V6. The Carrier Bearing on the Driveshaft is completly gone out.

I want to go to a 1-piece DS so i never have this problem again.

I called the local Salvage yard, and they have a 1 piece drive-shaft for 1995 Firebird. The guy at the salvage yard says that the drive-shaft is compatable with the 1995 Z28, but his computer says its not compatible with the v6.

Any ideas? Can I use the 1-piece DS from a Firebird?

 

Last time I checked, the drive shafts were all the same from 82-02 (given the trans was a 700R4/4L60, or 4L60E). So yes, it'll work. Remember to replace the U joints to prevent future trouble.

 

Thanks for the info. I was planning on replacing the U-joints as well.

 

The junk yard manuals just list exact matchs. Upgrading to the Aluminum drive shaft is a very common mod. They go for right around $100. Weight wise it is a nice upgrade.

I am glad you used the search but in the future try not to wake up 6 year old threads.