99 Vitara rear driveshaft base model

4

4zukyard

Well-known member
Anything special about these shafts?  A neighbor stopped this morning with a rear driveshaft vibration issue.  He took it to a mech. that replaced both ujoints, the vibration is still there.  He was told he needs a new shaft due to the "foam" being gone?  To me it cant be a whole shaft but I have no experience with Vitara.  Any help would be appreciated before I go and look at this thing.  Do Tracker shafts interchange?  Thanx.
 
I just replaced both rear u-joints on my 2002 4 door earlier this year.... I didn't notice anything unique about its construction?
 
I agree with Recon , nothing different than previous years .. Just your basic steel drive shaft .. I have replaced many u-joints in these , with no issues what so ever ... [thumbsup]  [thumbsup]

Foam Gone ??  What the heck is he talking about  ?    [smiley=headscratch.gif]
 
did you check the phase of the driveshaft? when they did the u-joint's it's easy to put them back in out of phase if your not paying attention.
 
zuki709 date=1365989664 said:
did you check the phase of the driveshaft? when they did the u-joint's it's easy to put them back in out of phase if your not paying attention.
Click to expand...
OMG, you mean they could have put the U-joints in  .....backwards? OMG, I may have been doing it wrong for years!   LOL! 
Seriously, there is not a phase problem with the Tracker/Vitara shafts since there is no slip-yoke like a Samurai driveshaft. There is a liner inside the late model driveshafts and sometimes it separates from the inside of the driveshaft tube and causes it to become out of balance. I rarely see this problem, but it is either that or the shop tweaked/bent one of the "ears" that hold the U-joint caps in place when pressing it in as this is common as well. SAFELY Put the vehicle up on jack stands and then watch the d-shaft rotate freely and see if it has a wobble and if not replace the d-shaft. 
If you need a new driveshaft I have them for about $100 guaranteed perfect.


Sean DeVinney
aftermarket4x4@cox.net
 
:-[  true true. every time I hear of drive shaft vibrations I always think of the slip yoke style. as I screwed  the phasing up on one of my samurai shafts once. you never know though their are some shops out their that would tell you that the u-joint is in upside-down. haha
 
Ok , so I was curious today ...   I actually took a rear drive shaft I had for a 2000 Vitara , and cut it open .. Nothing in it , other than air ... Ha !! Ha !! 

What year did this liner start ??  ;D
 
Newfie-Zuk date=1366137154 said:
Ok , so I was curious today ...   I actually took a rear drive shaft I had for a 2000 Vitara , and cut it open .. Nothing in it , other than air ... Ha !! Ha !!

What year did this liner start ??  ;D
Click to expand...
1999 is the first year I have noticed it. I will try to take a pic of one I used for an exhaust pipe today. Yes, driveshaft tubing makes a great exhaust pipe as long as you don't need to put bends in it.

Sean
 
aftermarket4x4 date=1366198235 said:
1999 is the first year I have noticed it. I will try to take a pic of one I used for an exhaust pipe today. Yes, driveshaft tubing makes a great exhaust pipe as long as you don't need to put bends in it.

Sean
Click to expand...



I thought I was the only one which used drive shafts for exhaust !!! Ha!! Ha!!  ;D  ;D

My favourite is Stainless Steel Beer Pipe , from the local Brewery !! Yep I have a wack of it ,  and it's the real gear .. However the same issue applies , you cannot bend it ..  It's 1/8th inch thick !! I will weld the bends into it , I have alot of bends too   .. Once welded it's pretty much life time exhaust !!  [thumbsup]   I have it in 1.5" up to 4" ......


I would like a picture of the shaft with the liner ,  if you have one ... Thanks Sean ...................

Later ...Paul  :)
 
Yep, here is the driveshaft/exhaust pipe:
 

Attachments

  • 00000000 001.webp
    00000000 001.webp
    22 KB · Views: 86
Very Interesting stuff .. :)

It's the first I knew of this .. However Truthfully  , except  for the recent newer model shaft I cut open .. All the other shafts , were from pre-1997 Sidekicks ..  So I was talking to the previous owner of the vitara I dismantled .. He thinks the rear shaft came out of a 1998 Sidekick Sport .. However I cannot confirm this ..  ;)

Thanks for the picture .. Explains alot .. It's great learning something new ... [thumbsup]
 

https://www.helpavetshine.us/help-a-vet-shine
Top Bottom