I hate Nissan so much right now!

[captaingamez]

why in the right mind would any engineer use a non serviceable driveshaft, this car just to get an axle and driveshaft is a goddamn nightmare and im getting really damn frustrated, its juts plain absurdly stupid the way nissan designed half the stuff for the 280zx and maxima.

[metalmonkey47]

These are the same engineers (okay maybe not, but you know what I mean) that designed the Versa with no TEMP gauge. WTF. Supposed to wait until it's too late or something?

[MicroMachinery]

Get out while you still can.

[zerow]

why in the right mind would any engineer use a non serviceable driveshaft, this car just to get an axle and driveshaft is a goddamn nightmare and im getting really damn frustrated, its juts plain absurdly stupid the way nissan designed half the stuff for the 280zx and maxima.

I understand your pain. When I used the 4 speed automatic from the early Maxima, I grabbed the driveshaft, just so I would have the yoke. I bring it in for balancing, and the shop asked what the driveshaft came from. I told them an '83 Maxima. They thought I was lying to them, because the one I brought in had been converted to non-pinned U-joints. It can be done, unfortunately the cost is the downfall. If you plan to keep the car, then the investment is worth it. Good Luck.

[RedBanner]

Yeah ben there.

But you have several options. Have a new one made. 300ish$. You can have have ujoints installed by a drive line shop wich since they have to modify the inner surface to except a inner ring u joint in somecases. Might cost just as much.

Or you can use a hole saw to cut the crimps out, and replace the u joints with an inner snap ring style your self.

Wich ever way you go, its best to go to a driveline shop. They will be very clear with your options. And if there not. Find another shop.

[Skib]

You take it to a drive line shop and have it modded to fit serviceable u-joints.

 

not that big of a deal.

[Wicked Saint]

I work with alot of engineers and most decisions can be traced back to conversations like this.

 

Corprate big wig: We need something cutting edge and inovative to push our product.

Engineer 1: I have designed a driveshaft that will never need the U-joints replaced

Corprate big wig: Really?!?! That's great. Get an ad person on this right away.

Engineer 2: Are you going to tell him it's because it's a non servicable unit?

Engineer 1: Nope

[h190]

the 240sx 180sx etc etc are all the same way.  I would get a custom aluminum shaft If I were you.

[captaingamez]

I work with alot of engineers and most decisions can be traced back to conversations like this.

 

Corprate big wig: We need something cutting edge and inovative to push our product.

Engineer 1: I have designed a driveshaft that will never need the U-joints replaced

Corprate big wig: Really?!?! That's great. Get an ad person on this right away.

Engineer 2: Are you going to tell him it's because it's a non servicable unit?

Engineer 1: Nope

hahahahahahahahahahahaha, that is the truth.

 

that thing with the versa is hilarious, i always wondered the same thing, what do i do if it gets hot?

 

nissan makes great vehicles, but its frustrating when 30 years later you want to drive yours, and are limited by something like the fact that they made it so the u joints are a PITA to replace, or cant be done.

 

i would get a custom shaft but its a few hundred bucks, and then it will be going in the parts pile when i put in my borg warner and have to get ANOTHER CUSTOM DRIVESHAFT for that. so spending $600 on driveshafts is not my idea of a good time, and my borg warner wont be ready to swap in for a little while, at least a couple months.

[Draker]

I work at a Dealer.. and volvo drive shafts are the same way. Except twice as much as an OEM nissan one. Pretty lame.

[captaingamez]

Get out while you still can.

 

that time has passed.........

[Wicked Saint]

My 2004 GLI has a coolant temp gauge that heats up to 190 and NEVER waivers. Turns out they did not want to concern people with a temp gauge that fluctuated and cause anxiety in drivers. Anywhere from 169-222F It will just flat out read 190. I'm waiting for the day they add a green thumbs up light on the dash.

[Draker]

I work at a Dealer.. and volvo drive shafts are the same way. Except twice as much as an OEM nissan one. Pretty lame.

 

Oh and the carriers are non-serviceable either... lulz

[Camtron]

That sucks man. My DD is an 01 ford escape, and you've got to remove the fucking exhaust manifold to get to three of the spark plugs!

I don't know what retarded ass engineer designed that at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, but I'd like to meet him and give him a swift kick in the nards. I guess the engineering students need jobs, too. But damn.

[datsunaholic]

A lot of that comes down to cost.  If a user-servicable part costs more than a factory sealed part, they will go for the non-serviceable sealed part.  The U-joints were designed to outlast the expected lifespan of the vehicle.  In 1984, the average lifespan of a new car was around 8 years and 120,000 miles.  The factory U-joints far exceeded that.  If someone were to have one fail within 10 years it was expected that the dealer would be able to get that part.  After that, the corporations would rather you just buy a new car. 

 

With the spark plug issue on many cars, the plugs have reached the point where they expect the plugs to outlast the warranty, so making the manifold with access to the plugs is considered unnecessary.  It probably would cost 20 cents more per unit to do so.  Since the plugs last so long, it's expected the original owner would never have to replace them in the 8 years the person would be expected to own it, so the onus is on the second owner to spend the money for said tune up..  Car Manufacturers don't care about making maintenance easy for owners, as they'd just as soon steer business to the dealer service departments.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see cars with the hood release hidden away, with a label stating "Do not open.  No user-serviceable parts inside."

[datzenmike]

I work with alot of engineers and most decisions can be traced back to conversations like this.

 

Corprate big wig: We need to save money on our our product.

Engineer 1: I have designed a driveshaft that won't need the U-joint retaining clips

Corprate big wig: Really?!?! That's great. How much savings can we realize with this?

Engineer 1: About $0.15  in parts/inventory and $0.02 in labor per car or about $13,500 per year

Corprate big wig: Make it so Number 1.

 

 

 

 

My 2004 GLI has a coolant temp gauge that heats up to 190 and NEVER waivers. Turns out they did not want to concern people with a temp gauge that fluctuated and cause anxiety in drivers. Anywhere from 169-222F It will just flat out read 190. I'm waiting for the day they add a green thumbs up light on the dash.

.

This is why there are no numbers on the temp gauge (or others) just a run range. The general public are too stupid to be entrusted with the truth.

[king bee66]

b210s have a non-servicable one as well. its lame

[captaingamez]

so have any of you ever done the rockford U-joints? i watched a good vid on youtube about how to do them, but i think im going to take it to a driveshaft shop for like $65 and let them do it.

[captaingamez]

so I drove to  Phoenix Rack and Axle this morning, they said they can replace the non serviceable u joint. NICE, and for only $65, no problem, i will pay that all day. they said it should be done today so we will see.

[JoeCool]

Try doing a tune up on a Ford 4.6 or 5.4 SOHC ENGINE! It turns into a lot of fun when the plugs break apart and fall into the cylinder. They use different spark plugs now, but I have done a lot! It sucks. And you need special tools to extract the old plugs as well.

[oldskoolvws]

We (vehicle engineers) usually go this stupid route when one of two things are dictated: reduce costs and reduce manufacturing time. Drive shafts like these are usually a supplier built item (outsourced). When it's put on a car at a factory, since its already been built offsite as an assembly, its a simple bolt on affair. It reduces cost and manufacturing time. The part is approved though before use so ultimately its Nissan's fault.

 

Unfortunately, they do not factor in serviceability many times which results in this type of issue.

[Jdm720]

Try doing a tune up on a Ford 4.6 or 5.4 SOHC ENGINE! It turns into a lot of fun when the plugs break apart and fall into the cylinder. They use different spark plugs now, but I have done a lot! It sucks. And you need special tools to extract the old plugs as well.

 

I did one once... I hated it, I hated the truck even more.. Our Cornwell guy sells an extractor kit specifically for the Fords..

 

Also did a slave cylinder on that truck..

I thought, "Oh sweet, 10 minutes and bam we'll be back in business... Wait, where's this clutch line going....... Awww shit..."

 

Had to drop the damn transmission.

[captaingamez]

just got a phone call from phoenix rack and axle.......

 

FUCK PREVIOUS OWNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

pardon my language, but some asshat put the wrong size u joint in here and made the holes too big to put a serviceable type in, seriously pissed right now, there is like no solution other than spending out the ass for something i have to buy again. awesome, I hate Previous Owners.

[Archie]

Hey Guys,

The world has changed. Us DIY er's are Fucked!!!!!

I had this driveshaft issue with my '87  D21. I found the same size ujoints that were made for a pto shaft and were like $12 a piece.

I couldn't use the inside "C" clips because the of the yoke design. So I Lightly "C" clamped the joints into the yokes to make sure they were snug and centered. Then I lightly tack welded the caps to the yokes...That was well over 50,000 miles ago and all is fine!!! :thumbup:  It is great to be able to give the joints a shot of grease once in a while.

[devilsbullet]

some of it may be due to cost cutting, but from my experience with engineers, both first and secondhand, some of it has to do with the fact that a lot of them don't care how hard something is to make or fix, they just make the drawings. 2 examples. my dad, a machinist, once had a part drawing come in to him(he works in a job shop, not a mass manufacturer). so he pops the drawing up on his computer, and starts rotating it around the x and y axis. as he was doing this, he thought he saw a hole but it went so fast he thought maybe he was imagining things. so he started backtracking degree by degree, and lo and behold, at 320 on the x and 115 on the y(I've been told this story a few times, can ya tell? :rofl: ) there was a hole. it could only be seen at these specific degrees, it disappeared at 319, 321, 114, and 116. if he hadn't been lucky, he would have missed it and had to scrap the part, as it was an essential hole in said part. the engineer could have made a note about it, blown the drawing up a bit so it was more visible, but since he was just contracted to make the drawing he didn't bother to.  2nd example, I work in a metal finishing plant, doing anodization and nickel plating.  we had a customer send us some plates to be nickel plated, with go and no go gauges and a specific amount, .00025-.0004, to be plated on. no matter how exacting we were to hit the bottom end of that range, we couldn't get the go gauge to go thru. so I decided to try putting it through a raw plate...didn't fit. started looking at the blueprints they sent in, the holes were specified to be smaller than the go gauge they sent us...but at the bottom in the notes it gave the dimensions of the go gauge and specified which holes it was supposed to fit in. :frantics: