CV axle shaft assembly questions

[RussBarnes]

On eBay there are several ads for "new" CV axle shaft assemblies. They all say they are new, but there is quite a range of prices, even where a pair cost less than a single. Does anyone have any experience with these aftermarket parts? For the cost it would seem easier to install these rather than rebuild the original ones, but not if they fall apart under FULL power.

Thanks for any feedback, Russ

[bcroe]

Since I went to left side half shafts on both sides, my stock was a little low. A shaft for
a 79 was ordered and driven vigorously for 1500 miles to date. No problems yet, but
I still plan to replace the bad boots on all my spares. Bruce Roe

[Eightballz]

i'm also interested in those shafts. how important would be the damper on the passenger side axle shaft? the units from ebay dont seem to have them

oh btw bruce...do you have a spare set of the famous TH425 power drive you might want to sell?

[bcroe]

i'm also interested in those shafts. how important would be the damper
on the passenger side axle shaft? the units from ebay dont seem to have them

oh btw bruce...do you have a spare set of the famous TH425 power drive you might
want to sell?

So far no one seems to think the right side damper adds anything but trouble, which
is why the rebuilts never have a damper. Putting a left half shaft on the right of a 79-85
is more involved since the hardware IS NOT symetric. I managed with the adapter plate
between the 78 final drive and the 79 shaft; otherwise the drive plate could be machined
for 6 threaded metric holes.

I believe you can get a POWER DRIVE from Mannys Transmission; plain or switch pitch.
Mine is REVERSED to give me an overall final ratio of 2.40:1, works fine with switch pitch
and a capable engine. Should I put you in my will? Bruce Roe

[Eightballz]

i wrote several emails with manny. at first he replied but then i told him i won't need the new pump thats part of the power drive kit since mine got already replaced by the former owner...i also told him that i'm from germany. i haven't heard back since then

[bcroe]

i wrote several emails with manny. at first he replied but then i told him i
won't need the new pump thats part of the power drive kit since mine got already replaced
by the former owner...i also told him that i'm from germany. i haven't heard back since then

The power drive assembly is quite a bit of hardware; I wouldn't worry much about the
pump which is easily switched on a TH425. With the trans out and apart, its not far
from doing a rebuild. I wonder what the previous owner did?

And what power drive arrangement were you planning to use? Bruce

[Eightballz]

former owner had the pump replaced, installed shift kit and tighter converter

i'm not afraid of the work but the pump itself would be like half the price of the power drive kit (around 800$ for the kit), so i would like so skip that if possible.

i'm planning to use the kit as intended, i.e. getting higher gear ratio. must be around 3.40 with the kit.

thats the budget-version of getting higher gears if you will. it would be too big of a hassle to just buy the final drive from applied GMC. the shipping costs would kill me. though it would be easier to install

[bcroe]

A 65:57 power drive can make a 3.07:1 final drive look like a 3.5:1. Good for huge tires
pulling a big load or turning slicks at the drag strip. On the street it uses a lot of gas
and wears out your engine on the expressway; limits top end too. With switch pitch
I can get max economy and still get back some performance.

The actual pump on a TH425 is just a casting the size of your hand with the pump gears
inside it. Easily swapped once the chain sprockets are off. The switch pitch 66-67 used
a somewhat smaller capacity pump. Bruce Roe