Well, I finally decided that I better do something about my driveline vibration. I talked to an owner of a 58 Suburban and he handed me the front portion of what used to be his driveshaft. It seems he had a bad vibration from 20mph up and it turned out that the front housing that contains the ball/trunion setup was bad and out of balance. A truck drivline shop cut it out and made a custom setup to the tune of $300. He had just rebuilt the ball/trunion setup which turned out to not be the problem. He gave it all to me which I thought was pretty swell since I only talked to the guy once before (I bet a Ford guy wouldn't do this). Well, my memory of what my driveshaft looked like wasn't the greatest, and after seeing what the Suburban owner gave me, I crawled under the Belvedere last night to check out my situation. To my horror, I found the boot to be gone and grease sprayed all over my floorboards. Until now, I didn't know there was a boot. I should read my shop manuals more thoroughly. There is still some grease packed inside, but not much. I hope I can save the driveshaft assembly and transfer all the new parts that were givin to me (including the new boot). Any suggestions before I do this? I haven't worked on this kind of U-joint before. There is some surface rust on the shaft where the boot dissappeared. Will a good clean up save it? If I have to have it cut off and fixed like the Suburban owner did, it will mean parking the car for the rest of the summer until the appropriate funds can be aquired (a.k.a "what can I sell now to raise money to work on the car...") Thanks Todd A sad 58 Plymouth Sport Sedan sitting on jack stands with tears in it's headlights |