Max

I'm getting ready to sell my '02 Z/28 ($12,500 if you're interested) and I'm going to swap its aluminum drive shaft for the steel one in my '89 Vert. I've read that this is a direct bolt in but I want to confirm that the LS1 style driveshaft will fit properly in my '89 and that the steel driveshaft from my '89 will function properly in the '02.

Also, I'll be doing the swap with jack stands in my garage so if anyone has has removed and / or installed a driveshaft on a 3rd or fourth gen and has any tips, tricks, or advice that could make things go more smoothly, I'd appreciate it. Specifically, what ft./lb. should I torque the bolts to?

As always I'll post again after the swap to share anything I learn in the process.

84L69TA

Both driveshafts will interchange. Just make sure whoever looks at that 02 Z/28 doesnt take it upon himself to have a gander underneath the car. That would raise a question for me if I was looking at the car and saw an old steel driveshaft.

DJP87Z28

Have a pan and some rags by the tail end of the tanny, because you will lose a small amount of fuild. Its better to ready for it than letting fluid spill over the drive. Both dr shafts are a direct replacments for each other.

krisb410

iTrader: (9)

I did it in about 25 minutes with both cars on seperate lifts. 02 LS1/T-56 DS into my 91 LO3/700R4. Nope problems except that alum. DS is a pain in the butt to get out of the 02 car with the exhaust and torque arm in place, but it's doable.

Max

I thought I would post a follow up.

The process is very easy. The hardest and most time consuming part was getting the rear ends of both cars securely supported on jackstands. It is a very good idea to put blocks in front of the front wheels to keep the cars from rolling off the jackstands.

It's probably worth noting that since I had just the rear ends raised I didn't lose a single drop of transmission fluid.

It was a little tricky getting the aluminum driveshaft out of the 02 Z/28. Once I pulled the driveshaft out of the transmission I had to slide it way back and up under the rear bumper area in order to get enough clearance for the front end to drop down. Then I slid the whole thing forward to remove it.

I placed a large piece of cardboard under each car to lay the driveshafts on as they were removed. Then dragged the cardboard out from the side of the car to keep from damaging the driveshafts.

The aluminum one is noticeably lighter!


When re-installing be sure not to overtighten the bolts holding the straps in place because the last thing you want is to strip out the threads in those bolt holes. The torque spec in my third gen manual is listed as 15 Lb./Ft. The torque spec in my fourth gen manual is listed as 25 Lb./Ft. The handle on my torque wrench was too long to be used effectively in this situation so I just tighted them by feel. A short handled torque wrench would have been helpful.