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41Chevcoe: When the donut unbalances, the "symptom" that the dealer mechanic finds is either a leaking tailshaft seal or a cracked tailshaft housing (if it went too long febofore the owner reported it). Most mechanics simply replace the seal and do not look any further.
The only reason I got all the inside details on it is because of what happened on my own SSR.
The mechanic at the Atlanta area dealership that repaired my own SSR when it started to leak tranny fluid out of the tailshaft, was alert enough to note that the splines on the shaft looked damaged. He thought it was just a case of a bad machinging job from the factory, and replaced the driveshaft with yet another donut-equipped one. Then fate intervened. Dennis Reinhart contacted me and said he thought he had a cure for the driveshaft tink (he does). He offered me one of MMC driveshafts, and when Randy and I installed it, Randy, who is SUPER detail oriented, noted that the donut on the shaft that he removed was already starting to show rubber deterioration and extrusion.
We quickly realized what was happening. The donut rubber deteriorates with time for some reason in this applicaiton (could be simply an inferior grade of rubber used, or inadequate balancing of the composite donut assembly). When it does, it becomes VERY unbalanced, and since it is SO heavy (check it out!), it starts to shake the tailshaft area pretty effectively. The first victim is the tailshaft seal. The second is the splines. The third is the tailshaft housing.
I'm going to say it yet again and hoepfully for the last time: If you have one of these donuts on your SSR, get the shaft replaced. If your GM dealer won't equip you with a non-donut shaft, BUY a Denis Reinhart metal matrix composite shaft and spare yourself lots of grief.
Jim G
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