Drive shaft shops in Puget Sound area?

Alan · Jul 22, 2013

Hi all,

Have a couple friends looking for shops that can build/modify drive shafts.

Last time I had 'shafts built was a few years ago. The guy at Fleetpride in south Seattle did a great job. Well, that Tech is long gone; his replacement f*cked-up a 'shaft that failed on a friend who was down at Moab! :wtf:

So, anyone have suggestions for a good drive shaft shop in the greater Puget Sound region?

Thanks,

Alan

leadfoot067 · Jul 22, 2013

i heard aukeen in kent closed up cause the guy retired. the shop im at has been using advanced drivelines in yelm.we havent had any issues. but we arent getting super bling 4x4 stuff.i will be having him do the driveshaft in my cutlass very soon,since i put 4.10s in the rear end the shaft vibrates pretty bad at 100+ MPH..

BroncoMike1 · Jul 23, 2013

Too bad about Aukeen, good work and better deal and turn around than NW Driveline. They do good work there too though, I just liked Aukeen better. Good for him though, I won''t be able to retire till I'm 80 at least.

Corey Y · Jul 23, 2013

What joint size, CV or non CV, what slip travel is needed? Balanced or unbalanced? What wall thicknesss and tube diameter? Options get slim depending on what you need.

zukkev · Jul 23, 2013

Rich at Driveline Service of Bellingham (360) 734-7828...Has ALWAYS treated me right, and they have delivery runs headed south too! <---not sure how far, but something to ask if you have a contact within their range...:awesomework:

TreeClimber · Jul 23, 2013

I UPS'd my shafts to Tom Woods in Utah, and had it back in my hands in under a week. Was actually cheaper too. I like to keep my business local, but Tom is a great guy, who really supports Wheelers.

Flat-Bed_3rd_Gen · Jul 24, 2013

d-lines nw in fife was pretty good to me, great work for cheap. they are cheaper than the seattle shop form what ive heard

ain'tstuckjustresting · Jul 24, 2013

Flat-Bed_3rd_Gen said:
d-lines nw in fife was pretty good to me, great work for cheap. they are cheaper than the seattle shop form what ive heard

Drivelines NW cheap? :wtf: Who did you get another quote from? **** you can have a new shaft shipped from Tom Woods cheaper than getting one resleeved and balanced in Fife........

--toyguy--- · Jul 25, 2013

ain'tstuckjustresting said:
Drivelines NW cheap? :wtf: Who did you get another quote from? **** you can have a new shaft shipped from Tom Woods cheaper than getting one resleeved and balanced in Fife........

no **** or everett.

direct drivelines in marysville is the best around. give them a holler ive had same day service on occasion.

CHOP SHOP · Jul 25, 2013

Driveline guys are like tow yard guys, unless he is your buddy, your gettin ****ED!!

Good luck, driveline shops are VULTURES. Cut a tube, make two welds and collect $300 for a half hours work.

Sounds fair, right?

CROOKS.

WA-Wheeler · Jul 25, 2013

CHOP SHOP said:
Driveline guys are like tow yard guys, unless he is your buddy, your gettin ****ED!!

Good luck, driveline shops are VULTURES. Cut a tube, make two welds and collect $300 for a half hours work.

Sounds fair, right?

CROOKS.

Agreed, DL NW has been terrible at warranties for me and my buddies. Guy snapped a NW driveline in half at the solid inch thick slip part...... no warranty, of course the front custom pieced together one has yet to break

Avanteone · Jul 25, 2013

It's been a dozen years since I've had to deal with anybody other than Tom Wood's or Aukeen.... but I'll give it a shot. We'll see if Drivelines NW is any better to deal with on the wholesale level than your guys' experiences on the retail side. I have them picking up a shaft for repair tomorrow.

J

WA-Wheeler · Jul 25, 2013

Avanteone said:
It's been a dozen years since I've had to deal with anybody other than Tom Wood's or Aukeen.... but I'll give it a shot. We'll see if Drivelines NW is any better to deal with on the wholesale level than your guys' experiences on the retail side. I have them picking up a shaft for repair tomorrow.

J

let us know. :awesomework:

pokey · Jul 25, 2013

CHOP SHOP said:
Driveline guys are like tow yard guys, unless he is your buddy, your gettin ****ED!!

Good luck, driveline shops are VULTURES. Cut a tube, make two welds and collect $300 for a half hours work.

Sounds fair, right?

CROOKS.

Its called the cost of doing business when your a legitimate business. These pesky things like overhead and insurance are a real pain in the butt. They charge what they do because in todays litigious society you have to cover your butt. Supposed a shop builds a driveline and that driveline fail and exits the vehicle killing someone in the process. Who's going to pay for that ? Running a real business is expensive and those costs need to be passed onto the consumer. Yes any backyard mechanic with a welder can build a driveline but what about when the above plays out. How much do you have to loose because the lawyers are going to get all of it :eeek:

Avanteone · Jul 25, 2013

I completely understand what you're saying Jim, but that doesn't explain why a shaft that Tom Wood's charges $300 for, Aukeen charges $350 for, and DL NW tries to get $600-700 for.

boardbysled · Jul 25, 2013

Step 1) Measure OD of driveline

Step 2) Find a piece of pipe that has the same ID as the drivelines OD

Step 3) Combine two to make heavy duty driveline

Step 4) ????

Step 5) Profit!

pokey · Jul 25, 2013

Avanteone said:
I completely understand what you're saying Jim, but that doesn't explain why a shaft that Tom Wood's charges $300 for, Aukeen charges $350 for, and DL NW tries to get $600-700 for.

understood I have had a couple of them done by NW over the years and never paid more than $350.00 pretty much the same from Bill at Aukeen and Now I use fleetpride in Tacoma. (charged be $300.00 to put together and balance my CV unit in the back of the jeep. (I supplied the CV joint)

pokey · Jul 25, 2013

I'm no lawyer but this may explain some of it. since tom woods doesn't make commercial drivelines he may be able to get out of some of the liability issues that places like Northwest have to deal with since they make over the road truck drivelines and would have to make up the cost of the insurance across the board. I know as a business owner my rates go up when I need to raise my insurance requirements when doing commercial work or when working on multi million dollar houses. I pass those costs along to the customer.

STANDARD WARRANTY STATEMENT (from Tom Woods site)

Tom Wood

jprcrpr94 · Jul 25, 2013

boardbysled said:
Step 1) Measure OD of driveline

Step 2) Find a piece of pipe that has the same ID as the drivelines OD

Step 3) Combine two to make heavy duty driveline

Step 4) ????

Step 5) Profit!

I see what you did there

Anthony1 · Jul 25, 2013

Drivelines NW is who we use. The stuff they build for us moves around big machines. I'm not sure what they cost but we havent had any problems with the drivelins that I know of.