broken shaft/15 miles into 1st test drive

I'm sorry to hear that, you have gone through such a steep learning curve to get where you are.

Are you sure the shaft has broken? Have you taken the motor out? If you have, do you have photos at all?
Maybe it isn't the shaft, perhaps the coupler has failed?

I think changing the armature shaft is not easy.

I can verify it's the shaft. He sent me a few photos of the mishap. Damn, and all that work and learning he has done. That makes for a real sour experience. But it is not hopeless. It is good that you got as far as you have. Figuring things out will only help you in the long run. Taking motors apart is not hard but you must be careful not to chip or bust the brushes and that you label all your parts and take photos along the way so you can put it back together when your ready to put it back together. If they send you a new armature you can install it yourself. You will need a bearing puller I assume but that is not terrible hard. I did that to a GE 9" I have. I took it apart and replaced the bearings and cleaned the motor. Still runs well. Did that job in a couple hours.

Pete

When you have it fixed be sure all the bolts are in place and tight. If you can run a stock flywheel and clutch I highly suggest you do that. A solid connection like you have can put a lot of stress on the system. If out of balance even a tiny bit you can do enough damage that over time you will get a failure like this. This is not the first one I have seen like this with a solid connection. I think that you ended up with a stress crack and it finally busted. The previous owner would have had this happen too had they kept the car. Its more than likely not your fault on this failure. I don't think its a failure on the part of the company that sold the kit either. But a solid connection is not the best. Some do just fine while ones like you have have had a history of problems. Your kit is not the best around. It does work but...........

Man, that stinks! So sorry to hear this. Unfortunately I will have to leave you in the hands of Pete on this one, you've passed my know-how. Good luck!

gottdi said:

I can verify it's the shaft.

Click to expand...

Hey Pete,

Does it look anything like m38mike's little problem, post #27, http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forum...help-25633p3.html?highlight=jeep+shaft+broken

major

The motor shaft is not aligned with the transmission shaft. This misalignement causes a bending moment, when the shaft rotates it gets work hardened and cracks, just like bending a paper clip back and forth. Take a picture of the cracked end of the shaft, you can get some info on how the crack propogated. Are there any voids?

Yes I am sure . I took apart the whole thing to get to the shaft. It broke right at the face plate of the motor. there is about 1 1/2 inches in the coup link still.

I do have pic's but for some reson i can't post them. Can I send them to you via email?

You should open up a photobucket account so you can upload pictures and link them more easily.
http://photobucket.com/
As has been mentioned your shaft probably broke because of misalignment, which could have occurred from an improperly made or improperly installed adapter plate. If you don't fix that problem a new shaft will also break.

gottdi said:

I can verify it's the shaft. He sent me a few photos of the mishap. Damn, and all that work and learning he has done. That makes for a real sour experience. But it is not hopeless. It is good that you got as far as you have. Figuring things out will only help you in the long run. Taking motors apart is not hard but you must be careful not to chip or bust the brushes and that you label all your parts and take photos along the way so you can put it back together when your ready to put it back together. If they send you a new armature you can install it yourself. You will need a bearing puller I assume but that is not terrible hard. I did that to a GE 9" I have. I took it apart and replaced the bearings and cleaned the motor. Still runs well. Did that job in a couple hours.

Pete

Click to expand...

Hi Gottdi Glad you chimed in. I was wondering if you can post those pic's for me? I'd be much obliged. I can take better ones if need be.

major said:

Hey Pete,

Does it look anything like m38mike's little problem, post #27, http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forum...help-25633p3.html?highlight=jeep+shaft+broken

major

Click to expand...

WOW!!!! Major - Thats exactly what happend!.
And like the jeep the 1985 chevy sprint is geard low also in 1st and 2nd.. problem of why it broke solved., How did you fix it? Did you just start off in 3rd everytime at a stop .

No, he had a proper adapter built since the original was a misaligned piece of junk.

JRP3 said:

You should open up a photobucket account so you can upload pictures and link them more easily.
http://photobucket.com/
As has been mentioned your shaft probably broke because of misalignment, which could have occurred from an improperly made or improperly installed adapter plate. If you don't fix that problem a new shaft will also break.

Click to expand...

Hi JRP3 all we need is bill and we have a reunion hee hee. what would you recommend on the procedure on how to install a adapter plate?

p.s. i will go on to poto bucket . thanks

If it was designed and built properly installation should be fairly straight forward. Line everything up and go around tightening each bolt a little at a time. Then when bolting the motor and adapter to the transmission it should slide together fairly easily if lined up properly, and you then tighten those bolts in a similar manner. You might need to take your motor and adapter to a machine shop to check if the surfaces are true and the motor centered.

JRP3 said:

You should open up a photobucket account so you can upload pictures and link them more easily.
http://photobucket.com/
As has been mentioned your shaft probably broke because of misalignment, which could have occurred from an improperly made or improperly installed adapter plate. If you don't fix that problem a new shaft will also break.

Click to expand...

Hey JRP3 thanks for the info on photobucket . I open an account put pics in album . but I still can't post them? is there a thread here that walks me through it?

etischer said:

This is how I got my plate built. Every dowel pin and bolt hole was located on the motor and tranny, the shaft centerlines are dead on.

Click to expand...

Hi Etisher that looks great. more than I can do.
Is your couplink buded up aginst the faceplate or do you have a gap between them ?.

Click on the upload button and it will open an window to your computer so you can navigate to where you keep your pictures. You should keep your photos in a folder so you can find it easy. Or directory if you us a PC. You need to know where they are on your computer. Try one photo first. It should be in .jpg format. If not convert it first then upload it. If you want you can hold the command key down while you select more than one photo then upload a group at a time if your computer and internet access is fast enough.

Give it a try. Looks pretty easy to me. Included link should work.

http://s839.photobucket.com/albums/zz314/onegreenev/ElectricVW/?action=view&current=DSCF0001-1.jpg

My coupling is about 1/2" away from the motor face. I am using a taper lock fitting on my coupling, so I also used a dial indicator to ensure the taper lock was concentric once it was clamped. My clutch disc is dowel pinned to the taper lock.

delivery boy said:

Hi Etisher that looks great. more than I can do.
Is your couplink buded up aginst the faceplate or do you have a gap between them ?.

Click to expand...