I have two drives open at the moment and have been playing with & comparing them. One has much more wear on the brass bushing that holds the spindle gear than the other. That drive also siezes when the spindle gear wallows over ever so slightly. It does this no matter which spindle gear is installed. I've watched very closely as that gear is then moved over *JUST A HAIR* and the bind releases. This all happens turning the gears by hand. Note that the wallowy housing does not bind spinning backwards, even with the square rod I'm using clamped into a drill. As Marc suggested, the gear teeth are definitely directional -- in the other direction than DMC uses. FYI: my spindle gear has been modified to accept a square drive cable. Will make it easier to replace the spindle cable the next time it fails (the stupid thing *IS* wound in the same direction as our primary wheel rotation...) Not only am I 100% convinced (sorry Martin, Elvis, et al) that our angle drives are designed for right wheel applications -- DMC just turned them around backwards -- but I would bet the primary reason they fail is because that bushing wears and allows the teeth to bind. Note that because DMC turns the gears backwards, the spindle gear is pulled towards the back of the housing (with no back on the drive it spins right on out). When it bottoms out against that convex piece of metal, additional pressure is put on the brass bushing. Combined with inadequate lubrication, the bushing wears, becomes wallowy, and the teeth eventually bind. BTW: Our lubrication screws are pretty much useless to stop this: 1) They are upside down 2) They do not lubricate the brass bushings FWIW: The metal the spindle gears are made of is pretty hard stuff. Out of curiosity I tried to tap some threads in the smooth bore (just to see how difficult it would be versus Grade 5 or 8 bolts). My verdict: The spindle gear is harder than a Grade 8 bolt. None of my teeth have any visible or feelable (with a precision screwdriver blade) wear. Assuming the speedometer gear is similarly hard, I really don't think teeth wear is an issue. Feel free to flame away... Bill Robertson #5939 >--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Harold McElraft" <hmcelraft@...> wrote: > > IMHO - the only real problem with the speedometer drive and cables > was lubrication, weather protection and maintenance. If properly > installed and maintained I've seen no problem. I've put over 200,000 > miles on my cars with no problems. > > Yes - I had an angle drive break but I let the lower cable go dry and > seize. I replaced it about 20,000 miles ago. > > Harold McElraft - 3354 > To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:dmcnews-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mailto:dmcnews-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/