Just a word of advise to anyone out there that has installed a Keisler 5 speed conversion to their vette or any car. If your car has an annoying vibration chances are the driveshaft they provide isn't up to snuff.

I put my Keisler Tremec 5 speed in back in '09.

Since then I have been chasing a high speed vibration for quite awhile which has been getting worse. I figured it maybe a u joint or tire balance issue or possibly a wheel bearing. So, after road force balancing my new tires, replacing all the u joints, replacing the rear wheel bearings, servicing the front wheel bearings. I decided to put my car on the lift and let it idle in first gear to get a look at things underneath. Lo and behold the driveshaft was wobbling like crazy. So I talked to a tech at Keisler and after a long conversation I decided to just forget trying to do anything with them because I know its going to cost me unnecessary money in the long run.

Thank God I have Denny's Driveshaft nearby. I had him built me a driveshaft to replace this one. The Keisler supplied slip yolk was so far away from being in the centerline of the u joint there was no way Denny could even balance the shaft. Denny's machine will spin a shaft up to 10,000 rpm's vs. Keislers 2500 rpm machine.

So I figured I'd share this info since I went through a few suggestions to a couple blank deer in the headlight looks and figured it out on my own.



BTW, this is post 1500 for me! Yeah! It only took 10 years to do it. I'm sure there are a couple out there that prefer I don't talk that much. lol.

Thanks for the headsup Sarge.  I have a Tremac 5 speed still in the box in my garage waiting to be installed.  I'll be sure to have the driveshaft checked for balance before it goes in.  That's too bad you couldn't get any satisfaction from the supplier.  Not very good business ethics.

Glad you got it straightened out, Sarge! Gonna make cruising a whole lot more fun!

Roger that Sarge!! Pole vaulting with a drive shaft ain't no fun!! Had mine shortened and high speed balanced when I did the 700R4 - smoooooth!!!

Denny's finished up my driveshaft today. This thing was like a work of art. But no matter how careful I was I managed to put a couple small scratches on it. 

Since I forgot to tell them that I needed a "quick disconnect" slip yoke they gave me the regular slip yoke. Oops, my bad. No big deal though. I just marked all the pieces and disassembled the slip yoke. (As recommended by Denny) I put the slip yoke in the tranny, then finagled the driveshaft in. Then put the bearing caps and clips in place and "wa la" problem solved. I turned the driveshaft quite a few revolutions and no more wobble. Yeah! So this weekend I hope to have the console all put back together so I can give it a good test run. Then I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

@rick jay, Of course as luck would have it. It was long out of warranty. Keisler was considering a good will gesture. But! They wanted a shop to to check the balance of their driveshaft. Well, that's $90 here. Then I would be looking at shipping cost $30-$50. Then run into the possibility of getting another untrue driveshaft. I wasn't willing to take the chance. I've tried something like this before and it wound up being a complete waste of time and money.

@Paul, I agree. Pole vaulting a shaft would make for a bad ride. lol. Speaking of shortening a driveshaft. The Keisler driveshaft was actually to long. Even with the "quick disconnect" slip yoke it was a real PITA to remove from the car.

One last note. The transmission mount that was supplied with the 5 spd. kit was collapsed and there was metal to metal contact. I replaced it with a good polyurethane mount from Energy Suspension.

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not dogging out Keisler. I'm pointing out potential flaws in their kits. Hopefully this may help someone avert a problem if they have one of these kits.

Good news Daryll, glad you found the source of the vibration. Guess i might need to look into my drive shaft on my 78, as it is a Kiesler shaft too....  and i've always had a bit of vibration as well, nothing overly concerning, but my gear shifter always had a bit of shimmy shimmy shake to it... always thought i might be related to cutting the crossmember and not getting it back in "exactly true".... Thanks for the 'heads up' :)

jimmy...

Sarge, very good info. I recently had a drive shaft made by a local company. I wanted a high speed balance at least 7,000 rpm's. They told me that they only go with 2,500. My car is still apart (chassis all complete body not on yet). 

|UPDATED|10/2/2011 7:25:10 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

^^^^ I agree. That chassis is awesome! Show car material there. 

@Rick Jay, I'll see you at Watkins Glen this coming weekend.

I'm glad I could offer some info regarding a potential problem.

I don't post here much. Actually I haven't posted much tech/help stuff here in quite a few years.
Once some of the "heavy hitter's" joined, I pretty much relegated myself to PM's, personal phone call for technical chat and lurking status. They made me feel like my knowledge level was inferior to theirs. Even though I have spent most of my life working on cars, heavy equipment, aircraft. And no I don't know everything. Oops, Sorry. I'm off topic. My bad. Gotta go!