Torque Tube Question
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 36,836
Likes: 244
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
about the center rubber donut on the manual tranny torque tubes vs the auto's who don't have one.I went through a lot of research a couple years back when I was changing over my entire '99 drivetrain as I didn't want my TT assy (with early 55mm driveshaft inside) to be a weak link. I was going to be buying used and I wanted all the tips/ques I could find when buying. There are actually a number of other differences too, so the more a guy knows the better off he's going to be; just look what happened to the OP. Hopefully he can get his money back.
One of the big tip-offs (on the manual trans units at least) to the later (better) vs the early assemblies is the fact that the rear bell-housing is welded on vs bolted on. If a guy is looking to make a change-over and sees a welded design that's a good start. Then you can do more follow-up as to condition, source,etc. At least that way a guy doesn't have to go around trying to remember (or writing down) the long GM part numbers just to try and recognize these things right away. My research was focused mainly on MM6/M12 versions as opposed to the M30s so I can't speak with as much knowledge on the auto versions, but I did notice some very obvious differences though and the rubber "donut" is just one.
HTH
Oh, btw that GM part number that I posted earlier is for the M30 (A4) driveshaft as listed on my parts CD. The GMpartsdirect info is just something that's easy to use when trying to get a clue as to a part number when it's a weekend or late and all the dealerships are closed. GMpartsdirect can be helpful for research (sometimes) but I would NEVER recommend buying from them as they RAPE you on shipping/handling. Our 2 forum vendors are the BEST way to go for pricing, part number verification, availability, etc.
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,960
Likes: 21
From: West Norriton PA
St. Jude Donor '08
Just pointing out one of the big differences. If a TT assy is broken down or disassembled with the shaft out, it is yet another way to recognize an M30 vs an MM6/M12 shaft.
I went through a lot of research a couple years back when I was changing over my entire '99 drivetrain as I didn't want my TT assy (with early 55mm driveshaft inside) to be a weak link. I was going to be buying used and I wanted all the tips/ques I could find when buying. There are actually a number of other differences too, so the more a guy knows the better off he's going to be; just look what happened to the OP. Hopefully he can get his money back.
One of the big tip-offs (on the manual trans units at least) to the later (better) vs the early assemblies is the fact that the rear bell-housing is welded on vs bolted on. If a guy is looking to make a change-over and sees a welded design that's a good start. Then you can do more follow-up as to condition, source,etc. At least that way a guy doesn't have to go around trying to remember (or writing down) the long GM part numbers just to try and recognize these things right away. My research was focused mainly on MM6/M12 versions as opposed to the M30s so I can't speak with as much knowledge on the auto versions, but I did notice some very obvious differences though and the rubber "donut" is just one.
HTH
Oh, btw that GM part number that I posted earlier is for the M30 (A4) driveshaft as listed on my parts CD. The GMpartsdirect info is just something that's easy to use when trying to get a clue as to a part number when it's a weekend or late and all the dealerships are closed. GMpartsdirect can be helpful for research (sometimes) but I would NEVER recommend buying from them as they RAPE you on shipping/handling. Our 2 forum vendors are the BEST way to go for pricing, part number verification, availability, etc.
I went through a lot of research a couple years back when I was changing over my entire '99 drivetrain as I didn't want my TT assy (with early 55mm driveshaft inside) to be a weak link. I was going to be buying used and I wanted all the tips/ques I could find when buying. There are actually a number of other differences too, so the more a guy knows the better off he's going to be; just look what happened to the OP. Hopefully he can get his money back.
One of the big tip-offs (on the manual trans units at least) to the later (better) vs the early assemblies is the fact that the rear bell-housing is welded on vs bolted on. If a guy is looking to make a change-over and sees a welded design that's a good start. Then you can do more follow-up as to condition, source,etc. At least that way a guy doesn't have to go around trying to remember (or writing down) the long GM part numbers just to try and recognize these things right away. My research was focused mainly on MM6/M12 versions as opposed to the M30s so I can't speak with as much knowledge on the auto versions, but I did notice some very obvious differences though and the rubber "donut" is just one.
HTH
Oh, btw that GM part number that I posted earlier is for the M30 (A4) driveshaft as listed on my parts CD. The GMpartsdirect info is just something that's easy to use when trying to get a clue as to a part number when it's a weekend or late and all the dealerships are closed. GMpartsdirect can be helpful for research (sometimes) but I would NEVER recommend buying from them as they RAPE you on shipping/handling. Our 2 forum vendors are the BEST way to go for pricing, part number verification, availability, etc.
I see your point now it just wasn't clear to me at first.Lucky for me I live only a few minutes away from Gene at gmpartshouse.com and he gets all of my business factory parts business. He's a great guy and has spent lots of extra time helping me find parts, etc... when I was doing conversion from auto to six-speed and the coupe to hardtop conversion.
