Black Sea RD

(Update in post #15 below)

We are currently having new 944 5-speed drive shafts being made. We are going to zinc plate them and was wondering what color would be liked by most. We have options of bright (silver) or yellow zinc.

Any preferences between these two?

I've attached one of the first protoypes in bright zinc above an old one drive shaft with a bad pilot bearing nub so you can see what bright zinc looks like.

Cheers,

KuHL 951

From a corrosion standpoint the yellow zinc dichromate is a better process. I would avoid any plating on the pilot bearing tip though, the splines should be fine as they don't see the same heat as the pilot bearing. I have to ask though, why are you plating them at all? Have you seen any problems with excessive corrosion once sealed inside the TT? A little RTV on bolted surfaces of the TT goes a long way in keeping out moisture and debris unless you park underwater. Hopefully the plating doesn't make the coupler fit any tighter, they are hard enough to remove the way they are now. Don't let Crazy Eddie see those, he's a plating maniac!

Darwantae951

So long as the part is properly treated with a solid corrosion protection process, what does color really matter? It's not like you're going to see the TT driveshaft!

Wish I had one of your TTs, BTW!

Van

Yeah, since you don't see it, which coating will perform better from a wear resistance and/or corrosion resistance perspective?

Black Sea RD

Thank you all for your thoughts.

Steve, Porsche put a black oxide coating on their drive shafts and we want to go a step better. Corrosion is a concern due not only to water invading into the torque tube (TT) but also during the heating and cooling cycles of the parts which can make them sweat, especially in certain climates. Our drive shaft protoypes did not have any fitment issues due to the coatings.

Just thought to ask while we are at this step in the process as a way to involve the owners. The coating(s) chosen will be very good for this application no matter the color.

Thank you,

xschop

Yellow, it's tougher. Did you go with 300M? Also specify the installer to add GREY anti-sieze to the pilot tip so any galvanic corrosion is inhibited between the bearing steel.

Nice work by the way. These are a much needed item for these aging cars.

whalebird

Any idea of price yet? Package deal with bearings maybe? Keep up the good work.

V2Rocket

holy crap batman, those have got to be expensive...i am interested in one, but i know i can't afford it...nice work.

Black Sea RD

We did not go with a 300M material since that would have been more expensive and really not needed. The material chosen is a stronger material than stock and should be considered as an upgrade to the stock drive shaft. The 300M material can be special ordered if wanted though. Understood about the anti-sieze and also appreciate the kind words on our behalf!

Pricing is still being worked out and we are definetly working out package deals with our Super Bearings in complete rebuilt TTs. However the beauty of these new drive shafts is that they can also be used with the original bearing units so owners can have a choice in case they want to rebuild their own bearing units but need a drive shaft since their's is shot, like the one in the picture above.

Thank you,

xschop

Very nice. I'll point the hybriders your way. IIRC the Yellow Zinc Dichromate passivates to .0002 to .0003 from my experience this would actually improve the clutch and rear coupler spline interfaces....

whalebird

You gotta hand it to Constantine for bringing these options to our cars, which get less support every day.
Not having done the TT rebuild myself, could you clarify that you do not recommend the DIY'er try to install your super bearings at home, where factory bearings may be easier? I may have misinterpreted your post.
Your very nice webpage states that your bearings come with instructions. Again, not having done this, I don't want to get in over my head/do damage.

whalebird

Sorry, reread your post and it's clear to me now what you were saying.

Black Sea RD

The new 944 drive shafts will be yellow zinced and the first run is almost done.

Thanks for the replies, suggestions and comments.

Cheers!

Josh B

I've got two cores in Atlanta if you need some - have been meaning to drop you a line.

Black Sea RD

As an update, we just received the shipment of new 944 5-speed drive shafts coated in yellow zinc as discussed above.

Picture shows both ends of the new drive shafts.

Cheers,