Driveshaft coupler

[carlospena96]

Hello
I have a 81 spider and the driveshaft coupling breaks
This is the original one new


Can someone tell if I can put something with more resistence and where I can find it, or put another of other model or car?

[131]

A good quality "Guibo" as the yanks call it, will last for years. I replaced mine about 6 years ago and it's still fine, and it gets abused regularly. You get what you pay for, crap aftermarket ones aren't worth the effort to fit.

[carlospena96]

This one I buy is for a lada niva, because looks exactly the same with the same dimensions, and because the original one I replace was cracked
I will like to know if a can fit a coupling from a bmw or a merc, something that looks pretty resistant

[AriK]

Auto Ricambi sells the heavy duty unit. I'm not quite sure of its origins or applications but i'm curious myself in case anyone knows.

[baltobernie]

Hello
I have a 81 spider and the driveshaft coupling breaks

Do you mean it breaks frequently, or this is the first time? If it breaks regularly, you are either abusing the car, have installed much more horsepower than stock, or you have a bad carrier bearing support/U-joints. Or you have a transmission/engine leak and the oils are destroying the rubber.

[carlospena96]

I changed cause the original car was very old and cracked, I changed with lada niva guibo, when I downshift 4th gear to 3rd it breaks, it had probably 1 year and about 1000 miles, it is the first time it breaks when I use my spider

[carlospena96]

PD: center bearing suport and the universal joints of the driveshaft are new

[DieselSpider]

If new ones break consistently every 1,000 miles when you purchase the same Lada Niva Guibo then break the cycle and get the heavy duty Guibo from Auto Ricambi or one from Vic's.

http://www.autoricambi.us/product/DR5-4 ... RFORMANCE/

http://www.autoricambi.us/product/DR5-4 ... t--Guibo-/

http://www.vickauto.com/newstore/index. ... ts_id=2023

On a product like this beware of old stock as these items are made of rubber and impacted by ozone and exposure to electrical fields. Being stored for years near a main circuit panel or an running electric motor can make them unreliable and prone to failure.

[djape1977]

plenty shit quality parts out there

[baltobernie]

Upon rebuilding my engine in 2008, I received (from a vendor no longer in business) a new timing belt marked prominently "Made in West Germany"

[carlospena96]

I buy a new guibo from TN, it is meyle and it is from a bmw 2002, so hopefully I will receive a good OEM quality part

[131]

What makes you think it will fit?

[djape1977]

Upon rebuilding my engine in 2008, I received (from a vendor no longer in business) a new timing belt marked prominently "Made in West Germany"

given the quality of parts made these days, made in west germany might not be so bad

[fiatfactory]

.

[DieselSpider]

Upon rebuilding my engine in 2008, I received (from a vendor no longer in business) a new timing belt marked prominently "Made in West Germany"

given the quality of parts made these days, made in west germany might not be so bad

I think his point was more to do with Germany reuniting in 1989... and the time lapse to 2008 when the part was supplied to him...although I believe if boxed, handled correctly and not exposed to sunlight a timing belt should last that period of time without issue. Most modern cars have around 10 years between belt change (150 to 200k km service interval) and that's being heat cycled... something sitting on the shelf is under far less stress.

I still have some OE tailshaft couplings with late 1990's date stamps on them I still regularly sell and fit without any issues ...and I would rather use a 25 year old well stored Pirelli coupling than a new production coupling from eastern europe myself.

SteveC

Rubber parts even when hermetically sealed break down even when not in use. They off-gas the compounds that keep them flexible or have them settle following the course of gravity and get stiff or simply fall apart. Even the Smithsonian Institute is facing this when conserving items made just 10 or 20 years ago as they sit unused on the shelf in controlled environments however they still deteriorate. My father was an engineer for almost 50 years in the rubber industry who designed long lasting rubber formulations for the military and those formulations would not be cost effective on a consumer car Guibo that typically sells for around $25. The closest thing may be the $69 heavy duty one that Ricambi sells however even that one while very good is not quite there. In the size for a 124 Spider a Century grade Guibo would probably cost well over $100.

Here is a decent article from the Smithsonian containing the science behind the issue and although its mainly covering plastics it also bridges to rubber products and covers the added issue faced when metals are involved such as is the case with the metal reinforcements molded into a Guibo.

http://smithsonianscience.si.edu/2009/0 ... -on-alert/

Sometimes the decay can be accelerated by the choice of plastic wrapper the part is in or potentially the proximity to other rubber or plastic products in the storage area including the bin or tray the parts are being stored in.