Hey there. I'm SlugLUV's buddy. We spent the better part of the afternoon getting the truck up on ramps and pulling the driveshaft out off the tranny. If not for the Haynes manual and the guidance in this thread, we would've had a vague idea of how to get started. Here's the photo documentation of how it went down.
First, after getting the driveshaft off the rear end, and pulling it from the tranny, we noticed something wasn't right. It was a real bitch to get off, as if it was fused in there. Also, no oil leaked out, as the manual warned it should. Then as we looked around the tranny, we noticed quite a bit of fresh oil spray.
Uh-oh. We kept yanking on it, and were greeted with this gem:
Well that doesn't look good. Remember earlier my buddy mentioned the mechanic let slip something about a bushing? There it is, the source of all the trouble it appears.
The bushing appears warped and deformed from heat and friction, and was preventing the shaft from sliding right out. We had to pry it out with pliers, then had at the driveshaft for about half an hour before it finally came free.
Ugh, what a sad sight. What the hell is this thing, anyway? It doesn't look like what should be in the Haynes manual:
Piece #32 is the "oil seal", which I don't think was even there. It appears to be a metal ring with rubber on the inside. Unless, in one of the rings there was rubber, which burned off, but I doubt it.
Why were all these pieces in there?
We ended up with two rings and two bushings, where the manual says there should be only 1 of each. What did these guys do? I'm thinking they didn't have the correct parts, and just shoved whatever in there.
Also, we got this piece, which I don't think was meant to be a piece at all:
Haha. I don't think this was meant to come off like that. Look where it came from:
Crap. I think you really need that at the end of the tranny. What do we do now?
Well here's the driveshaft. Think it's still in good shape?
There is it, the LUV. My buddy made a great find. Original paint in near mint condition, 46k original miles. It looks like it was garaged and babied.
So, here is our theory of what happened:
1) Rebuilt tranny was installed.
2) Driveshaft to tranny installation was done incorrectly. Two many and/or incorrect parts.
3) The parts failed, the tranny oil leaked out, causing all the vibration.
I can't believe the mechanic was looking to screw him like this. This should've been a simple diagnosis for him to make. Instead off the bat he says new tranny, clutch, blah blah, with inflated prices. I think he saw what he believed to be a young and naive man with a real cherry truck, hoping to make a big score. "Yeah, your truck is toast...but uh, what are you planning to do with it now? Can't make the repairs? You know, I could take it off your hands..." Unbelievable.
So what now guys? That broken off tranny piece is our main prob now. In the Haynes manual it says the end of the tranny, "extension housing assembly", which the piece was on, should be removable. Could we just get this piece, and install it on the tranny? Does the whole tranny need to come out to do this?
And after we do all this, I'm hoping this was really the sole source of the trouble. What do you think?
We're anxiously awaiting to hear from you. Thanks for all your help.