IC: Drive Shaft Shop Level 3.9 Axle & Hub Kit

Alright guys if you have followed the other interest thread RCV Performance has directed me back to DSS. I talked with Frank at DSS and he is more then willing to help. Also he said that the pictures that Ryan posted in the old IC were actually Level 0 axles. He was not suprised at how they broke and said he could tell that they were level 0 axles based on the joint design shown.

This IC is for a DSS Level 3.9 axle & hub kit. It will be capable of handling 600hp. The kit will include a larger spline at the hub. On the other end of the shaft that mates with the transmission will be made of a different material. Since it is not possible to increase the size of the spline the material will be upgraded to withstand the torque being transferred. They have had great luck with a company the contracted out of Sweden for a drag car that they have been working with. The car was putting down something like 1200hp and was twisting axles after 15 runs. The new material that they are using from this third party has not twisted and so far has had 36 runs on them. This is the material he would propose for the CV shaft end going into the differential at the trans.

I will post back with specifics (pricing, material details, # of people needed, etc) as Frank is looking into the details and how he wants to construct the setup. I no longer need to send my CV shafts in so the turn around time should be better. The kit should be similar to that of the kits they already offer such as the Honda Civic kit shown below, which is $1299.99

DSS Level 3.9 Axle/Hub kit 2001-2004 Civic Si



And with that lets get a list going...

1. CSVT#49
2.
3.
4.
5.

Is there a group buy for discounted pricing or what?

1. CSVT#49
2. 00StealthySVT
3.
4.
5.

00stealthySVT said:

Is there a group buy for discounted pricing or what?

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That is the plan. However I can not guarantee a great discount. As this setup will be better then the Civic one that is shown as he is working out the details for the material on the trans side so that we don't move the problem of shearing the spline ends off at the hub to the diff side.

Well, I'm really not interested in having to change-out the hubs and wheel bearings again after just completing the job about 1 month ago. Since I'm not doing forced induction, I'm going to sit on the fence for now and watch how this plays out. I may change my mind if I choose to dig-up a separate set of steering knuckles. That way, the current good ones could be sold to someone who needs them.

mrspindlelegs said:

Well, I'm really not interested in having to change-out the hubs and wheel bearings again after just completing the job about 1 month ago. Since I'm not doing forced induction, I'm going to sit on the fence for now and watch how this plays out. I may change my mind if I choose to dig-up a separate set of steering knuckles. That way, the current good ones could be sold to someone who needs them.

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You should be able to just press out the hub and change it... doesn't require changing the bearings.

CSVT#49 said:

You should be able to just press out the hub and change it... doesn't require changing the bearings.

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Every single hub bearing I've done on a front wheel drive Ford has always been destroyed in the process of pressing out the hub. The outer bearing section that is located nearest to the hub flange always tears out the retaining ring that holds the assembly together. In other words, the outer race and the inner bearing that is closest to the CV joint comes out as desired but the other inner bearing stays on the hub. I'll check on getting some hub/knuckle assemblies; there are a few SVTs being parted out in the classifieds at the moment.

Do you have any concern that the intermediate shaft on the passenger side will easily become the weak link?

I'm interested. Once I know how much it'll cost to repair my tranny, I will be able to confirm or back out.

This is cool though. As far as I know, our lovely past member "prodigy" was the only person to buy the DSS hubs... but I don't recall anyone actually installing them. Since the hubs will require special DSS axles, what kind of guarantee can they offer in terms of how long they'll make the axle for? Also, what kind of warranty?

1. CSVT#49
2. 00StealthySVT
3. morbid
4.
5.

I am wondering about the warranty situation as well as the intermediate shaft. I am very interested though.

If the shaft isn't the breaking point, where does the break point shift to if I have a Torsen in my MTX? (as stated in previous thread) I also have concerns about the intermediate shaft. possibly interested.

I have the highest level axles out right now. IIRC, Ryan had them as well Stage/LVL 5, I think? I dont understand why we would need the hubs? Our weak spot is close to the transmission. I would think just the change of the stronger material should fix our issue of snapping. I dont see the intermediate shaft being an issue as well as it really doesnt have moving parts like the axles/cv joints.

Maybe if we were able to change the axles by having stubs plugged into the transmission. But I am no engineer, I have just seen cars like that and throwing out the idea.

I dont know if Im ready to drop that much on some axles. I will keep an eye on this thread tho. Keep the good parts coming!

Edit: Ryan as well as my Axles were STAGE/LVL 2. Which he teared in the normal spot!

- Amyn

morbid said:

As far as I know, our lovely past member "prodigy" was the only person to buy the DSS hubs... but I don't recall anyone actually installing them.

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Alright Amyn I read through your post 2 or 3 times and I'm confused...

First -

qbcsvt said:

I have the highest level axles out right now. IIRC, Ryan had them as well Stage/LVL 5, I think?

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Second -

qbcsvt said:

I dont know if Im ready to drop that much on some axles. I will keep an eye on this thread tho.

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Third -

qbcsvt said:

Edit: Ryan as well as my Axles were STAGE/LVL 2. Which he teared in the normal spot!

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So with all that which level axle to you have 5 or 2? Why would you be looking to buy axles if you already have them? The hubs need to be replaced to allow for the larger spline, many people have had the spline shear off at the hub end not sure why you think the problem is only at the trans side as only a couple of people have had it fail there with the majority of people having issues at the hub. The intermediate shaft is not going to be a problem the problem is with transferring the torque through CV joints and the loading on the splines after the joint. There are no joints on the intermediate shaft.

After talking with Frank at DSS he said he only built a few level 3 kits (which come with hubs), one of which he just recently repaired a hub on. I think UltraRev who previously sold the level 2 axles was full of BS. Frank said that UltraRev only bought level 0 kits from them and nothing more, so I'm guessing they were selling the level 0 axles to the people that were ordering the level 2's, which may be why people where breaking them. I know Ryan said he had level 2 axles, but like I said in a previous post Frank saw the pictures and identified them as being a level 0 axle by looking at the CV joint.

I have level bazzzzillion! But seriously, in the IC thread I had asked where the break point might move to after installing these. MTX w/Torsen

Thanks, Chas.

Chas said:

I have level bazzzzillion! But seriously, in the IC thread I had asked where the break point might move to after installing these. MTX w/Torsen

Thanks, Chas.

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Well my guess would be you would start stripping splines in your Torsen... however that would take a lot of torque.

morbid said:

This is cool though. As far as I know, our lovely past member "prodigy" was the only person to buy the DSS hubs... but I don't recall anyone actually installing them. Since the hubs will require special DSS axles, what kind of guarantee can they offer in terms of how long they'll make the axle for? Also, what kind of warranty?

Click to expand...

FastFord said:

I am wondering about the warranty situation as well as the intermediate shaft. I am very interested though.

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I'm sure they will come with there standard 1 year warranty. Also as I thought I had mentioned some where.... Frank at DSS just helped someone replace their hub on a SVT Contour level 3 kit just recently. He told me he hadn't made that in 6 years, but was able to help the guy out (not sure who it was). Frank has come off as a real stand up guy. I have no concern about availability of parts/repair in the future.

Stylin55_oh said:

If the shaft isn't the breaking point, where does the break point shift to if I have a Torsen in my MTX? (as stated in previous thread) I also have concerns about the intermediate shaft. possibly interested.

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Again regarding the intermediate shaft as I said in my last post you will most likely strip the splines in the diff before you snap the intermediate shaft.

I have Level 5 axles myself... but they're not in the Contour :laugh:

CSVT#49 said:

I'm sure they will come with there standard 1 year warranty. Also as I thought I had mentioned some where.... Frank at DSS just helped someone replace their hub on a SVT Contour level 3 kit just recently. He told me he hadn't made that in 6 years, but was able to help the guy out (not sure who it was). Frank has come off as a real stand up guy. I have no concern about availability of parts/repair in the future.

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If you guys are worried about possible replacement parts further down the road and their availability and on the fence because of it then don't be as if you buy something from them you'll be taken care of. A lot of times the parts that go into making a particular shaft for a car are used in another set of axles somewhere so I wouldn't be too concerned about parts availability dropping off. As said the shafts carry a one year warranty but that in itself is somewhat "flexible"... my Level 5 shafts in my Cobra were 3 or 4 years out of warranty and when I twisted the splines slightly on the 300M main bar due to breaking the stock inner CV's Frank replaced the bar at no cost to me. The last time I had the shafts down there (about two months or so ago) the inner CV's were barely leaking a little grease... I asked them to check them and see if they could fix the leaking issue and not only did they fix it they went all the way back through the shafts and didn't charge me for that either. They did build me a new driveshaft at the same time which that wasn't free but they do seem to stand by their product IMO.

CSVT#49 said:

Again regarding the intermediate shaft as I said in my last post you will most likely strip the splines in the diff before you snap the intermediate shaft.

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Power will follow the next weakest link in the driveline if the axles are beefed up... if the intermediate shaft is strong enough and the clutch has been replaced with a stronger unit then my guess would be the input shaft on the transaxle being snapped off. That is usually what happens with a manual trans in a Mustang when everything else in the driveline has been upgraded except for that



Shannon

I have stage 2 axles. Which Ryan said he had the same. I did got mine from ultra rev. Can you give me your contacts or forward me your emails as I would like to know if my are in fact lvl 2 DSS axles. And if these parts help the car at one of our weakest links it is well worth upgrading. I am just not EXTREMLY interested.

If we have previously had the axles shear at the hub as well as the trans side. By making the hub side extremely strong may cause the transfer of power consistently break on the trans side. What will be done about the trans side?

- amyn

qbcsvt said:

I have stage 2 axles. Which Ryan said he had the same. I did got mine from ultra rev. Can you give me your contacts or forward me your emails as I would like to know if my are in fact lvl 2 DSS axles. And if these parts help the car at one of our weakest links it is well worth upgrading. I am just not EXTREMLY interested.

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You'll need to send pictures into the tech email at DSS, which can be found on their website under the contact info. They can identify them by the CV joints.

qbcsvt said:

If we have previously had the axles shear at the hub as well as the trans side. By making the hub side extremely strong may cause the transfer of power consistently break on the trans side. What will be done about the trans side?

- amyn

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Come on Amyn! You just have to read the posts...

CSVT#49 said:

This IC is for a DSS Level 3.9 axle & hub kit. It will be capable of handling 600hp. The kit will include a larger spline at the hub. On the other end of the shaft that mates with the transmission will be made of a different material. Since it is not possible to increase the size of the spline the material will be upgraded to withstand the torque being transferred. They have had great luck with a company the contracted out of Sweden for a drag car that they have been working with. The car was putting down something like 1200hp and was twisting axles after 15 runs. The new material that they are using from this third party has not twisted and so far has had 36 runs on them. This is the material he would propose for the CV shaft end going into the differential at the trans.

Click to expand...

Ouch:blackeye:. $1300??? Well, i'm really interested in a set of these. I'll finally be able to launch this bad boy with little worry. I really hope they can do sumthn about the price. Nevertheless, i'm in.

1. CSVT#49
2. 00StealthySVT
3. morbid
4. BAD SVT