Automotive Workshop Services
Repairs, Balancing and Custom Manufacturing Services
When we first opened our doors as a two-man workshop in 1982, Driveline stood for reliable and economical tailshaft design, modification and mechanical repairs. Our philosophy hasn’t changed since those humble beginnings, and that has allowed us to grow into Australia’s complete underbody and power transmission specialists.
Our automotive workshop services are a major part of Driveline’s success over the past 40 years. With experience in all types of vehicle and equipment powertrains, we are able to save our clients time and money by offering a one-stop-shop for repair, rebuild and custom manufacturing services and metal reclamation.
Driveline is ready to tackle any project in the public and private sectors. Our automotive workshop services are available to all types of vehicles and equipment, including business fleets, private vehicles, heavy-duty 4WDs and high performance racers. With an in-house team capable of developing commercial off-highway, light fleet and heavy mining equipment, as well as replacement parts and custom assemblies, Driveline is ready to deliver a solution for every environment.
On this page you can explore a selection of our most popular automotive workshop services. We also offer some insight into the processes that have made us the complete underbody and power transmission specialists.
Custom Part Manufacturing
Whatever the challenge, Driveline’s custom manufacturing and CNC machining services are up to the task. With access to cutting edge equipment and decades of fabrication experience, our manufacturing team can craft custom components for any application.
The Driveline team has access to state-of-the-art computerised automotive workshop equipment. That allows us to design, engineer and fabricate custom equipment solutions and components to meet your exact specifications. We always go the distance to deliver outstanding products, and with equipment like our latest Leadwell 3-axis CNC milling machine, we have the brains and the brawn to make it happen.
Get in touch with us today to discuss your custom components and find out how Driveline can support your project.
Metal Reclamation
Driveline performs a comprehensive range of repairs to worn, damaged and corroded drivetrain components. To maximise the lifespan of repairs and protect components from failure, we use the Mechanical Bond method of Metal Reclamation to replace metal on worn surfaces.
Unlike metal reclamation through fusion, this process lays down material that “grips” the parent item, rather than melting into the surface. This low-temperature solution is ideal for performing repairs on treated facings that are sensitive to tempering or thermal deformation.
During our mechanical bond repairs, damaged surfaces are machined between 0.5mm and 1mm deep. This allows for the added thickness of the new spray material without cutting through the original hard facing. Areas not being repaired are masked with ordinary masking tape or special paste. Maximum temperature is approximately 105 deg C and the sprayed item can be removed from the chuck by hand in most instances.
The sprayed area is then machined to its original specifications before undergoing a rigorous quality assurance inspection as part of our metal reclamation process.
Industrial Balancing
Slight imperfections can be highly detrimental to the efficient rotation and stability of industrial equipment. To keep your operation moving, Driveline offers state-of-the-art industrial balancing and dynamic tailshaft balancing services at our automotive workshops. With a range of computer-controlled balancers at our disposal, Driveline can optimise your equipment’s performance and ensure the accuracy of critical components.
Spinning at up to 1,250 rpm, Driveline’s industrial and vehicle balancing service and mechanical repairs are ideal for oversized industrial equipment such as industrial shafts, tailshafts, propellers, spindles, gyroscopes, beaters, industrial shafts, brake drums, wheel hubs, armatures, impellers, centrifuges, rollers, turbine shafts and more.
With a capacity of three tonnes and a maximum swing diameter of 2.1 metres, Driveline can accurately identify imperfections in the largest components. Once we know what’s wrong, we can offer precise repairs to return your equipment to its original specifications.
Transmission Dyno Testing
Your transmissions work hard all day every day. Maintaining optimal performance means ensuring each component is up to the challenge. As part of our automotive workshop services, Driveline offers heavy-duty transmission dyno testing and fault diagnosis, with a speciality in Dana/Clark applications.
Our testing equipment can accommodate all sizes of off highway vehicle transmissions, power shifts and manual shifts, including drop box and remote-mounted configurations. Our transmission dyno is capable of performing full throttle, load-induced downshifts that can push transmissions into first gear and hold them there.
Combined with precise load control, this allows Driveline to test and diagnose transmission faults with unmatched precision, keeping your equipment ready for action.
Chassis Modifications
Major upgrades and high performance vehicles often require complex chassis modifications. As the backbone of the vehicle, the chassis is a precise assembly that has been engineered to carry loads, support crash structures and perform in specific environments. Modifying a chassis is a serious undertaking, but Driveline is proud to say we can carry out chassis modifications to support your needs.
Our vehicle workshops are equipped to perform a full range of chassis modifications. From lengthening chassis legs to moving driveline mounting points, altering the suspension and more, Driveline can engineer a high-performance solution without compromising on safety.
Powertrain Fault Diagnosis
& Repair
Powertrains contain dozens of complex components that are prone to wear and damage during normal use. Driveline helps our clients maximise uptime by offering a huge range of powertrain fault diagnosis and repair services.
The Driveline team has decades of industry experience with powertrain components from every major manufacturer. We have seen it all over the past 40 years, which means we can diagnose and repair any fault you encounter.
Once we have located the issue in the powertrain design, our automotive workshops have access to a vast inventory of components from brands such as Spicer, Kessler, Neapco, Meritor, HSK, Carraro and much more. These parts allow us to offer rebuild and repair services that ensure your equipment is always up and running.
Powertrain Design
Driveline is proud to be Australia’s leading underbody and vehicle transmission specialists. We have decades of experience in repairing, maintaining, installing and designing powertrain components. That allows us to offer a complete powertrain design service through our vehicle workshops.
Designing a custom powertrain is often the best solution for high performance vehicles, prototypes and custom builds. Driveline is uniquely equipped to offer these workshop services. With access to the world’s leading powertrain manufacturers and more than 20,000 unique parts in our inventory, our team can engineer a solution for every application. And, if off-the-shelf parts don’t do the trick, we can also custom manufacture components and assemblies that meet your needs.
Diff Straightening
Damaged diff housings are a commonly overlooked problem in modified and performance vehicles. While many drivers keep an eye out for obvious damage, it’s the near-invisible micro-damage that’s easily missed. Damage caused by things like excessive weight, heat or stress can cause diff misalignment and excessive wear, and that’s where Driveline comes in.
Driveline employs specialised state-of-the-art diff straightening machinery to accurately measure and straighten damaged diff housings. In many cases we can return housings and components to their optimal shape without the use of heat. If you suspect your diff housing may need straightening, contact us to arrange an inspection.
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Technical Info
Every vehicle is unique, and that means each custom project presents its own set of challenges. Driveline is fully equipped to manufacture custom assemblies and components, and we also provide support for custom build projects as part of our workshop services. We tailor our advice and engineering solutions to ensure custom components meet your expectations and provide the performance you need. To do that, we need to know:
- What is the vehicle going to be used for?
- How much power does the vehicle make and do you intend to modify the engine?
- Are you fitting a different engine, transmission or differential?
- What tyre and wheel combination are you going to use?
Each of these questions allows us to design unique solutions that suit your needs and application. Small details can have a major impact on how we design things like chassis modifications, driveline angles and suspension systems, so make sure to include as much information as you can with your request.
When purchasing vehicle underbody spare parts from any of our workshops, full payment is required for off-the-shelf parts. Custom builds require a deposit before supply and an additional payment prior to building or mechanical repairs.
Consider your needs and wants before you build and save money by not replacing parts in the future.
Having a little information at the beginning of your project, will help you set the correct angles for your driveline (see FAQ driveline angles)
Please ensure measurements are accurate and dimensions are checked prior to requesting any axle modifications. Failing to do so may void your warranty and require additional mechanical repairs.
All axles supplied by Driveline are made from either hardened 1541H steel or 4140 chromoly. Axle warranty may be void if the axle is used incorrectly in a performance application. Please consult Driveline for technical information.
All modified vehicles are unique. Individual technical advice should be considered to ensure that your satisfaction and performance expectations are met by your additional modification.
To ensure your satisfaction, a completed dimension sheet will need to be forwarded to Driveline, by fax, email or post, prior to the commencement of all custom builds in our automotive workshop.
Pricing is available upon request and is subject to change without notice. Invoices that have been paid in full are not subject to change.
Spools
- Spools can only be used with aftermarket axles. Do not fit a spool to a vehicle running OEM axles.
- Spool bearings should only require a light press fit. Excessive pressure will restrict access to the shims.
- Spool spacers must be installed between axles if stock tapered roller bearings and adjusters are used.
Jargon Buster
A differential is a collection of gears that transmits engine torque from the central tailshaft of a vehicle to the two perpendicular axles leading to the wheels. The differential is also the component that allows each wheel to rotate at different speeds.
A differential can be found between the driven wheels on almost all modern vehicles, with many all-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive vehicles employing up to three diffs (front, centre and rear). There are many mechanical variations on the differential, but all deliver the same basic operation.
A Limited Slip Differential (LSD) is a collection of gears, clutches and springs (or a viscous coupling) that transmits engine power from a vehicle’s tailshaft to the perpendicular axles driving the wheels. Like a regular diff, an LSD allows each wheel to rotate at different speeds, but they can also detect when a wheel is slipping to optimise the way power is delivered.
In their most common form, limited slip diffs employ mechanically driven clutches and gears that slow the rotation of wheels that are under less load. For example, a wheel is under less load when it has lost traction and is spinning too easily. In this case, an LSD would slow the rotation of that wheel, forcing the engine’s power to be transferred to another wheel. This maximises the available power, improves safety and helps keep vehicles on the road in wet, slippery or muddy conditions.
A commonly found and easily overlooked problem in modified performance vehicles is a damaged diff housing. While the sharp and sudden impact from a collision will send owners crawling all over their vehicles looking for macro damage, it’s the silent, near invisible micro damage that results from excessive weight, heat or stress on your housing that can easily be missed. When damage invisible to the eye can result in leaking seals, shortened bearing life, pinched axle shafts, misalignment and more, it’s easy to go spending your hard earned on fixing the symptoms rather than the cause.
Ozdiff employs specialised state-of-the-art diff straightening machinery to accurately measure and straighten damaged diff housings; in many cases returning them to their optimal shape without the use of heat. If you suspect your housing may be need straightening, contact us to arrange an inspection using our automotive workshop equipment from one of our performance diff experts.
During cornering, a vehicle outer wheels must travel further than its inner wheels, while bearing the increased load imposed by the vehicle’s body roll (away from the corner). Without a LSD, the reduced load on the inner wheels may result in inner wheel spin. With a LSD the inner wheel’s rotation is retarded and power transferred to the outer wheel driving it around the corner.
Gear lapping is a fine-grade finishing process in which a gear set is meshed together with an abrasive compound whilst under pressure. This subtly reshapes the mating faces of the gears and improves the set’s profile by removing and refining the contact surface. Lapped gears generally exhibit a high quality finish, increased accuracy, increased strength, a longer life and improved performance when compared to non-lapped gears.
Gear lapping can also be used to restore worn gear sets.
CNC Machining Services
CNC machining has revolutionised Driveline’s manufacturing capabilities, allowing us to repair and produce components for most vehicle underbody to meet exacting standards. Combined with services like metal reclamation, dynamic tailshaft balancing, shaft straightening and custom component manufacturing, our CNC machining services can produce parts for every application.
Whether you need repairs for worn components or a custom powertrain for a performance vehicle, CNC machining makes our automotive workshop CNC machining services possible. The CNC equipment at our vehicle workshops includes lathes, plasma cutters, balancers and our new Leadwell 3-axis milling machine. Together, these allow our fabrication team to repair or manufacture components and ensure your equipment is ready for anything.
For Sale
You can’t claim the title of underbody and power transmission specialists by using second rate gear.
To remain at the forefront of our industry, Driveline regularly updates its automotive workshop equipment. In this section we list our surplus equipment and vehicle spare parts Australia wide. If you find anything of interest, please contact us at [email protected].
We currently have no surplus equipment we wish to advertise, however, we do have a new shipment of genuine Spicer 35514.014.01 gears available on shelf and ready to work now.
Measurement Charts
Driveline helps you to help us with these simple downloadable forms on how to measure components for replacement, repair or custom manufacturing.
Select from one of the measurement forms below to get started.
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via this form and we will respond to your request as soon as possible.