i don't recall the steel, but the bearing end of the shafts were induction hardened after machining. (also don't remember the customer or if there were any finishing operations. )
Thanks to people like you, I have saved many tens of thousands over the last 20 years in depreciation costs. I pay cash and buy used (non euro)cars in good condition. I usually drive them until 150K miles.
Actually, they are made from tool steel (many, many different varieties of treatable steel), hardened, then precision ground, just like a bearing.
Here's one for the books, my 2004 Buick Rendezvous transmission speed sensor failed, causing the transmission computer to perform hard shifts, which broke the transmission output ring gear, which chipped the planetary gear assembly, and the sun gear on the transfer case. Because of a failed $20 sensor, I now need a new transmission computer, transmission, and transfer case. Oh, and all of you with GM AWD cars from the early oughts remember: Your rear diff fluid needs to be changed every 50k miles. It take 2 quarts. GM sells the diff fluid at their dealers for $50 per quart. OEHQ.com sells it for half of that, but that is still felony robbery for a quart of fluid that won't get you drunk.
What he feels worst about is the fact that he kept driving with the failed speed sensor and hard shifts, which is the reason the gear damage occurred.
How many of you have experienced the leaky crimp fittings on the oil and tranny cooler supply and return lines. For example 05 Chevy truck (oil) 06 Chevy 2500 (oil) Pontiac grand Prix (tranny). grand Prix had tranny replaced under warranty under 60K miles WTF Chevy wheel bearing design is garbage as well.
I sell way more Ford and Dodge bearing assemblies (and steering/suspension parts) than GM, by a large margin.
that's true, although I owned a ridgeline for 7 years and when I took it into norther quebec it held it's own quiet well. I used it to haul my boat and camper from time to time, but overall it was my cottage truck. I put on 230,000km and had zero issues with that vehicle. I was hoping Honda would have come out with a full size truck like toyota but they never changed, and are still the same vehicle they came out with in 2006. I ended up buying a new RAM Laramie to replace it and couldn't be happier. Depending on what you need a vehicle for, the Ridgeline is one solid, extremely dependable vehicle.
As much as I dislike to do it, my truck is getting older and in need of head gaskets... where-as I have a source to possibly pick up a Ridgeline for a low price. My days of 'hopeful' mudding are probably over ('hopeful' because I never could afford a real mudding truck anyway), but at least the Ridgeline seems to have a long enough bed to pick up one of my stranded motorcycles if need be.
A mudding truck, the Ridgeline is not. I did find the bed on the small size, but it was big enough to carry my new KLR home when I bought it.
And that's all I guess I need. That, or an El Camino... but IIRC, El Camino's had no good tie-off points for motorcycles.
I remembered another GM engineering plum: The door hinge pins on S10's whose bushings crack and fall out without regular lubrication (think monthly in dusty environments). The pins then wear into the hinge bracket which is welded to the cab. The fix is welding the holes up & redrilling them, which is not an easy operation according to a friend of mine who owns a body shop.