Where is the best place to buy the best quality SAD coupling kit ??

[samstrader]

Thanks for this information John. I'm going to use the BMW parts on this upcoming change. I want something better and these certainly seem much more heavy duty and these guys had very good results using them. Zen Previa sure does do a great job of posting how he did the work! I would have never been able to find this information so thank you for helping me.

I'll let you know how this works out.

I've noticed the activity of this forum seems low now which I guess means a lot of people don't have Previa's anymore. There are getting older and it is getting hard to find parts for them. I've had good luck getting close out parts at Rock Auto for 10 cents on the dollar. Air filters for one dollar, etc.

Thanks again for your help.

Sam

[samstrader]

Hello John and All,

I have looked at the BMW coupler and one thing that is different than the Toyota original is that the 6 metal sleeves on the BMW part all stick out the same amount on each side and the Toyota parts have 3 on each side that stick out more than the other three. There is an offset.

When installing the BMW part, how do you compensate for this difference in design? Or is it just not a problem. I don't see anywhere where this is addressed.

Thanks,

[John Kaufmann]

Sorry, I have not had to address that detail yet: my van is at 313K, but the couplers have less than 100K. (I've only had to replace them once so far. Rubber lasts longer here (though steel does not), and the coupler load is light because I rarely use A/C.) I just recalled the posts about the topic from Yahoo's Previa forum, of which I had saved a few (because I expected to do it again some day). If someone had mentioned that as a problem, I think I would have saved the post.

[samstrader]

Thanks John,

I try to minimize the use of my AC too and I think that is why this last set of my couplers has lasted as long. I will find out the answer to this question when I install these new ones and let you know the answer. The Genuine BMW couplers are real expensive but you can get very inexpensive aftermarket couplers from Rock Auto. I was surprised at the low cost. I'm sure the quality is lower too but it looks like these are still a lot stronger than the Febest. I will keep my Febest and buy the inserts to rebuild them. I want to see how that works anyway. But the BMW sure does look like the best way to go. Thanks again for your help. I feel like I have a chance to fix this a lot better this time. I use my van for everyday driving so these new couplers will get a lot of use.

Sam

[Previologist]

I used the FEBI German-made couplers. Cant really comment on their durability because I've only driven them about 15,000 miles, but they are supposed to be OEM for BMW.

[samstrader]

Thanks Previologist,

Do you remember if there was an installing issue with the different inner bushing stick out pattern of the BMW versus the Toyota style? I'm trying to understand before I buy. These look to be greatly stronger than the Toyota parts and I can't imagine them not lasting forever under such a light load as compared to what they are designed for.

Sam

[Previologist]

there were major installing issues because the shop that installed them wasn't qualified to install an air freshener let alone a SADS coupling. Evidence suggests they didn't even tighten the bolts, and I drove it that way for several months. When it started wobbling badly I took it to a different shop and only one loose bolt was holding it in, the others had broken. No evident damage to the coupler. No problems since then, 1.5 years later.


But I can't speak to the issues you specifically mention. I'm not aware of that problem. I think there is a slightly different thickness, but I think the 2nd shop just reefed em down tight and all seems OK.

[samstrader]

Thanks for your help Previologist,

I'm going to try these new couplers and I'll let you know what I find out. They must work because a lot of people have used them and after getting the bolts tightened, yours have been working for a year and a half and that's pretty good.

Thanks again.

[Previologist]

I didn't drive it for about 1/3 of that time because my HG blew and I had the engine replaced. But I have driven it 15 to 16 thousand miles including crossing 2/3 of the US twice. I haven't visually inspected them lately but I have zero vibration. I'm happy with em.

[samstrader]

I'm going to try the BMW couplers out. If they don't work out, I can always go back to Febest. Both are less expensive now than when I bought the Febest before. Only regret will be the time to do the work and I've done this two times now and also have found you tube videos on how to do it that will make it even easier. Well, not easy but not as terrible as the first time.

It's sort of rewarding when you change them out and things quiet down as much as they do with the replacements.

[samstrader]

I replaced the SADS couplers on my 1991 Previa (396000 miles) yesterday and used the Fibi BMW couplers from Pelican parts, part number 26-11-1-225-624. The cost for these couplers was $95.00 delivered. They were made in Germany and are very high quality. The fit up was excellent when the 3/8 inch brake line sleeves were used. I used a tubing cutter to cut the brake line to make the sleeves and was able to get them all exactly the same length, I did have to use a round file to file out the inner lip the tubing cutter made on each end of each sleeve.

It took me 7 hours to complete the job; I'm not sure how it took so long but I've always been a little bit slow.

The BMW couplers should last forever; I don't see how they could ever wear out. They are not nearly as flexible as the Toyota original design so I don't know if this will be a problem or not. With the Toyota design, the couplers provide a shock dampening whenever the air conditioner compressor kicks on and off but with the BMW couplers, it is more of a direct connect. However, the SADS shafts turns true and has no vibration. And mentally, I'm not worried about wearing out the couplers anymore.

Just like mentioned before, the BMW couplers make the SADS assembly about 1/4 inch longer (.201 inches actually) and this is only because the metal sleeves in the BMW coupler don't fit into the counter sink holes on the ends of the SADS shaft. I was worried about not using those holes with the BMW coupler because they provide some strength by taking some of the shear force off of the bolts, but I don't think this will be a problem. I tightened all the bolts to 30 foot-pounds of torque and there is no slack in the fit up of the coupler anywhere. I can't see how the bolts would shear.

I did adjust the three carriage mounts (all flexible floating mounts by the way) forward by a 1/4 inch. I had to remove a little metal (1/8 inch) from the center hole on the front two mount braces so the mounts could move forward a little more. My carriage was originally mounted almost fully forward apparently. I used a Dremel. The mounts are quite substantial so this metal removal didn't weaken anything in my opinion.

Before I removed any of the mounting brackets, I cleaned up all the parts where the bolts and nuts were attached and used a yellow paint market to draw around each bolt so I could put the mountings back together like they were. This worked out real nice. It was a lot of work up front but made putting the brackets back in place a lot easier.

Thanks to everyone for helping me decide how to replace my SADS couplers. I think I got a lot better job than I would have otherwise. I hope I never have to replace these couplers again because it is just not a fun job.

My hat is off to the original designer of this upgrade and I can't imagine how long it must have taken to figure out all of the details. it is a very clever way to install stronger couplers. This took some very clear understanding of how the whole SADS shaft is designed. Just a very clever modification all together and an excellent job. I can't say thank you enough to him for sharing his idea.

[Previologist]

I'm certain that no brake sleeves were even used in my installation (I told them to use them but they were idjits), but as long as they are torqued down it doesn't seem to matter. Mine only sheared off initially because the boneheads didn't tighten the freekin bolts.

[samstrader]

I think it is right that this upgrade will still work without the sleeves. The only thing these couplings do is make the shaft rotate. The shaft is held in place by the bearings on each that are located inside of the drive shaft. The shaft won't fall out even if the couplings fail completely, but the accessories won't rotate.

Those brake line sleeves sure do make the couplings fit up good however. It's a perfect fit. It's amazing how clever this design is to me. It's perfect back yard engineering.