Drive shaft support bracket

[ekstrandt]

So yesterday I felt a "thumping" when accelerating. So today jacked it up looked at the drive shaft and found this



So went looking at the vendor sites for one of these. No such luck . Went back out and disassembled cleaned and examined. Doesn't appear to be rust issue.



So I did a hasty repair. Welded both sides then ground down the weld.



Then decided to add additional metal. This piece might be overkill.



Decided 18 gauge would be a better choice. So set up the fabrication equipment (harbor freight body hammer and dolly)



Then welded and ground, remember hasty fix.



Paint and install.



Test drive went fine.

Now the questions. What caused this?
New guibo and center support bearning less than 1 year old. New u-joints again less than 1 year old. Drive shaft alignment marks are still aligned and weights all still seem to be attached to drive shaft. No unusual vibrations. I do drive it hard though. Engine is stock.
Does anyone have one of these laying around I could have? (1985 if it makes a difference)

[So Cal Mark]

I've seen a few broken like that

[bradartigue]

Guessing...

Bad engine mounts at some point? Creates a twisting on that mount. I can't tell from the pictures though, it sheared?

[ekstrandt]

Brad,
Engine mounts are solid. Yes, it appears to have sheared. Nothing noticed when I replaced the bearing last year or during parking brake adjustment 3 months ago.

Mark,
Does anyone sell a new one or did you pull from a parts car?