Project: Fix to busted CV shafts & wheel bearings! 56k no no

[Tim99Zr2]

alright, cause im pretty sure i cant just lengthen mine to a fixed length.. it needs to be able to get longer and shorter?.. correct?

[Baggey22]

for flexing purposes it needs to slightly change length

[Tim99Zr2]

thought so. dammit!!

[Baggey22]

best way to measure is flex your truck out so your driver's side front wheel is off the ground. That is when your driveshaft will need to be the longest.

[Tim99Zr2]

then i'd have to fully compress it, then subtract them and get how much my DS will need to flex.. hmm?

too bad its a DD or i'd just make a square one.. and put some bb's in it to balance it, right donahue? i wish..

[Baggey22]

Yea, I'm thinking an XJ driveshaft for mine. They are upgradeable so if it's not long enough you can make it slip longer

[Tim99Zr2]

yea, ill prob be researching a DS this week.. i wanna get this thing done!! well.. 4x4 wise

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tim99Zr2

then i'd have to fully compress it, then subtract them and get how much my DS will need to flex.. hmm?

too bad its a DD or i'd just make a square one.. and put some bb's in it to balance it, right donahue? i wish..

atf balances driveshafts, bb's are for tires. and if you get yours lengthened, it doesnt get rid of the slip, it just adds to the "tube" portion of the driveshaft. and a square driveshaft is only bad when you use it at high speeds. if you have locking hubs and never plan on using say 4 hi, i would run it. the thing you have to think about is the driveshaft that you "need" is probably $400 because you have a very flexy front spring and require more slip than stock drivelines. this is why square drivelines are popular, because they have hugh amounts of slip at very low cost. check out http://www.highangledriveline.com/

[Tim99Zr2]

hmm. so i could get away with a square DS, IF i get locking hubs?
and auto tranny fluid balances it? how do you go about keeping it in the DS?

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tim99Zr2

hmm. so i could get away with a square DS, IF i get locking hubs?
and auto tranny fluid balances it? how do you go about keeping it in the DS?

it doesnt work for sq, but on a round shaft you just put it in before you weld the fixed end on, about a quart.

[Tim99Zr2]

ooh, i thought you meant a square one.. damn haha..

i could make a square one, if i dont plan on using 4x4 at higher speeds? correct?

EDIT: Square tube DS FTMFW!!! i think this is what im going to do.. if my truck falls apart from vibrations, oh well.

[Baggey22]

It's not using 4x4 at high speeds, it's driving at high speeds. The front driveshaft will spin if your in 4wd or not.

[poriggity]

yup.. unless you do a manual hub conversion on that D30 which is $$$ your front shaft will still spin all the time, and an unbalanced front shaft will cause the truck to drive like crap.
Scott

[Baggey22]

Well he does have the vacuum disconnect. So with the passenger side of the axle disconnected I don't think his driveshaft will spin. On mine I flipped the fork over so that it's constantly "locked" so mine will spin. Thats why I'm doing an XJ shaft. I'll just put a longer slip yoke on it if necessary

[Tim99Zr2]

yea, i plan on leaving the vac lock on there, if i do, i wonder if my ds will spin?

im going to try to hook some steel cables up to the vac lock somehow.. cause vacum sucks.. cables are better.

[Baggey22]

Good plan. I believe if you have the vacuum lock disconnected your drive shaft won't spin. I can test it on mine since it's on a table tomorrow for ya. (like unlock it and spin both tires)

[Tim99Zr2]

yea, i was thinkin about going out on my alley, putting my truck in gear and hopin out to check it out.. im curious now. haha, go look NOW!!!

[Baggey22]

the building(theatre) that my axle is in is locked right now, I can go look tomorrow morning and get you an answer.

[Tim99Zr2]

sounds good, if i dont find out before then! haha

[Donahue]

yeah, all ive said is only for trucks with lockouts or some other way to make the ds not spin. yet another reason i think the d30 would not be my first choice.

[Tim99Zr2]

Quote: Originally Posted by Donahue

yeah, all ive said is only for trucks with lockouts or some other way to make the ds not spin. yet another reason i think the d30 would not be my first choice.

eh, there is always room to upgrade.. haha.

do you know if my ds will spin if i have the vac lock "open" orr. not engaged?
i dont think it should?

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tim99Zr2

eh, there is always room to upgrade.. haha.

do you know if my ds will spin if i have the vac lock "open" orr. not engaged?
i dont think it should?

it wont spin, same as an s10.

[Tim99Zr2]

alright cool, guess ill rock that for awhile.. thanks guys.

time to research the simple square DS

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tim99Zr2

alright cool, guess ill rock that for awhile.. thanks guys.

time to research the simple square DS

whats to research, take the stock one, cut off the ends. then take some 2x2 and some 2.5x2.5 and weld it on.

[Tim99Zr2]

just trying to sound like im using my time wisely.. haha.

but yea, they are simple and cheap! what i like!

[NC4x4]

If you live in areas where it snows and the city salts the ground a lot + you don't wind up using 4x4 all that often, consider spraying lubricant on the square driveshaft to minimize any seizing that it might do.

Not generally a big problem, but I've heard of it before, so may as well pass it on.

[Eroq]

check out yer local TSC, they have square driveshafts premade with yokes already on them.. just a matter of finding the one with the right yoke size

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by Eroq

check out yer local TSC, they have square driveshafts premade with yokes already on them.. just a matter of finding the one with the right yoke size

is that tractor supply company?

[NC4x4]

Quote: Originally Posted by Donahue

is that tractor supply company?

Yes

[Donahue]

we dont really have those here

[NC4x4]

Quote: Originally Posted by Donahue

we dont really have those here

I do know they are all over the South, at least around here anyhow.

[Tim99Zr2]

nc, could you post up a pic of your tranny cross member?.. please and thanks

ill have to check at TSC, i was just going to go to the steel shop up the street

[Eroq]

Yup its tractor supply, they have a couple different styles, as well as different yokes and stuff! its worth a shot.

[Tim99Zr2]

yea, ill swing by and check out prices, if they are too expensive ill just make it from scratch.

[Eroq]

Yeah good idea, i would atleast take a few measurements find out if its easier/cheaper to go that way, or to build it. Fitting a round yoke in a square tube aint gonna be easy

did a search on their site and it shows they run about $25-$50~ for just the yokes, not sure on the whole shaft

[Tim99Zr2]

by the looks of what you found, ill make it myself. i can make it for prob 20-30$
i've always wondered why the round peg didnt fit in the square hole.. now i need to find a way to make it fit!! thank god for my schooling, or i woulda never done my SAS

[Eroq]

Yup, driveshafts are pretty darn easy to make, a lot of people think they are hard.

Only blew one of mine apart, and it wasnt at MY weld, blew apart the factory weld

[Tim99Zr2]

yea, i was sketchy at first.. but if it breaks, make another. haha

[Eroq]

Have you built shafts before?

[Tim99Zr2]

nope.. haha i looked at a few on the net, i got the basic idea... for a square one

[Eroq]

Might as well go with a conventional round one. it will hold up to a bit more than the square will. and be a bit lighter.

use a cutoff wheel and cut through the center of the welds on the driveshaft yokes. dont cut STRAIGHT though it or you will destroy the yoke. Part of the yoke slides inside the shaft and keeps it straight.

Put yer truck on level ground and measure centter of the Tcase yoke(A) to center of the pinion yoke(E). Gives you total length (D). Put slip shaft bout 1/4 of the way out (so it can extend the rest of the way at full flex) and measure from the weld(C) to the center of the Ujoint(E). Subtract that from the total length(D). Measure from the center of U joint on the nonslipshaft side(A) to weld(B), subtract that. That'll give you the length of tubing to get(B to C).

Something like this...

Yer a welder, you know the way to do it leaving a small gap to get the penetration we like , I tack mine in 4 places on each yoke. set it up in there and make sure it fits.

I do 4 seperate welds on each yoke... welding opposite sides to keep it semi balanced.
That was a random google image, hope you get the idea

[Tim99Zr2]

i would do that. but, my drive shaft is a fixed length. so i would need to buy a new DS then cut it up, buy new pipe for it, then weld it back up.
i just thought a square one would be easier, cheaper, and stronger

[Eroq]

shootin you a message

[Donahue]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tim99Zr2

i would do that. but, my drive shaft is a fixed length. so i would need to buy a new DS then cut it up, buy new pipe for it, then weld it back up.
i just thought a square one would be easier, cheaper, and stronger

do you have a slip yoke on the front output?

[poriggity]

Quote: Originally Posted by Donahue

do you have a slip yoke on the front output?

More than likely, if its a stock case, a SYE has not been done yet.
Scott

[Tim99Zr2]

Quote: Originally Posted by poriggity

More than likely, if its a stock case, a SYE has not been done yet.
Scott

no i dont, thats why i cant use my stock shaft, its a solid length

[Eroq]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tim99Zr2

no i dont, thats why i cant use my stock shaft, its a solid length

i completely forgot about that one.. on my 96 front and rear are slipyokes on the Tcase.

Could probably find one from an olders10 that will bolt right in and have fixed yokes?

[Tim99Zr2]

i figured they were all fixed length.. hmm ill have to look into that.. im guessing the 94-97 had slip joints?.. but then they were held in place with 2 ujoints on either side, how would i go about attaching it to my tcase?

[Donahue]

yeah, the square wont work for you either. you need to get rid of that yoke. more than likely you have enough articulation to pull all the slip off that (stock) yoke.

[Donahue]

mine has a fixed yoke and a two piece driveline