Is this a stupid idea (driveshaft)? (1 Viewer)

[jcj_78FJ40]

I would like to lengthen my rear driveshaft about an inch. I’m afraid at full extension that the contact at the splines might be limited to the point where they may strip if I had to power out of an obstacle.

I’m wondering if I can cut a piece of the outer splines from a spare yoke and weld it to the end of my current yoke using the inner splines as a fixture. I’m just trying to add some strength. The splines contact should never extend past the weld.

I’m assuming this is hardened metal and relatively thin. Maybe it can be tig welded? Sleeved?

I have future plans for the suspension so I’m trying to hold off on spending $$ on new shafts until I know exactly what I need.

Any thoughts or opinions?

 

[D'Animal]

How is your rear driveshaft coming apart?

 

[joeyg1973]

If you add to much to it under a hard compression of the suspension you are going to hammer your TC badly.

Take it to the drive shaft shop and have them do it. Worth the 50 bucks to have peace of mind.

 

[jcj_78FJ40]

How is your rear driveshaft coming apart?

I installed a SM465 and flipped the rear springs last summer. I happened to have a slightly longer than stock DS that I bought from another IH8mudder but it was still a little short.

Currently at rest, the end of the outer splines of the slip yoke rest just inside of the drive shaft’s dust cover.

Keep in mind I have a 4” lift w/ nearly horizontal shackles so I don’t believe the axels are going to extend the driveshaft much farther.

Maybe it’s OK as-is? I have been running this set-up for several months w/out issue but I have only done some light to moderate wheeling.

 

[jcj_78FJ40]

If you add to much to it under a hard compression of the suspension you are going to hammer your TC badly.

Take it to the drive shaft shop and have them do it. Worth the 50 bucks to have peace of mind.

I will be measuring carefully. I need less than an inch so I should have plenty of room.

I will be ecstatic if I can get this done for $50. I’m also looking at a driveshaft spacer. It’s a little more pricy but its bolt-on and shouldn’t have any balancing issues.
4Crawler Offroad Products - Driveshaft Spacers

 

[dgangle]

stupid idea? no. You are thinking outside the box, sorta.
practicle? not sure, never seen it done that way and there's prolly good reason.

around here it's more like $125 to lengthen/balance and half of that to shortnen. Lengthening is 2 cuts, a new tube and 2 circumferential welds. Our 40's use what has been described to me as a bastard size tube & always had to special ordered.

To save a few bucks you could forgo the balancing part if you had to but I would not Obama-rig it as you describe.

 

[joeyg1973]

I will be measuring carefully. I need less than an inch so I should have plenty of room.

I will be ecstatic if I can get this done for $50. I’m also looking at a driveshaft spacer. It’s a little more pricy but its bolt-on and shouldn’t have any balancing issues.
4Crawler Offroad Products - Driveshaft Spacers

What does your local drive shaft shop want? I wouldn't waste my money on that spacer.

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! The addition would be worthless unless it is perfectly square and straight. How would you go about welding on the inside diameter to get 100% penetration? Jack up your rig to see how much contact you have when at full droop. It probably doesn't change much from the static position. The leaves will move the axle away from the transfer case when they are fully compressed, so you need to measure that from the fixed end of the springs. The spacer may be a good temporary bandaid if you are planning more mods in the near future. John

 

[landcrusher909]

Well most of us are always trying to come up with better trail fix'es , I have a couple of old axles and I have been thinking about cutting one down and making a slide that would extend or colapse the driveshaft itself then drill holes enery 3/4 inch in order to put a pin or bolt into the hole to lock the driveshaft in place Just to get someone or myself out of a fix , Just another Idea

 

[joeyg1973]

Well most of us are always trying to come up with better trail fix'es , I have a couple of old axles and I have been thinking about cutting one down and making a slide that would extend or colapse the driveshaft itself then drill holes enery 3/4 inch in order to put a pin or bolt into the hole to lock the driveshaft in place Just to get someone or myself out of a fix , Just another Idea

Why not just put together a square tube driveshaft and use that for a trail repair?

 

[bkfj40]

What does your local drive shaft shop want? I wouldn't waste my money on that spacer.

you can always tell the people that live near a big city versus people that live in rural america. The only thing local to wyoming is tourists and antelope. Does Idaho Falls have a drive shaft shop? Or you could send it out to High Angle...

I know that several people have run the spacers successfully on sammys. I would take it up in the forest and really articulate it and see how close it is to coming apart. Before you do that, you might want to make some match marks on the shaft so it goes back together correctly if it does separate.

bk
-former wyoming resident

 

[jcj_78FJ40]

practicle? not sure, never seen it done that way and there's prolly good reason.

Exactly what I was thinking, figured I give it shot and ask.

Thanks guys.

I will chalk this one up as a dumb a$$ idea Maybe one day I will give it a shot on a trail spare.

I’m not aware of any local drive shaft shops of my area. I was looking at the online prices, which can be $350+

I did a google search and found a guy a couple of hours away. He quoted me $95 labor plus around a dollar a foot for the tube. This is much more reasonable than I expected

BK.
Do you know of any DS shops in your neck of the woods?

 

[dgangle]

look in your local yellow pages. this type of work is common with big rigs and they can do our stuff if they want

 

[landcrusher909]

Driveshaft

Why not just put together a square tube driveshaft and use that for a trail repair?

There will be some cutting an welding next week

 

[pbgbottle]

about the bastard size tubing ,metric tube.if you find a good driveline shop they will machine the ends to fit the standard tubing they have in stock, no special order of the metric tube , i don't think it was off by much

 

[joeyg1973]

you can always tell the people that live near a big city versus people that live in rural america. The only thing local to wyoming is tourists and antelope. Does Idaho Falls have a drive shaft shop? Or you could send it out to High Angle...

True I do live near THE CITY, but what is 15 minutes as the crow flies is 2 hours and 20-30 dollars away in reality. And truthfully how many drive shaft shops do you think there are in the city? Not exactly a high demand for that sort of stuff. I live in a residential area of NJ, a suburb of the city. While the small town I live in used to have a lot of small machine shops here 20-30 years ago I can think of only one that still survives and even knocking on there door costs money. All the machining work moved down south... and then to China. The nearest drive shaft shop I can think of is about 45 minutes to an hour away and they know they are one of the few left in this area, so they don't even give you a decent reach around when they give you the bill. Trust me, my big city is just as much of a desert as your rural area, they just look different.

 

[dgangle]

about the bastard size tubing ,metric tube. if you find a good driveline shop they will machine the ends to fit the standard tubing they have in stock, no special order of the metric tube, i don't think it was off by much

That's good info to know, thanks. I'll make that suggestion next time.

 

[shelfboy1]

if you have to have one made i found its cheaper to take a front d shaft from a 4 speed and have it shortend.its much longer than the rear one .good luck

 

[jcj_78FJ40]

if you have to have one made i found its cheaper to take a front d shaft from a 4 speed and have it shortend.its much longer than the rear one .good luck

Good point. I do have a spare front shaft. I will see what the price difference is.

 

[green40]

I've done exactly what you are talking about. After spending $180 to have a shaft lengthened, giving the guy flange to flange measurement it came back with only about 2" of the splines mating. Take it back, could have I guess. Was talking with a buddy and this is what we came up with. The factory edge has a nice bevel to it for welding. Took a spare shaft, cut the length I needed and then used the splined end of the spare and used it as a jig sliding it inside. Mated the 2 pieces together and tacked it. made sure the jig as sill able to slide in and out and after it cooled welded some more.
Have had no trouble with it.
Yea, I know, "you can't do that, you're going to die"