Rear drive shaft strength (1 Viewer)

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bozeman montana
So it’s finally warming and I got a chance to get the 80 out. I was trying to figure out what it could and couldn’t do vs my old wrangler and I managed to scrub the drive shaft a little. So I was wondering how much abuse these could take. The Jeep ones were like little toothpicks but you never hit them. The 80s seem pretty exposed🤔 So are these a common thing to damage on the trail and is there any way to avoid it?

Thanks!
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Trailing solo, or with a spotter?
I've had a few of those marks trailing solo. I don't think there's anything special about the 80 shafts. If you go 'too far', you'll know it, no matter what you're driving.
Focus on the line you drive over everything else. If this happened on a "what can it do" run, what is your idea of a 'difficult' trail??
 
Trailing solo, or with a spotter?
I've had a few of those marks trailing solo. I don't think there's anything special about the 80 shafts. If you go 'too far', you'll know it, no matter what you're driving.
Focus on the line you drive over everything else. If this happened on a "what can it do" run, what is your idea of a 'difficult' trail??
I was with friends but didn’t have a spotter. And I was wondering if it usually happened more to lifted 80s without any pinion angle correction🤔 and this wasn’t a difficult trail but I was taking awkward lines through everything to help me figure out the car. It’s way different then a flexy/ low tj. But by the summer im hoping to be going through some of the harder trails in the area (whatever that means). I guess what I’m getting at is this is a common enough occurs to carry a spare drive shaft
 
stock is somewhat thin, can't remember the wall size, it is very common to drag and hit the rear shaft. I carry a trail spare for this reason. I did have a local driveshaft retube mine with thicker wall tubing (2x now) due to hitting it on rocks. The thing to look for is not necessarily scratches on the shaft but any major indentations. They will usually fail at a major indentation.
 
stock is somewhat thin, can't remember the wall size, it is very common to drag and hit the rear shaft. I carry a trail spare for this reason. I did have a local driveshaft retube mine with thicker wall tubing (2x now) due to hitting it on rocks. The thing to look for is not necessarily scratches on the shaft but any major indentations. They will usually fail at a major indentation.
Thanks for this! How much did they charge you to retube it, if you don’t mind me asking? It might be something for me to look into
 
I was wondering if it usually happened more to lifted 80s without any pinion angle correction🤔
No, pinion angle will not change how a rear shaft deals with boulders shoved up its gullet. That is all driver and/or the line he/she chooses to take on obstacles requiring additional investment of knowledge of your vehicle and the low hanging fruit thereof.
That said...what TJ are coming from that does not exhibit the same behavior?
 
No, pinion angle will not change how a rear shaft deals with boulders shoved up its gullet. That is all driver and/or the line he/she chooses to take on obstacles requiring additional investment of knowledge of your vehicle and the low hanging fruit thereof.
That said...what TJ are coming from that does not exhibit the same behavior?
I just noticed that the pinion angle being off caused the axle end of the shaft to sit lower than it would stock. But I agree with the line choices. I was definitely not even thinking about the drive shaft. I hit the control arm bracket and assumed the rear links would be next to slide which was definitely not what happened. Also the rear drive shafts of jeeps are insanely short and the rear links sit way below it so I never had to worry about dragging it across things.
 
I just noticed that the pinion angle being off caused the axle end of the shaft to sit lower than it would stock. But I agree with the line choices. I was definitely not even thinking about the drive shaft. I hit the control arm bracket and assumed the rear links would be next to slide which was definitely not what happened. Also the rear drive shafts of jeeps are insanely short and the rear links sit way below it so I never had to worry about dragging it across things.
Right. Forgot to factor in the shorter wheelbase. Ok. Wuhl welcome! Lots of accurate info here. But don't take my word on it. Search and you will find.

I guess what I’m getting at is this is a common enough occurs to carry a spare drive shaft
Yes, absolutely if you intend to traverse difficult trails with awkward lines regularly. Otherwise, no. lol
Trail spares are always good when you have them because you know you'll need them. 👍
 
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Agreed with landlocked.
The line you choose is important.
A good spotter can help.
If you're observant, you will learn to be aware of where you're rear end is traveling, at least to a certain extent

Adjusting opinion angle is going to make very little difference to driveshaft clearance.

I've run shafts with a scraperlike yours for years with no real issue.
Dents are a bigger issue because it can throw the balance off to the point where a big dint can cause the shaft to self destruct.
Any kind of bend in the shaft is also fatal.
 
The rear lower control arms and driveshaft are going to get hit if you like to play in the rocks.
The 4 lower studs on the rear differential housing are also candidates for double nuts.
Front and rear diff drain plugs should also be checked or replaced with lower profile allen heads.
There is lots of low hanging fruit on a 6K pound truck with long wheelbase.
 
The best way to avoid dragging the low hanging fruit is with bigger tires.
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AKA the looks zombie
 
Agreed with landlocked.
The line you choose is important.
A good spotter can help.
If you're observant, you will learn to be aware of where you're rear end is traveling, at least to a certain extent

Adjusting opinion angle is going to make very little difference to driveshaft clearance.

I've run shafts with a scraperlike yours for years with no real issue.
Dents are a bigger issue because it can throw the balance off to the point where a big dint can cause the shaft to self destruct.
Any kind of bend in the shaft is also fatal.
I kinda figured that the pinion angle wouldn’t make much of a difference🤔 and I didn’t even notice the shaft till I got home! Im glad I didn’t dent it and I’m definitely keeping it in mind next time I go out
 
The rear lower control arms and driveshaft are going to get hit if you like to play in the rocks.
The 4 lower studs on the rear differential housing are also candidates for double nuts.
Front and rear diff drain plugs should also be checked or replaced with lower profile allen heads.
There is lots of low hanging fruit on a 6K pound truck with long wheelbase.
I’ve seen people scrape the diff housing bolt but I never thought to put 2 nuts on them, genius! And I’ve seen the allen heads on wits end! Hopefully I can swing enough trips this summer to need them!
 
Im in bozeman. What trail did you go to? I hit my diffs fairly often, ive bent a rear lower control arm. I dont think ive hit the drive shaft.
 
Im in bozeman. What trail did you go to? I hit my diffs fairly often, ive bent a rear lower control arm. I dont think ive hit the drive shaft.
I was just at revanue and found a rock ledge and hit it straight on to see what I would scrape on🙄. I was definitely just being dumb.
 
You could also just sleeve over the existing shaft rather than re-tubing your driveshaft. Use some electrical tape to take up the difference in tubing size and weld to the existing flanges. I do it to all of my rigs that see the possibility of d-shaft damage.
 
You could also just sleeve over the existing shaft rather than re-tubing your driveshaft. Use some electrical tape to take up the difference in tubing size and weld to the existing flanges. I do it to all of my rigs that see the possibility of d-shaft damage.
If you want to be ghetto, you can cut open and internally sleeve with a 2.5" OD tube
 

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