SOA front driveshaft options?

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fjdemon

fjdemon

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Feb 8, 2007
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My friend is currently working on my SOA and he wrote me the following: "was discovered that the driveshaft would turn a small amount. The upper U-joint is in a bind it does turn freely when the axle is sitting even. I can grind on the flange to give the Ujoint clerance this will cause an extreme angle and chances are it could break easly. Another issue is the splines are barely makeing contact. One other idea is to have a custom diveshaft made with a duble carden/ CV joint. so let this rattle around in youre mind and let me know, Jason"

Any ideas? sources? I searched on here for a while and wasn't having any luck. Maybe I was using the wrong key words? Thanks
 
I'm guessing he did not do a cut and turn.

If that's true, you end up with really steep driveline angles and it may not work. If you turn the pinion up, then rotate the knuckles back to achieve 2-4 degrees of caster, your troubles will be mostly over. You still need to worry about clearencing the crossmember. Maybe he did that already?

Probably best to do a cut and turn and then run a double cardan shaft to keep the vibes to a minimum.
 
No it's a cut and turned axle from Proffitt's Cruisers. Can I buy a Double Cardan shaft set up for a 60 series? One that I can purchase and just throw on?
 
also crossmember has been modified. I actually have a SOA thread on here now, but I wanted to get to the bottom of this issue before I crashed for the day so I posted this thread.
 
Post some pics. With the pinion pointing at the t-case, there should be no issues with the driveline angles. Something is not adding up here!

A Double cardan shaft does not net you more angular flex. It just has different geometry dependent characteristics and less likely to vibrate in certain situations. Lots of good posts on this but difficult to explain.
 
I'll see if I can get some pics tomorrow. Thanks for the help. I'm out of the country too and I'm not as well versed in driveshafts and angles as some people.
 
Since you did a cut and turn, a DC shaft is the right thing to do. 1984 and older 60's had them. You may have to monkey w/ flange patterns (they change a bit). The length, angle, and potential bind are byproducts of the amount of lift.

I would get the truck back on its wheels (sans front d-shaft) and finalize the spring/shock/tire combo. You may find that you can drop a bit and that would ease your extreme d-shaft angle.

If you are going to the trouble of building a shaft, look into a long spline kit. At the end of the day, a long spline, DC, toyota shaft is the way to go.

FYI - In case you didn't know, post 84 60's added a spacer behind the tranny to accomodate future 5-speeds. That's when they went to standard u-joints...In your case, the pinion flange and t-case flange are no longer parallel, so your standard u-joint shaft will vibrate. Double Cardan joints correct this...

I did not cut and turn, but my stock shaft ended up too short...Temporary spacer( 'tli the doubler goes in)
DSCF7666.JPG
 
Kavik said:
Since you did a cut and turn, a DC shaft is the right thing to do. 1984 and older 60's had them. You may have to monkey w/ flange patterns (they change a bit). The length, angle, and potential bind are byproducts of the amount of lift.

I would get the truck back on its wheels (sans front d-shaft) and finalize the spring/shock/tire combo. You may find that you can drop a bit and that would ease your extreme d-shaft angle.

If you are going to the trouble of building a shaft, look into a long spline kit. At the end of the day, a long spline, DC, toyota shaft is the way to go.

FYI - In case you didn't know, post 84 60's added a spacer behind the tranny to accomodate future 5-speeds. That's when they went to standard u-joints...In your case, the pinion flange and t-case flange are no longer parallel, so your standard u-joint shaft will vibrate. Double Cardan joints correct this...

I did not cut and turn, but my stock shaft ended up too short...Temporary spacer( 'tli the doubler goes in)
DSCF7666.JPG
Click to expand...

Thanks I remembered seeing your pic but I couldn't remember who's rig it was. I actually searched to see this space. I talked with Jason and he said it will run and drive now with the current driveshaft, but that it may bind when extreme flexing occurs. I haven't cut any corners so far, so I want to get a 100% working driveshaft. Thanks for the input.
 
Get a CV joint. I got one prior to doing the SOA, and it came in very handy when I completed the SOA. It will make the entire driveline more forgiving even if the pinion angle isn't ideal. Mine isn't, I never did the cut and turn and I do occasionaly run at highway speeds with the hubs locked (winter in Salt Lake City). No real issues.
 
I thought all FJ60's had DC's on the front drive shaft? Are they only on pre spacer tranny/t-cases?


Just read Kavik's post... I guess pre-spacer is that answer.
 
fjdemon said:
A CV joint? Got any pictures? I don't want a weak point in my driveline. Tom Woods Custom Drive Shafts Custom Driveshafts Specialist I'm thinking about hitting this site up for some more info. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

Unless you love killing your wallet, all that is not needed. Find a double cardigan joint off any Mini-truck/4-runner or older FJ60. Have your favorite driveshaft shop cut your old drive shaft and add the double cardigan in. A double cardigan is sometimes called a CV joint because it maintains "constant velocity" with respect to the companion flange even though it doesnt have a tripod like a typical CV. Have your buddy go junkyard huting, he can probably find one pretty cheap. I just bought one from an 83' FJ60 for $20 to use on my rear FJ55 shaft to turn the rear pinion up.

Hell, if you wana really save money and don't plan on going more than 20 MPH in 4 wheel drive, have your buddy make a square front drive shaft, but you definately need a DC at the top of you drive shaft. For more info on this, go into the Hardcore section, there is a current thread on this exact topic.

Goodluck
 
zuluzeugma said:
Unless you love killing your wallet, all that is not needed. Find a double cardigan joint off any Mini-truck/4-runner or older FJ60. Have your favorite driveshaft shop cut your old drive shaft and add the double cardigan in. A double cardigan is sometimes called a CV joint because it maintains "constant velocity" with respect to the companion flange even though it doesnt have a tripod like a typical CV. Have your buddy go junkyard huting, he can probably find one pretty cheap. I just bought one from an 83' FJ60 for $20 to use on my rear FJ55 shaft to turn the rear pinion up.

Hell, if you wana really save money and don't plan on going more than 20 MPH in 4 wheel drive, have your buddy make a square front drive shaft, but you definately need a DC at the top of you drive shaft. For more info on this, go into the Hardcore section, there is a current thread on this exact topic.

Goodluck
Click to expand...

I actually saw that thread on square driveshaft. I'm going to use my rig on and off road, I just want it as smooth as possible for having a SOA. I found a mud memeber in NY who has a front driveshaft, he's going to search for it tonight to see if it is still laying around. Are drive shaft shops common? Hmmm.....I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the info. It was very helpful. I'll let you know should I get a good price on that drive shaft what I plan on doing.
 
I don't know how far the rig is from Atlanta, but there is definately a shop in Atlanta that shortens, lengthens, and balances drive shafts. It will probably cost $60-100 to have them put the whole thing together. Have the shop put new u-joints in the DC. Replacing U-joints in a DC is a total B#$%
 
zuluzeugma said:
Unless you love killing your wallet, all that is not needed. Find a double cardigan joint off any Mini-truck/4-runner or older FJ60. Have your favorite driveshaft shop cut your old drive shaft and add the double cardigan in. A double cardigan is sometimes called a CV joint because it maintains "constant velocity" with respect to the companion flange even though it doesnt have a tripod like a typical CV. Have your buddy go junkyard huting, he can probably find one pretty cheap. I just bought one from an 83' FJ60 for $20 to use on my rear FJ55 shaft to turn the rear pinion up.

Hell, if you wana really save money and don't plan on going more than 20 MPH in 4 wheel drive, have your buddy make a square front drive shaft, but you definately need a DC at the top of you drive shaft. For more info on this, go into the Hardcore section, there is a current thread on this exact topic.

Goodluck
Click to expand...

I just learned this last week. The older Toyota trucks with solid front axles have LOADS more angular capability in their front CV joints than the later, IFS trucks. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!!! Get an old one and it will give you all the angle you need, the new ones won't cut it.
 
lehiguy said:
I just learned this last week. The older Toyota trucks with solid front axles have LOADS more angular capability in their front CV joints than the later, IFS trucks. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!!! Get an old one and it will give you all the angle you need, the new ones won't cut it.
Click to expand...

That is correct and thanks for reminding me of that; however, you CAN clearance the DC housing before re-installing U-joints. There is a technical write-up on pirate on exactly where to grind to get extreme angles out of them without sacrificing strength.
 
They will use the same U-joint (I think), so you should be able to switch flanges around till you get a combo that works. Additionally, you might need to have the drive-shatft shop modify and balance your shaft. Yeah, I saw shipping on that first one. Idiot must be trying to overnight it or something. Heres something to think about: Why stop at putting a DC just on the front? If you put one on the rear shaft too, you will be able to turn your pinion up at your T-case so its not constantly poking around looking for rocks to get hung up on. I wish I had done my FJ55 rear shaft like this from the git-go and am going back and doing it now.

Hope this helps...
 
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