10bolt np203 fron driveshaft length

[michael0584]

i have an 86 k5 blazer with 10 bolt front and rear and a np203 transfer case. i am having problems finding the right length driveshaft. my springs are sagging and are about 2 inches away from the bumpstops. i have 2 driveshafts one is too long and will not fit, the other fits but only has about 1/2 inch left before it bottoms out. is this enough? do i need a shorter driveshaft?

 

[MTBLAZER89]

I would say yeah 1/2 of travel before it bottoms out could be bad. If it compresses it could take out the t-case and/or tranny. The good news is it's way heaper to shoten a driveshaft than lengthen one. Your 86 has a 203 in it?

 

[michael0584]

yea, the people that i bought it from, bought it with a cracked 208 and 700r4. they swapped in the np203 and th350 and pulled out the 305. i bought it without the motor and rebuilt a 350 and put in it.

how much travel do i need? my suspension is almost compressed. i can use my chop saw to cut the spline part of the driveshaft. how much of the spline part can i cut off before i weaken the driveshaft.

 

[MTBLAZER89]

Well the correct way I believe is to grind the welds carefully at the yoke until you can remove it from the tube. Remove needed amount from tube then reweld to yoke. You might be ok if you have stock springs, and very little uptravel with the amount of slip you have. One way to check is to find something to flex the pass side front tire. Go very slowly and have somebody watch the driveshaft. If you can max out your suspension and still have slip left then you'll prolly be ok unless you are jumping it or something rough like that.

 

[michael0584]

i was wondering if it was okay to do that, thats what i will do. i have 2 different styles of driveshafts. not real sure which is better. one has a saddled yoke that it fits in in the transfer case and has big splines in the slip section. the other has a flat flange yoke that fits in the transfer case and has small splines in the slip section. both ar cv style. to me the flat flange looks stronger. anybody disagree?