A couple more pics of the damage.
CK5
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'89 R3500 Crew Cab 2wd to 4wd conversion & beyond
- Thread starter mrk5
- Start date
Started out with 2wd TBI350 with SM465 to current 4wd with 454, 700r4, NP241
An XJ going up when we came back down did in his front shaft as well.
That u-joint looks like it was already trashed? The bearing surface is rusty...
That's the rear shaft out of the truck i was trying get unstuck. And yes we noticed the rear joint was totally dry. The upside to the rear driveshaft damage is learning the rear ujoint was about to let go.
How much tire rub tho
I only noticed some once on the front of the inner fender. But those aren't super tough trails.
Actually when I broke the front shaft, I thought the noise was tire rub on the springs because I was turned full lock.
Actually when I broke the front shaft, I thought the noise was tire rub on the springs because I was turned full lock.
Before our last trip, I started a new project that I've been planning for a while. The rear seating was design for younger kids with 2 UTV suspension seats. I rarely have more than 1 passenger and no one in my life is comfortable sitting in the narrow seats I had.
I also have a 70lbs dog that doesn't have a good place to lay like she would like. I decided to ditch the UTV seats in favor of a Jeep CJ5 rear bench from Besttop.
The nice thing is that 1 person can ride comfortably and could even fit 2 people if needed.
I'm still working out exactly how the cargo tray is going to be set up, but this is the current iteration:
And the dog is much happier with this setup.
I also have a 70lbs dog that doesn't have a good place to lay like she would like. I decided to ditch the UTV seats in favor of a Jeep CJ5 rear bench from Besttop.
The nice thing is that 1 person can ride comfortably and could even fit 2 people if needed.
I'm still working out exactly how the cargo tray is going to be set up, but this is the current iteration:
And the dog is much happier with this setup.
I was using the RTI ramp yesterday and grabbed this picture of the front contact when the tires are turned.
That doesn't look too bad really
Here's the damage to my driveshaft. I've been running a 1310 CV, but now I'm going to step up to a 1350.
View attachment 20250730_095717.mp4
View attachment 20250730_095717.mp4
All I have is an audio clip, so, is that the sound of the bad joint spinning or your dog approaching and stealing the microphone? If you see the video, close your eyes, you can imagine either one being true....
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I don't have audio on this computer so I don't even know what it sounds like. LOL
I need to do a lot of updating in this thread.
After installing the little bench seat, I started working on the storage. I made a pan to hold a floor jack I haven't been able to carry since I got rid of the full bed.
Not pictured is the ratchet strap that holds the jack and handle in place.
Then I made a platform to mount a packout box to.
I had to pull the door panel off the inside of the door along with the handle and window crank in order to clear the box. The window crank I have mounted to the door with a magnet so it can still be rolled down.
The reason I had to put the box so tight to the door is so that I would have room for the cooler between the bench and tool box.
I still have some more I want to do, but that was good enough for Blazer Bash.
The other thing I did was to add some wheel spacers on the rear axle. I wanted to push the tires out a little further to keep the bed from getting dragged on the rocks so much. I had to install longer wheel studs. I was able to do that with the hubs in place.
Before:
After:
After installing the little bench seat, I started working on the storage. I made a pan to hold a floor jack I haven't been able to carry since I got rid of the full bed.
Not pictured is the ratchet strap that holds the jack and handle in place.
Then I made a platform to mount a packout box to.
I had to pull the door panel off the inside of the door along with the handle and window crank in order to clear the box. The window crank I have mounted to the door with a magnet so it can still be rolled down.
The reason I had to put the box so tight to the door is so that I would have room for the cooler between the bench and tool box.
I still have some more I want to do, but that was good enough for Blazer Bash.
The other thing I did was to add some wheel spacers on the rear axle. I wanted to push the tires out a little further to keep the bed from getting dragged on the rocks so much. I had to install longer wheel studs. I was able to do that with the hubs in place.
Before:
After:
I had a very eventful Blazer Bash. The first time we went in 2005 I broke a ring and pinion in my K5. It took 20 years for me to break again at Blazer Bash and I did a real good job of it.
That's a Yukon 4340 shaft. I can't believe the Spicer u-joint didn't break. Luckily Dave and Kevin at Xtreme 4x4 Tours had a shaft to sell us and let us use their shop to fix it.
The next day I broke the rear axle yoke. Again, I can't believe the u-joint didn't break. I kept joking that I have the strongest u-joints made.
First to go was a front axle shaft on Hamburger Hill.
On the way off the trail I broke my front driveshaft, again! The centering ball sheared off completely. I'm suspecting it was leftover damage from breaking the axle shaft the day before. And then driving off the trail in front wheel drive. Luckily @doubletrouble had a spare shaft I could use once again. However I managed to break that too on the Pickle....
The full pile of parts along with the trophy I received.
I've decided I must be over articulating the CV in the front. Based on what I can see of the spline travel the RTI ramp just isn't fully illustrating the extent of travel possible. I can see marks on both shafts where the jokes were binding pretty hard. I think the driveshaft I broke a month ago survived as long as it did because it's a 1310 CV which can handle a little more angle than the 1350 CV like I broke at Blazer Bash. I'm also thinking the bigger/heavier 42s might be pulling the axle even deeper droop.
I'm going to put limit straps on the front axle to limit the amount of droop I get. From what I remember ORD says the springs are design for 5" of droop so that's what I'll use as a guide. Based on some math, that should put the CV just below it's maximum angle
Also when I was measuring for the new driveshaft I noticed the front output flange also has about 4° negative angle. That's figured into my numbers above, but I would like to see if I can move the transfercase mount up a little higher to reduce that negative angle at least a little bit. I'm already pretty tight to the floor, but I'm thinking new body mounts might give me a little more room.
That's a Yukon 4340 shaft. I can't believe the Spicer u-joint didn't break. Luckily Dave and Kevin at Xtreme 4x4 Tours had a shaft to sell us and let us use their shop to fix it.
The next day I broke the rear axle yoke. Again, I can't believe the u-joint didn't break. I kept joking that I have the strongest u-joints made.
First to go was a front axle shaft on Hamburger Hill.
On the way off the trail I broke my front driveshaft, again! The centering ball sheared off completely. I'm suspecting it was leftover damage from breaking the axle shaft the day before. And then driving off the trail in front wheel drive. Luckily @doubletrouble had a spare shaft I could use once again. However I managed to break that too on the Pickle....
The full pile of parts along with the trophy I received.
I've decided I must be over articulating the CV in the front. Based on what I can see of the spline travel the RTI ramp just isn't fully illustrating the extent of travel possible. I can see marks on both shafts where the jokes were binding pretty hard. I think the driveshaft I broke a month ago survived as long as it did because it's a 1310 CV which can handle a little more angle than the 1350 CV like I broke at Blazer Bash. I'm also thinking the bigger/heavier 42s might be pulling the axle even deeper droop.
I'm going to put limit straps on the front axle to limit the amount of droop I get. From what I remember ORD says the springs are design for 5" of droop so that's what I'll use as a guide. Based on some math, that should put the CV just below it's maximum angle
Also when I was measuring for the new driveshaft I noticed the front output flange also has about 4° negative angle. That's figured into my numbers above, but I would like to see if I can move the transfercase mount up a little higher to reduce that negative angle at least a little bit. I'm already pretty tight to the floor, but I'm thinking new body mounts might give me a little more room.
Too bad I wasn't recording video on hamburger hill. That would have been quite the shot as your truck climbed straight at me.
I went through the same thing about breaking front 1350 cvs and yokes. I switched to a single 1410 at the tcase and didn’t change anything else and I haven’t broke a driveshaft since. I also have a Tom woods offset ujoint for the front and I’m not sure when I started using those but they help a lot to prevent the yoke ears from binding.
I have been contemplating this as well. That's what I did on my K5. How does it run at speed. My concern is snow runs where we're running a lot more wheel speed.
I do have a couple videos of the "incident". Haha This one is courtesy of @AgDieseler's friend, Kurt:
View attachment 20250904_142925.mp4
Yeah, don't turn right on that obstacle.
Not sure what I was thinking other than I didn't want the rear sliding off that rock so I'm guessing I started turn right.I drove out the rest of the trail without realizing the axle shaft was broken until the end. I did notice I was having to use the locker more than usual.
Horrible choice for high speed.
You can't park there.I do have a couple videos of the "incident". Haha This one is courtesy of @AgDieseler's friend, Kurt:
View attachment 513291
Yeah, don't turn right on that obstacle.
I drove out the rest of the trail without realizing the axle shaft was broken until the end. I did notice I was having to use the locker more than usual.
