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centering a square tube driveshaft

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Fiero Dude

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Ok I’ve searched but I can’t find much useful info on building a square tube driveshaft

so here's my problem I’m running a 60" leaf on the front of my '75 K-5 with a 8" shackle and it's currently limited to 13" of travel. I’m using a modified stock driveshaft and it doesn't have enough slip travel but I cant lengthen the shaft or it'll bottom out and break my transfer case (learned this the hard way already) and my search of the scrap yards has turned up nothing with a longer slip yoke travel that I can use. So I’ve finally decided to go with a square tube driveshaft

Now for my question, how do you center the square tube to the round yoke? I don't care about balancing it's the front so it rarely ever sees over 20mph but I don’t want it too be way off center either just in case I have to drive home in front drive (this has saved me many times)

Also I’m looking for suggestions on grade of steel and wall thickness

Any help is greatly appreciated

Andrew
 
I wish I had taken pictures when I made mine, this topic comes up every so often.

Are you using new weld yokes or are you cutting up an old shaft and using that? On one side of mine, I fit the 2" tube inside of the weld yoke (it fit nice and tight, that makes it easy to center) and welded the crap out of it. On the other side (the 2.5" tube), I had to cut/grind the square tube a bunch to get it to fit the weld yoke. I basically eyeballed the center on that yoke.

I used 2" .250" wall square tube inside 2.5" .250" wall tube.

I've had mine up to 60+ and I've never noticed any vibration believe it or not.
 
I was hoping to use stock yokes because I’m in collage right now and any extra money I have goes towards gas so I can go wheeling

Also I have the parts of 4 of the front shafts this truck has gone through laying in a corner in my garage
 
Fiero Dude said:
I was hoping to use stock yokes because I’m in collage right now and any extra money I have goes towards gas so I can go wheeling

Also I have the parts of 4 of the front shafts this truck has gone through laying in a corner in my garage
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Well, there really isn't any secret here. Cut the square tube or the weld yokes so that everything fits as close as possible.

In the end, you're fitting a square peg in a round hole and you can't expect it to be perfectly centered and balanced.

The closer you can center it, the easier it will be on the joints and the t-case/pinion bearings.

Do your best to center everything but in the end it IS a square shaft, its not going to be perfect.
 
Do both of the yokes have the same round o.d.? If so, couldnt you take a short piece of 2" square, put yoke in, and insert into 2.5":dunno:Never made one, or much of anything, but maybe that could help center the yoke in the larger tube.
 
Kenny78 said:
Do both of the yokes have the same round o.d.? If so, couldnt you take a short piece of 2" square, put yoke in, and insert into 2.5":dunno:Never made one, or much of anything, but maybe that could help center the yoke in the larger tube.
Click to expand...

I have no idea as per the ID of the stock driveshaft yokes, I used all new (1410) stuff when I made mine. If you buy new yokes, there are a ton of size options.

Here's what mine looks like, I've since turned it around because if a rock were to damage the slip side (the smaller tube) it might not want to slide anymore and then things break.

driveshaft006.jpg


driveshaft005.jpg
 
I don't have any experience with the square d-shafts but you mentioned you're running a 60" front spring pack... what's that all about? What's that out of? I'm aware of 52/56/64 but this is the first I've heard of a 60...
 
sory i'm taking forever to reply but my computer died a couple of days ago it should be fixed soon (or so i'm told) so i'll do a little write up with pics on my front suspension but the basic idea is i set everything up for 64" springs front then got screwed over on a custom set of springs and had to settle for a stock set off a '95 dodge
 
hey 38377k5 or anyone else, whered did you get your weld on yokes? any part numbers? im using 2" and 2.5" and looking for the easiest/cheapest 1410 yokes to weld on the ends.
 
I got mine from a really good driveline place here in Denver, unfortunately they are only in CO and WY.

Any driveshaft type shop should sell you some weld yokes. I don't remember what size yokes I used, bring your tubing to the driveshaft shop and check out a few different sizes.
 
How long have you been running it?What size Ujoints are you using?I am thinking of building on for my Jeepster project.
 
I hacked up the stock front driveshaft to make mine. It is now, in order from the tcase, a S44 flange, s44-1310 conversion joint, 1310 yoke from a driveshaft that was in the backyard, 2.5x.25 square tube, 2.0x.25 square tube, stock 1310 yoke, 1310, stock d44 yoke.

As far as centering, I simply cut the yokes flat, and butt welded them onto the square tube, eye balling center. does fine until about 25mph. I figure if I can do 25, I don't need to be in 4wd anyway.
 
Brady said:
How long have you been running it?What size Ujoints are you using?I am thinking of building on for my Jeepster project.
Click to expand...

Also, square driveshafts are VERY popular in the Toyota pickup crowd. I've been wheeling with many, many people that run square driveshafts, never seen a failure.

The only real downfall is balance.

I eyeballed mine and I've had it up to 60 mph or so and I've never noticed any real vibration (I considered capping off the smaller tube and putting a few ounces of oil in it to balance it, much like BB's or golf balls in tires).
 
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