DIY drive shaft lenghtening

[deek]

whats it take to complete the job, I could buy the tube from a drive shaft shop. but removing the old tube & welding the ends back on is kind of new territory for me.

Is it hard to get the ends on straight, or do they slide into the shaft tube pretty tight, & is there anything i should know about welding, besides a good even weld.

 

[rjfguitar]

You can make one with your phone, call a good driveline shop and have one made. It needs to be perfect and balanced.
Home made shafts are a bad idea on the street at high speeds.

 

[deek]

sorry i didn't specify,, This is for the front, low speed, does this make a difference?

 

[yeild2me]

Well, here is my .02---

I made a rear one to use until I get the SYE and new shaft. It needed to be lengthened about 9", so I found a used one and cut it down to where I needed it, put a new u-joint with my slip yoke on one end welded the yoke on the other. It was kind of a Beotch to get it square (if it even is!!) but it works good, and with all the other stuff vibrating, I really havent noticed it. My main goal was to a.) be able to drive the truck around to work out 4-link bugs, and b.) to use as a spare when I get my new one.

We stood around at the shop and we all had never done it, so we gave it a shot!! Would I want to drive to California with it?? NO, but it will def. get my POS back to the trailer!!

Good luck. Rob

 

[rjfguitar]

[ QUOTE ]
sorry i didn't specify,, This is for the front, low speed, does this make a difference?

[/ QUOTE ]
Well then, I would probably try it. What do you have to loose? If you ruin it just get another one at the bone yard for a couple of bucks. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif

 

[BadDog]

I've lengthened several fronts for myself and a couple of others. No big deal as long as it's a part time 4x4. Just take your time, measure carefully, and stitch it all the way around before fully welding to make sure it does not warp too much. All of mine have been able to stand at least 40 mph in 4WD. I’ve even got front and rear home made square shafts on the truggy right now and I can run 40 in it without noticeable vibrations (even the unbalanced 42s aren’t too bad believe it or not).

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

I think you're probably better off buying new yokes than trying to re-use old ones if you are going to try doing something you haven't done before.

Make sure that the u joints are in phase, as in, they're both going the same direction so that when it turns, the vibes will cancel each other.

I'd take this oppertunity to make yourself a stronger driveshaft with a thicker wall and bigger u joints.

 

[the excuse]

what do you mean by having the joints in phase?

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

Both joints must be lined up. Say you were looking straight at the driveshaft. They can't be x+. They Must both run the same direction ++ xx etc. Say you drew a straight line through the center of the caps on one end of the shaft. The other joint on the other end must have that line pass through the center of its caps too.

Very hart to explain, but if you look at the old shaft it will make sense.

 

[BadDog]

Putting a drive shaft "in phase" is easy. Just make sure the yokes on the ends of the shaft are in the same orientation. Imagine removing the u-joints and laying the shaft on the ground. It is in phase if you can orient it so that both "Y" ends are horizontal at the same time.

 

[87GMCJimmy]

I just cut mine and sleeved it. The stock one on my 87 was made from 2.0in .120 wall HREW. I picked up 1ft of 1.75x.188 wall Dom and pounded it in the stock driveshaft until it was the right lenght. Then I welded it up. Works fine. Simple and cheap.

Mike