Front driveshaft help.....TH350-NP205

[Beast388]

I aquired a driveshaft from another member for free (thanks big d!) and made the attempt to install in it my Burb. As you can see in the pic, my stock shaft is about 2" shorter. Even with a 4" lift, the longer shaft is too long.

Could I get a measurement from you guys who are using a TH350, NP205 and stock Spicer d-shaft from weld to weld on the tube? This measurement should eliminate the differences in lift, axle location, axle type etc. This measurement will only be useful to me if you are using the stock d-shaft with your stock TH350-NP205 configuration.

I am trying to determine if the length is year specific....in other words, were 72-older trucks different than 73-up trucks with the same drivetrain.?

I may have a near impossible task at the junkyard if I have to find a front d-shaft in a 70-72 GM truck with a TH350-NP205 that isn't shot like mine.

If I have to, shortening the longer shaft is an option, but I would prefer to keep that cost out of the budget for now.

I may find out based on the measurements I get, but does anybody know what the longer shaft came from?.....NP203? or SM465+NP20x combination?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[sweetk30]

take it drive shaft shop and have them shorten it . its less than 50 bucks or less for that.

 

[eric22]

huh you said shaft shop

 

[SUBFAN]

The longer D shaft was for a 2nd gen T350/NP 203 combo....If that helps at all....

 

[Beast388]

The longer D shaft was for a 2nd gen T350/NP 203 combo....If that helps at all....

Hmm.....so maybe all of the TH350-NP205 shafts are same length?

Anybody else have any input?

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

I don't know how you use your truck or what your angles are like, but I'd suggest having something better built, no matter who ends up building it.

 

[Beast388]

I don't know......

Thanks.....but does anybody have anything useful to add?

Shortening this shaft is an option if I must......a new HAD shaft is not.

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

Have it shortened and definitely have that CV rebuilt. I'm sure a 30 year old CV has quite a bit of wear in the center.

 

[diesel4me]

heres what I had to do...

When I removed the NP203 from my 74 K20 in favor of a NP205,I had to find another front shaft,as the original was too long now(as you now know!)--I tried usuing some spares I had from my 72 K5 with a NP205,they were too long also-but shorter than the 74 K20 original one-(if I recall correctly the 72 K5's were roughly 27 inches from center to center of the U-joint caps)-

-so I went boneyard shopping,had no luck there,but a guy I know that had scrapped many GM 4x4's had a 1969 K10 chassis sitting in his backyard with the front shaft still in it(it had a 4 speed SM465 tranny)--the front shaft was about 23 inches from u-joint to u-joint,and it fit my truck like a glove! (stock,no lift kit)--I looked in my GM parts manual and it said that the 69 is the only year that used that short shaft--and I beleive it,because I looked at several 70-72 trucks and they were all the same as my 72 blazer...Good luck finding a 69 4x4 unmolested at a boneyard..
.I am scrapping the 74 K20 soon,the front shaft has very loose splines in it,so its not really worth keeping it--I had a brand new shaft in the box for the NP203 setup that came with the truck when I got it,I was going to have that one shortenned to fit had the truck not lost reverse and frame hadnt rotted away..

 

[Beast388]

Ttt:d