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Low buck driveshaft lengthening?

Vombrown

Vombrown

Mountain Man
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Great Falls mt
Ok I'm just looking for other options of what I normally do and thought I would ask the group.

I need about 2" more on the front driveshaft. Previous owner installed a 4" lift but didn't lengthen the driveshaft so under rebound it will pull out. Now I want to get this done for little to no cost as I plan to have new Tow Woods shafts made when I install the D60 front axle.

What I normally do is cut the slip joint at the front yoke and sleeve it with a piece of tubing. Extending the length whatever I need. This truck will never be driven faster than 15 or so in 4x4 so balance isn't an issue. It will all be replaced in a few months anyway.
 
personally if your going to weld up and do your own. id say screw it... go square tubing and make your "permanent" driveshaft... just sayin
 
You won't know till you cut it apart bur depending on ID I just cut the tube and sleeve with other tube. Or if you have something that will sleeve the OD of the tube. Quick and easy
 
Square tube is just too much effort for a driveshaft that won't be wheeled or in there over a month or two...
 
Square driveshafts are cheap and easy, but balance aside, they build a ton of slip friction. They're good at breaking adapters and transmission cases, they don't want to slip under pressure/torque.

They're tough, and honestly I never broke anything because of mine (SM465 stuff is tough) but I shied away when I swapped to an auto for that reason.
 
May as well grind off both yokes and just cut a new hunk of tubing to the right length ,weld it together,rather than splice it with a sleeve and create a heavy spot..make sure you get the yokes phased properly before welding..

If the shaft isn't excessively short maybe you could find a longer slip yoke,or use a spacer at the 4 bolt flange at the transfer case and longer bolts to get by until you decide what you'll need for the "permanent" front drive shaft...
 
diesel4me said:
May as well grind off both yokes and just cut a new hunk of tubing to the right length ,weld it together,rather than splice it with a sleeve and create a heavy spot..make sure you get the yokes phased properly before welding..

If the shaft isn't excessively short maybe you could find a longer slip yoke,or use a spacer at the 4 bolt flange at the transfer case and longer bolts to get by until you decide what you'll need for the "permanent" front drive shaft...
Click to expand...

Yup, they way I have done it before was cut the yoke sleeve and slide it up onto the splines as the template before welding the sleeve. Once it's tacked up on the splined end I take it off and weld it up. If you use schedule 80 steel pipe it isn't excessively heavy. For low speeds it works fine.
 
I wish I knew of a truck with a longer slip yoke end splined the same. That would be an easy fix to get more length.
 
Chevy305 said:
Drive shaft spacer:

Superlift 4310 Driveshaft Spacer; Front; https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G8NKSO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rk1wAbPGD466X
Click to expand...

That is what I did on my front drive shaft.

61HwWCbv0fL._SY355_.jpg
 
A guy I know bought a lifted truck and had the front shaft pull apart going over speed bumps in a parking lot a few days later--it was too short..
His temporary solution so he could still use 4wd until he got a longer drive shaft was to compress the front springs down some by having his friends stand on the front bumper while he rigged a "limit chain" around the front axle tube,to the frame rail on each side,so the truck couldn't rebound high enough to pull the slip yoke off it..it did work!..
 
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