Anyone know the length of a stock YJ front driveshaft? I gotta go right after work and get a new/old one and I can't measure mine since its in about a million peices. I need a longer one for my soa setup and I would rather get one off of something else and have it shortened rather than have to get one lengthened (cheaper :cool: ). Any ideas for a donor vehicle? I know a cherokee shaft would be nice since its cv but what about the yoke?

They are different depending on motor/tranny.

Stay away from 4cyl manual YJ's they have the shortest front shaft, look for an automatic 4.0L Comanchee, Cherokee or Grand, the overdrive auto trans is super long, so the front shaft shoul be plenty long enough to cut down for you app, the axle yoke is the same (assume you're still running a stock front axle) and if you can't score the CV t-case yoke, you can replace the driveshaft CV with a standard yoke when you shorten it.

my stock front shaft is 40 7/8", i know this because i just dropped it off to get it lengthend, ends up that i am going with a 2 inch tube to get more travle from the slip and spline, the stock shaft was way way way to short after SOA, i have an AX-5, if you have an AX-15 i think it will be close to 4 or 5 inches longer , a chickrokee would be a great doner if you can find one with tite splines and no bad dings, a new front shaft should run around $225, that is what i payed, but mine is a little bit over kill for the set up that i run

the measurement above is colapsed

I dont know if it helps but my shaft from center line of ujoints was 41" i believe after the SOA. But i do have a low pinion D44. Jessy has his stock 4banger front shaft you could have retubed. Not sure how the plines were though. I could be a temp fix.

that might be a possibility on that 4 banger shaft. whatever i get will have to be worked a little anyway. I'm going to see what Andy has this evening and if i can't get one from him I may need to see about that one. He told me he has several down there and just to bring a measurement so i'll probably be ok. if i can get one longer than 41" it would be great.

My old stock shaft was so bad it would fall off when I picked my Jeep up on the hoist, and yet it was too long fully compressed. I had a long travel built at Joint Clutch & Gear in Bay City MI for $390. It's got 28" of spline trave, collapses to 36" (2.5l, SM420, NP231, LP Dana44), came with the snap down spicer joints, I've run it at 60mph and it doesn't vibrate at all, not bad for a shaft that weights 40lbs. I actually replaced the spline stub on my original shaft twice at $100 a pop before I found Joint Clutch and Gear.

I'm not near it to measure, but I had a 4 cyl. , AX5, YJ and when I went SOA with a waggy 44 front on 2.5" springs.....I was able to run a rear shaft from a GW (same 85 GW I got the 44 front from) as my front shaft.....worked perfectly.

I since went to a Chevy 44 front and D300 (and 350/4500), with Waggy springs SOA and I had to shorten the shaft 1/2".

HTH,

Charly

Thanks. I just went ahead and got a shaft from a cherokee. I'll have to get it lengthened but it will be sturdy.