cheap long travel driveshaft

[Andy351]

ever since i swapped in the 52" chevy springs i needed more driveshaft travel than i could afford. I ran a square tube driveshaft, it was about the worst decision I ever made but kept me on the trails for the last couple years. Lesson learned. After calculating how much travel I needed I began to look around for the cheapest solution possible, and didn't have much luck. even just the 2 halves of a 7.5" travel slip yoke were over $150. I was determined to find a cheaper solution. As with many other low-buck wheeling innovations, my new strategy was spawned at a pick-n-pull half off day. Its almost like a "buy one bronco driveshaft, get the second for free day."

now that i had 2 stock bronco shafts i began to scheme. each shaft is good for about 3-4" of slip, in my case i need around 7". if only i could make the 2 become one....so i fired up the new miller and hf grinder and took a stab at it.

cut the yoke off of female slip #1


slip #1, slip #2 and a piece of 2" .120 wall tube to sleeve it all


cut the male splines off shaft #1


joining the two halves together to make the longer male splines. i cut the splines off of shaft #2 right where they started. the "jig" is angle iron:toothless


before welding up the male spline section, stick the yoke on there to make sure they are properly aligned.


welded up, ready to grind down.


i drilled the sleeve tube for plug welds. 3 3/8" plug welds on either half of the new female slip yoke.


using the new male splines, i lined up the 2 halves of the female slip, making sure both keyways match up.


plug welds done.


shot of the new slip yoke assembly. i welded the sleeve tube around the edges too.

[Andy351]

male splines finished and ground smooth. 10" length


10" in the female end as well. this will give me a minimum spline engagement of 1.5" at full droop. (the actual splines are 3" long)


roughly 8.5" of travel


i clearanced all the yokes to allow for maximum angle capacity.


ready to be installed.


been a long time since i've seen a round shaft up there....


i'm happy with the result, time will till if it can withstand my driving. just by eyeballing it i was able to get the whole shaft to less than an 1/8" in deviation over the whole length, and its in front so balancing isn't entirely necessary. my guess is it will hold up till i can at least afford something better...

[93chico4by]

DOod, that is awesome. I love days like today when i get to log on here and see an idea like this. It brings a smile to my face.

[sn0border88]

what was wrong with the square shaft? I run one and couldnt be happier, it has outlived a pinion and 2 pairs of yokes.

I guess you ran it in the rear, couldnt get it to balance?

[Andy351]

no i ran it in the front. they don't balance, theres tons of slop, and they make lots of noise. in reality, this was actually cheaper than the square tube shaft. i really don't think i could ever kill the square tube tho, even if i tried. it was definitely burly.

if you look at the last picture i posted you can see that the ds will contact the tranny x-member as it droops (need to notch it). when the square tube came in contact with that, BOOOOM goes the u-joint. that part of having a square shaft got really old.

[Mr.N]

Originally Posted by Andy351

As with many other low-buck wheeling innovations, my new strategy was spawned at a pick-n-pull half off day. Its almost like a "buy one bronco driveshaft, get the second for free day."

now that i had 2 stock bronco shafts i began to scheme. each shaft is good for about 3-4" of slip, in my case i need around 7". if only i could make the 2 become one....so i fired up the new miller and hf grinder and took a stab at it.

Andy, How has the drive shaft held up?

[welndmn]

I don't know how much Andy is around anymore, but he sold his bronco last year. From I can remember he did not blow the shaft up.

[Mr.N]

Originally Posted by welndmn

I don't know how much Andy is around anymore, but he sold his bronco last year. From I can remember he did not blow the shaft up.

Thanks Mark

[Mr.N]

For anyone reading along, this is what happened to my try...
Broke first trail.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...0#post14332670