Build My Own Driveshaft?

I gotta believe that more than one of the craftsmen/women here have welded up a driveshaft, rather than buying one.

@ITLKSEZ, I’m talking to you! ;-)

The rear shaft for my project will require a double cardan joint at the transfer case. Adams and Tom Wood want around $500 for their product. I have two OEM shafts; perhaps I can modify one to fit…

Can it be that big a deal? Buy the centering piece, two (3) 1310 ujoints, a new yoke for the D20, and cut the shaft to length. Weld it back together and, voila! A new driveshaft.

Is my idea *that* far-fetched? Can a mere mortal build such a thing?

Jon B.

 

yes I have shortened a bunch building one shouldn't be much different.it may vibrate as balancing it would be tough

 

I have built more than I have fingers and toes in the past 30 years. If you have a good flat surface, it is not too hard to do. A bearing press helps but not necessary.

 

I have several pieces of granite countertop that are flat. And, I have a hobo freight press…

The OEM shaft has 3” of slip, so I’ll fit it close to fully extended with the rear suspension also fully extended.

I think I’ll give it a go…

Thanks for the replies!!

Edit to add: the shafts from either Woods or Adams are $400, with the yoke adding another $100.

Jon B.

 

I dont think balance is too important on our jeeps. There is not alot of weight since they are so short and small diameter and plus they wont see alot of high speed. But I would mount it after tack welding it and check it for runout on either end that should get you pretty close. I only fixed one that got mangled and it didnt last long but I would say that doesnt count. Plus it was like the first thing I ever welded when i was 15

 

fwiw 2000ish cherokees with the v8 have a long travel cv style front shaft that lends itself to shortening very well

 

I thought I had a detailed explanation in my build thread, but I don’t.

It’s super easy. I used one from the front of a ford explorer. Just make sure to leave the weld at the DC joint alone and shorten the tube on the other end. If the balance is out a hair on the pinion end, it doesn’t have as much whip as it would at the DC end.

The way I usually balance them, I will bolt it in place with the pieces just pressed together. I’ll have someone turn the tire while I’m underneath with a soap stone. I’ll hold the stone perfectly still while it hits the driveshaft at the high spot. I’ll tap it close to perfect, then I will put a tack in the joint right at the high spot. As the weld shrinks, it will pull the shaft perfectly straight. It takes a little practice, but it works well once you have it down.

 

@oldtime made a DC rear shaft recently... I'm not sure where it is posted.

 

Aaarrrgh!!

As with many old vehicles, many of the parts are essentially unusable.

At some point (points?) in its past, the ‘74 parts Jeep had the u-joint torn out of the bearing caps, damaging the yoke on the fixed end. It’s good enough to hold a new joint but enough metal was gouged out that it appears noticeably less strong than when new.

I went to the pole shed and removed the rear shaft from the basket-case ‘72 CJ. If you look at the attached photo, you’ll see why I’m reluctant to use it. Someone who knew nothing (!!) about driveshafts cut & welded on it. The tube is slightly larger than the ‘74 (2.215” vs. 2.00”), which is fine. When they welded it up, the index was WAY off! The two yokes are about 80 degrees apart.

I fear that these are both scrap unless I can salvage the reworked unit… I guess I can shorten it and then correct the indexing when welding it back together.

That Jeep must have eaten u-joints at a prodigious rate, while badly vibrating all the while!






Jon B.

 

Oh, yeah…

What doesn’t show in the photos is that the badly assembled shaft has the yoke spread. The two caps won’t be parallel when installed.

Maybe (?) I can stick it in the press and squeeze them back to where they belong…

Jon B.

 

It’s possible that the mis-aligned shaft can be re-aligned by pulling the splines apart and re-clocking them

 

Got one apart! Pics to follow.

The slip joint did come apart without me trying. Sorta surprised me! It went back together fairly close but not quite in alignment. That shaft has a bigger chunk out of the ‘fixed’ yoke.





Jon B.

 

Well…

Today I admitted defeat and ordered a shaft from Tom Wood.

Being somewhat (totally?) ignorant regarding CV shafts, I didn’t realize that I’d also need a ‘centering’ weld yoke on the shaft… Who knew? Not me, that’s who.

I bought the t-case yoke but it wouldn’t fit either the u-bolts nor the straps I have, so I called the com (Wood’s). That’s how I learned what I did know.

Next week, I’ll have a shiny new, super strong rear driveshaft!

Jon B.

 

I have shortened and lengthened several propeller shafts. Put on new tubes etc.
I built my first rear with a double cardan and centering yoke last year. Then I finally figured out how to get a normal 2 joint propeller shaft within the max drive angle limit. So I’m not using the newly double cardan with centering yoke that I made. It’s available for sale in case it happens to fit anyone’s build.
I don’t believe jeep ever balanced there shafts before the mid 1970’s.
I just roll mine on piece of glass plate to true them up. Or install them on Jeep and use a dial indicater.

 

I've been very satisfied with the CV shaft I got from them.

 

Bought a long travel slip yoke shaft for my cj5 from tom woods. I can say those are a well built with quality part.

 

The new shaft arrived today! It’s a beast. I suspect many other things will break long before that thing does - axles, transfer case… I don’t think the transmission will fail, since it’s an SM465.



Jon B.