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Shaft coming up short!

X

XJ 4-play

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Albuquerque, New Mexico
I just installed a RE 3.5" and moved my front ds to the rear just to see if it will fit. Everyone says you can run a stock front ds on a 4.5" lift. However when I do measurements I come out to a little under 33 1/2" from yoke to yoke. The stock front DS maxes out at about 34 1/2". This leaves me with about 1" of travel left with the stock ds.

How the hell would this work with a 4.5" lift. Seems like they would probably have less than an inch left in the slip to cover axle droop and stuff.

At first I was worried about the stock front ds being too long for a 3.5" now I'm a little worried about it being too short. Most likely ordering a new ds, but this made me feel like my ds is not as long as the rest of yours.



-->96 Classic, AW4, C8.25, 3.5" RE SF, RR SYE
 
Appreciate the comments but check the last sentence of op please.

Just wondering how many inches are needed for the proper cycling of the axle. It just seems like the stock shaft doesnt have much left before maxing out it's length.

Seems weird to me that people can use it on lifts more than 3.5 much less 6" like i've heard.
 
If you "search" you will find the driveshaft has to come from a auto trans equipped donor.a hack n tap or SYE is needed as is a 8.25 rear end to make it all work..and i have seen this installed on a 3" lift..hope this helps..
 
Wow, maybe there's some smoke fumes or something. Again thanks for the "search" recommendation. I'd recommend you actually read the post again but I don't think there is really a point.
 
Sounds like you answered your own question, 1" of travel doesn't sound like a good idea to me either. Here is some advice for you. Just because someone else did it and posted about it on the internet doesn't always mean it is a good idea. I ran a front WJ driveshaft in the rear of my rig for 3 months of daily driving, the WJ shaft is about 1" longer than an auto XJ front shaft. It ruined the shaft, jacked up the slip joint and yoke pretty bad. Long story short, don't cheap out do it right the first time. Buy a real driveshaft that is the correct length.
 
Last edited:
See, that's what's got me confused. If I only have one inch left on a 3.5" lift and I know RE lifts are higher than that especially when they are new but how the hell can people use them on a 6" lift.

I've measured the distance from yoke to yoke at 33.5
Fully extended my stock front ds is 34.5
I've installed that driveshaft and it'll work fine until the new one comes in.

Funny thing is when the new one comes in it will probably be the same length as the one I already have in.
 
XJ 4-play said:
See, that's what's got me confused. If I only have one inch left on a 3.5" lift and I know RE lifts are higher than that especially when they are new but how the hell can people use them on a 6" lift.

I've measured the distance from yoke to yoke at 33.5
Fully extended my stock front ds is 34.5
I've installed that driveshaft and it'll work fine until the new one comes in.

Funny thing is when the new one comes in it will probably be the same length as the one I already have in.
Click to expand...

Where'd you order your new shaft from? Most company's usually don't leave an inch of splines for you to play with. -B
 
Super strange shaft situation. I guess that extra inch i've got is more than enough. Must just be the way the axle tracks.

I could see if it had rear control arms but with leaves more or less tracking straight down and not in an arc it just doesn't make sense to me.
 
I have an 3.5 RE lift, Chry 8.25, H&T SYE and use a stock 4.0L AW-4 front drive shaft in the rear. Some people do the same with a D35.

I had no drive shaft problems in Moab so it must be OK.

Do the math, use simple geometry, the compressed and extended length of the rear DS is not that much. If you calculator is broken, load up your Cherokee and measure from u-joint to u-joint, then and let the axle hang down and measure again
 
XJ 4-play said:
TW I just forgot to ask what it's expanded length will be.

I should just stop worrying about it, they know what the heck they're doin'.

Just a question that's driving me nuts
Click to expand...

If you measured correctly as per TW spec, you'll have nada to worry about. TW makes great shafts, i know i have 2 of them. -B
 
im not too sure why youre so worried. if the shaft is too short get it lengthened.
its 93$ for me each time with balance too...thats not too bad. or buy a spare at the jy for 30$ and have a spare if it pops off
 
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