rear driveshaft question

i had my drive shafts out of my xj the other day because i was putting in a new clutch and slave cylinder and i was comparing them and i was look and my front drive shaft because it has a double cardon (sp?) joint and a slip on it and thats basically what companies like tom woods are selling...i think. i know they're stonger and all but why could you just take a front drive shaft and put it in the rear? i think the U joints are the same the on thing thats different is the length and its only about 1 inch longer, but if you're getting and sye i don't think that would be a problem. so could you run a front drive shaft in the rear?

oh ya i have an AX-15 tranny and 231 X-case if that makes a difference in the lengths of the shafts

I took the front shaft off another Xj and ran it with a sye kit and onl needed to find a new u joint to adapt to a D60 in the rear and had it retubed and balanced. Got the shaft from a junkyard for $10 retube and balance $50 u joint $12.99 and I have no probs whatsoever, the guy who retubed it custom ordered tubing and made it more beefier than I would ever need it, a simple retube would be fine. so for $70 I had an awesome shaft for a 10inch lft

Its alot weaker shaft,not just the tube but also the spline!It good for an emergency repair to drive home on if the length works out.Also it doesnt work with the hack-n-tap kits.

why doesn't it work with hack and taps?

The hack-n-tap kits use the round adaptor flange vs. the straight 1310 CV yoke.More weight/adaptation is the enemy!

but sye's are so expensive! im mean shit good damn! you could probably find a different transfer case for that. i haven't found a good deal on one yet most are around 250.

I paid 500 for my 242 kit with a shaft from Woods and it is perfect. It's nice knowing I have a good piece of steal back there and I don't have to worry about it.

Spend the money, get a good one.

jmho,