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Aluminum Driveshaft??

S

southernrebel20

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Georgia
My buddy gave an aluminum driveshaft he had laying around out of an explorer. I'll need to section it (it's too long as it is now) and then I can give it an extra 1/4" extension or so over my current driveshaft length (im on 3.5" of lift in the back and the slip yoke has come off the splines about a 1/4" from stock). Is anyone running an aluminum shaft? I plan on indexing it before cutting and welding so it is about spot on for balance, I can tig pretty well so the weld will no weaker than the rest of the shaft. Any one have experience with this?
 
It's free... I say try it, if it doesn't work out well, make a fencepost out of it. If it works out run it till it breaks.
 
They're good for street cars and trucks as they are lightweight and cut down on rotational weight. It would not be a good choice for a wheeling rig as it will bend, crack, and dent easily due to it being weak in stock form. IF you never plan to see any wheeling time in your rig, then it would be a good choice for street use only.
 
my thought would be: ok for a dd, or maybe for a jeepspeed (places where youre not needing alot of torque). Probably not so good for a crawler because aluminum is weaker than steel and you may end up twisting it up (especially if its hollow)
 
callmebobbyt said:
my thought would be: ok for a dd, or maybe for a jeepspeed (places where youre not needing alot of torque).
Click to expand...

You don't need a lot of torque for jeepspeed?
 
When folks say "it will suck for wheeling" I think they mean "it will suck if you drag it across a rock or high-center your DS on a log". For sand, dirt roads and DD use I think it would be fine.
Keep your current shaft as a spare and let us know if it works for ya.
 
I wouldn’t do it, and here is why. Every time i break a u joint the driveshaft flails wildly for a few seconds. It has made dents a few inches deep in the muffler, and dents on the floor pan too. However, since the driveshaft is stronger than all the stuff it hits I just put in my new u-joint and drive on. If my shaft was aluminum and it hit the muffler I bet it would fail spectacularly, then I would be stuck in front drive only! Would you rather have to carry a spare joint or a spare shaft?
 
Actually when aluminum is welded it tends to soften and weaken in the Heat Affected Zone. So it would be weaker after you weld it.
 
I'm gonna give it a shot, It seems to be a beefy shaft. As far as welding it making it weaker, that's ridiculous, The heat affected area might not be as strong as a cast part but I weld aluminum all the time and have used it for motor mounts that are hard mounted to the frame and their strength has been tested more than their fair share of times. I'll let ya know how it goes.
 
I wouldnt even waste my breath/time/money! Chances of you welding it "true" are really bad also.
 
I love how people on here ask for other's opinions and insight before doing something, and then when info is offered from others of why not to do it they decide to do it anyways. Besides the OP is planning on doing all this because the stock shaft has move a whopping 1/4" out from the stock location. I'm on 4.5" lift and mines moved out a little more than 1" and have wheeled it without any problems so far. I say if the current stock shaft is good and not giving you any vibes then just run it as 1/4" is nothing and it still has plenty of room left.
 
How do you even know what alloy of aluminum the driveshaft is? What are you going to use for a filler? Are you just going to guess and hope that it is a good match? Some alloys of aluminum are not even considered weldable. Before you attempt something that you are completely blind to you should do a little research. It may save you loads of time and prevent overseen problems. You can't just grab any random filler alloy. You need to match the filler to the base material.
 
As stated in my opening post, I wanted to know if anyone else was running one, or if they had experience with someone else running one. I could care less about your opinion on if the project is worth doing (it'll cost under $10 anyways). As far as not taking the opinion of the posters as golden truth, Thats stupid as hell, If people didn't try stuff out how would anyone know what works and what does not? No one seems to even had tried running one so how on earth can you tell me it's a stupid idea? Have you tried it?? As far as what filler is going to be used, I will use 4043 filler rod, it is pretty standard unless the aluminum is 2xxx stuff or 7xxx, which a driveshaft is pretty unlikely to be. Thanks for all your help, i mean useless criticism fellas.
 
That could be, I mean it isn't widely used in offroad components, but If you use the right thickness and type it is super strong and much lighter than steel of comparable strength.
 
southernrebel20 said:
As stated in my opening post, I wanted to know if anyone else was running one, or if they had experience with someone else running one. I could care less about your opinion on if the project is worth doing (it'll cost under $10 anyways). As far as not taking the opinion of the posters as golden truth, Thats stupid as hell, If people didn't try stuff out how would anyone know what works and what does not? No one seems to even had tried running one so how on earth can you tell me it's a stupid idea? Have you tried it?? As far as what filler is going to be used, I will use 4043 filler rod, it is pretty standard unless the aluminum is 2xxx stuff or 7xxx, which a driveshaft is pretty unlikely to be. Thanks for all your help, i mean useless criticism fellas.
Click to expand...

winkosmosis said:
I think offroaders are unfairly prejudiced against aluminum, no matter what the part is.
Click to expand...


we got a winner! this is why people post threads and disregard 2/3rds of the info posted in response. because 2/3rds basically said no based on this unfair, uneducated, and flat out redneck prejudice. without seeing the driveshaft even!


run that shit yo. keep us updated.
 
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