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SYE with front DS

B

bonez67

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Utah
Hi,

I am planing to use the iron rock SYE with a stock front driveshaft. My concern is the strength. Will the front DS be strong enough for DD weekend trails and towing my 1200lbs tent trailer? I just want to make sure I dont end up making things to weak.

Thanks

Brian
 
some will say yes, some will say no. many have used a front shaft with out problems for years and some will have problems because the weak link to a front shaft is the small slip joint in the shaft. the shaft itself is strong enough but the slip joint is small compared to a shaft with a slip joint made for a rear application.
 
I've been wondering this too, I'm getting ready to put an SYE on mine. However, I don't tow anything and rarely haul heavy stuff. My front DS I grabbed seems strong enough. Perhaps you could somehow strengthen up the shaft if need be? Otherwise, like what was mentioned, carry spares.
I'd say put it on, if it breaks use a spare until you can buy a better driveshaft or have one custom made. I personally have not heard anyone breaking the driveshafts in the write-ups I have read.
Otherwise, are there any other vehicles that have a similar driveshaft but stronger?
 
its the slip joint built into the shaft that is the weak part, not the shaft. beefing it up would be to put on a larger slip joint.

i remember reading the explorer shaft was also a direct swap.
 
The real answer depends on your driving style and lift/tire combination.

The drive it like you stole it, 35"+ tire, crush big rocks with the unibody/tube buggy, tow rig and trailer owning guys, will turn up their noses and sniff at a Hack and Tap front drive shaft SYE. For us little Jeepers that drive our Jeeps daily, 4-wheel like we have to drive home at the end of the trail (and drive to work on Monday), the front drive shaft will work great.

I have driven from Minneapolis to Moab (twice), spent the week on Hell's Revenge, Golden Spike, Poison Spider, etc., and then drove home again (and to work on Monday), all with a H&T SYE and a stock front drive shaft. No problem.
 
I run the HnT with front DS for the last few years and it has been plenty strong. I'd do it again the same way if I had to choose.
 
I am thinking about this also. I have a 97 with an auto and the "super strong" Dana 35. I'm not going to swap the axle any time soon. Is there a specific front drive shaft that I need to look for? Thanks
 
i believe you can only use the front driveline if you have an 8.25 or 44 rear end because the yoke is longer. correct me if im wrong please...
 
Pretty close, 98CherokeeSport - the 4.0/aw4 front driveline only really works for an 8.25 or 44 from most reports. If you need longer, you can go with a 4.0/manual (don't think the specific manual matters, not sure) to gain an inch or two. That compensates for either a manual tranny in your XJ, or a d35 in your XJ, or a good bit of lift - but not more than one or two of the above, depending. If you need longer still you can go to some variants of ZJ front shafts.

Really, the best way to handle it is to do what you want to do with your lift/diff/transmission, measure/try a shaft you know the specs of, then google for "J321-CV" and look through it for what you have, add how much longer it needs to be, then look through for shafts in that range. Make sure the U-joint series is the same, then go junkyard hunting.
 
the 4.0L/auto front shaft is longer than the manual
 
the double cardan will probably be OK, but the shaft itself isn't all that great...I had a rear shaft made for my SYE'd comanche, using the stock wall thickness...end result is that I bent it. I had it rebuilt using double thickness wall.
 
Tim_MN said:
The real answer depends on your driving style and lift/tire combination.

The drive it like you stole it, 35"+ tire, crush big rocks with the unibody/tube buggy, tow rig and trailer owning guys, will turn up their noses and sniff at a Hack and Tap front drive shaft SYE. For us little Jeepers that drive our Jeeps daily, 4-wheel like we have to drive home at the end of the trail (and drive to work on Monday), the front drive shaft will work great.

I have driven from Minneapolis to Moab (twice), spent the week on Hell's Revenge, Golden Spike, Poison Spider, etc., and then drove home again (and to work on Monday), all with a H&T SYE and a stock front drive shaft. No problem.
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better. I use my Jeep in the same way you to, weekend trips to Uwharrie, weekend trips to the Mountains that include wheelin, then back home and to work the next day. Never had an issue with my H&T set up, and i've been running it for a couple of years now.

In regards to only with a 8.25 or 44, i'm pretty sure the solution there is to install the proper u-joint at the axle end for whatever non Jeep axle you're running. I bought my DS already rebuilt from a member on here, and he was running the H&T with a Ford 8.8 rear end. The 8.8 takes a bigger u-joint than a Jeep does (1330 for the Ford and 1310 for a Jeep IIRC). All I had to do was buy a new 1310 for $12 and swap them out. Piece of cake!
 
98CherokeeSport said:
the 4.0L/auto front shaft is longer than the manual
Click to expand...
:dunce:

Thank you. Brain fart :( I was thinking about rear driveshaft length, and talking about front driveshafts... I stand corrected.

Yeah, check out the ZJ front driveshafts. I want to say the V8 equipped ones have the longest driveshafts, but I can't recall exactly.
 
michael_jnel said:
Ok, with a 97, auto, and d35 I'm screwed. I plan on doing a 3-4" lift. Help!
Click to expand...

Why are you screwed? I ran my '98 with 5" of lift, auto tranny, and D35 for over a year with the RE HnT and front driveshaft. The front driveshaft was plenty long.
 
98CherokeeSport said:
i believe you can only use the front driveline if you have an 8.25 or 44 rear end because the yoke is longer. correct me if im wrong please...
Click to expand...

I got it to work fine with a D35 rear axle - but I was also using a HnT which is slightly longer than super-short SYEs.
 
the_weirdo said:
Why are you screwed? I ran my '98 with 5" of lift, auto tranny, and D35 for over a year with the RE HnT and front driveshaft. The front driveshaft was plenty long.
Click to expand...
What were the specs on the Jeep you pulled the front shaft from? I didn't know that there were so many different options for the front DS. The Iron Rock site just says "front drive shaft"
 
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