Longer front drive shaft?

90, aw4, np242, dana 30.

I am in need of a longer front drive shaft. After searching, I have found some evidence that ford explorers have a longer front shaft that might work. Is this correct? Will this shaft be longer than mine is now, considering my current setup? Does anyone know of any other vehicle that I might be able to swap a longer shaft out of? Thanks!

wheelin4cheap said:

90, aw4, np242, dana 30.

I am in need of a longer front drive shaft. After searching, I have found some evidence that ford explorers have a longer front shaft that might work. Is this correct? Will this shaft be longer than mine is now, considering my current setup? Does anyone know of any other vehicle that I might be able to swap a longer shaft out of? Thanks!

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What did you do that you need a longer driveshaft? Ussually it's the other way around: as you lift the vehicle the arc of travel changes and you need a shorter shaft.
If you lifted the rig and still have short arms and it just looks as though your shaft is rather "stretched" out, cycle your suspension through and look as to what happens to the driveshaft.

I had stock LCA's with 5" lift in the front and I just recently put on some longer LCA's. Now the front shaft seems to be too short and I am getting some bad vibes. I figured a longer shaft would be appropriate. Am I wrong?

wheelin4cheap said:

I had stock LCA's with 5" lift in the front and I just recently put on some longer LCA's. Now the front shaft seems to be too short and I am getting some bad vibes. I figured a longer shaft would be appropriate. Am I wrong?

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Well, couple things to consider:
1. If you put longer LCA"s and didn't touch the UCA's your front driveshaft angle might be off.
2. You might or might not have enough spline engagement: hard to say without looking at it. You might cycle your suspension and see what happens to the driveshaft length. With RE superflex fixed LCA's I had to shorten my driveshaft just a hair (I got about 6" of lift I think).

Sorry I forgot to mention I also installed longer UCA's.

All I did was push my front axle forward, away from my t-case. The slip yoke is extended further and probably not getting the spline engagement that I need, which I assume is causing my vibrations. I thought the likely solution would be a longer shaft?

wheelin4cheap said:

Sorry I forgot to mention I also installed longer UCA's.

All I did was push my front axle forward, away from my t-case. The slip yoke is extended further and probably not getting the spline engagement that I need, which I assume is causing my vibrations. I thought the likely solution would be a longer shaft?

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OK, this makes more sense now: yup, longer shaft is probably what you need. Kind of curious: how much is it extended? (how much of the narrow piece is showing)

I seriously doubt that you need a longer driveshaft. With no more information than you're giving, it looks like you're assuming this is the case. The only way to know is to pull the front of the shaft from the yoke and measure it extended and compressed, hook it back up and cycle the suspension and measure how long and how short it gets, and compare the measurements.

C'mon folks, you gotta check this stuff out....it's not that hard.

You probably are fine, since the driveshaft should shorten as the suspension cycles down. IF you do need to lengthen the shaft, you'll need to know exactly how much it needs to be lengthened, then find a local driveline shop and have them lengthen it. Forget about finding a wrecking yard shaft that's longer, you'll spend more on the shaft and replacing all the u-joints than you'll spend getting yours lengthened and balanced.

As far as the vibration, that is very likely happening from the pinion u-joint angle not being what it should be. You can adjust the pinion angle by adjusting the castor to eliminate the vibration. IF the vibration really is because the splines are too far out, it could also be because the splines are worn out, in which case you would need a different driveshaft. However, this rarely happens. Check the u-joint angle, and measure the shaft length, and then see where you are.

Yeah, I'd bet you don't need a longer one. I'm not lifted huge but a little more than you, about 6" with RE uppers and lowers with drop brackets, and my driveshaft is fine.

I also know a guy who runs a custom longarm setup with Rusty's 8" springs and he's fine with the stock shaft. In fact he just spent a week in Moad with no problems.

Here is how the pinion angle is now...and the slip yoke.




Still think I don't need a longer shaft?

wheelin4cheap said:

Here is how the pinion angle is now...and the slip yoke.

Still think I don't need a longer shaft?

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Your pinion seems to be pointing too high up. how many inches of slip yoke is there sticking out? Btw, this kind of looks like mine and mine is fine, but I did have to have it rebuilt as it got sloppy with time.

Kejtar said:

Your pinion seems to be pointing too high up. how many inches of slip yoke is there sticking out? Btw, this kind of looks like mine and mine is fine, but I did have to have it rebuilt as it got sloppy with time.

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i agree with Kejtar, you pinion angle is too high, rotate the pinion angle back down so your front yoke is pionted more towards the rear axle ( about half way between the transfer case and the rear axle ) hope this makes sence. give it a try and if you think it is still too short, take it to a drive line shop and for $70 tops they will lengthen and balance yours.

steagall9301 said:

i agree with Kejtar, you pinion angle is too high, rotate the pinion angle back down so your front yoke is pionted more towards the rear axle ( about half way between the transfer case and the rear axle ) hope this makes sence. give it a try and if you think it is still too short, take it to a drive line shop and for $70 tops they will lengthen and balance yours.

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Why point it so low? I would point it so that it's more or less in line with the driveshaft, maybe a hair lower.

If you're willing to take conclusive advice from the Internet without actually measuring, here goes. No, I don't think your driveshaft is too short, and it looks like the pinion is a little high.

The purpose of this thread was actually to find out if anyone knows of any vehicle that has a longer shaft I might be able to find and a junkyard and swap in.

I appreciate the input, opinions, and advice...but really I am just looking for a longer drive shaft.

Sounds like a waste of time and money to me. I've got some blue teflon showing outside the seal on my front one (read: farther out than yours) and even with stupid longarm droop it barely changes. Yes it's worn, but what are you gonna do. I broke an axleshaft u-joint and the driveshaft didn't budge.

You can adjust the pinion angle via your adjustable arms, but don't adjust it at the expense of ruining your caster angle. That's much more important. Vibes you can live with, crappy caster angle can cause death wobble, lack of return-to-center, poor directional tracking, increased sensitivity to road conditions, etc.

If you want both good caster and good pinion angle, well, welcome to the paradox of four wheeling. Your options are to cut and turn the knuckles, or get lockout hubs and keep the pinion angle off.

edit: To answer your question though, no. I think Explorer front shafts don't have a CV because they're long enough to not need it. Chevy S10 front shaft is close but uses a flange mount yoke. A Bronco rear shaft would work if you can find a way to use the 1330 u-joints. Bronco front shaft does not work. A late 80's Dodge Ram front shaft would be the right length but also uses a flange mount. Dig it?

wheelin4cheap said:

The purpose of this thread was actually to find out if anyone knows of any vehicle that has a longer shaft I might be able to find and a junkyard and swap in.

I appreciate the input, opinions, and advice...but really I am just looking for a longer drive shaft.

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As the saying goes........you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

BTW, since no one here has ever needed a longer driveshaft, I doubt anyone will know the answer to your question.

vetteboy said:

You can adjust the pinion angle via your adjustable arms, but don't adjust it at the expense of ruining your caster angle. That's much more important. Vibes you can live with, crappy caster angle can cause death wobble, lack of return-to-center, poor directional tracking, increased sensitivity to road conditions, etc.

If you want both good caster and good pinion angle, well, welcome to the paradox of four wheeling. Your options are to cut and turn the knuckles, or get lockout hubs and keep the pinion angle off.

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I disagree. I think pinion angle is more important than castor angle. An XJ can live with surprisingly little castor angle, and a large range of castor angle is acceptable. You can't live with driveline vibrations for long because it will eventually ruin the pinion bearing and/or the t-case front output shaft beaing.

I agree that if you can't get acceptable castor and good pinion angle then your choice is hubs or turning the knuckles.