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Driveshaft questions

stoneattic

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Honey Brook, PA
I have a whole bunch of driveshaft questions stemming from my thoughts on adding a hack and tap to my XJ. I know that the front to rear driveshaft swap trick won't work since I have a the AX-15. But since I have a spare front shaft laying around I lined up where the SYE flange would be with the correct spicer adapter and found that the front shaft when fully extened comes up about 2 inches short when the rear axle is hanging.

How does one measure the shaft? Should I figure that the worst case, with the rear axle hanging should be the extended length I want and size it based on that or the compressed length?

I noticed that the shaft I used to line up with was 31" compressed and 34" extended. 3" of travel seems short to me, is it?

Also, when measuring the shaft length one measures from the center of the u-joint closest to the t-case to the center of the u-joint closest to the rear axle correct?

Any other thoughts?
 
You are correct on the length. Actually 31-31.5 to 34-34.5. You are correct on how to measure it. If you want to measure for a new shaft, just put you shaft on. (The front cv shaft) Put your XJ on the ground like it would normally sit. Put the shaft in the middle of the slip yoke, and measure the difference between the shaft joint and the pinion yoke. That is how much you will need to add.

3" of travel is not too little. Don't think of it like a shock. The actual travel of the slip on the shaft is very small. Maybe an inch total from full droop to full compression. If you don't believe me do the above at full droop and full compression. It isn't linear. Look at the angle it is at. You definitely need some room to move, but it isn't as much as you would think.
 
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