specific lift and rear driveshaft question

95 XJ 4.0, AW4, NP231, chry 8.25.

i'm currenly running a 3" lift with a SYE and a front driveshaft in the rear. now i read here all the time about guys running upwards to 5+" lift with the front driveshaft in the rear. i just had mine up on the hoist and was checking everything over. before i boost my XJ from 3" to 5", and here is my question.

at my current 3" setup, the driveshaft in the rear looks steady, but extended. regardless of whether it's on the ground or on the hoist at full droop. i'm not quite sure if i measured properly, but it doesn't look like the driveshaft has another 2" to comfortably spare and still work under full droop without seperating. am i missing something or how are some of you guys running the front shafts at 5+"???

and has anybody experimented with front double cardon shafts out of bigger rigs like old fullsize broncos or anything like that. i was thinking that if i could find a truck with the same size yokes, that maybe their front driveshafts might be long enough to work in the rear with that much lift. i'm sure i'll be able to walk around the junkyard with a tape measure, but figured i'd ask while i'm already on the driveshaft topic.

I'm at just under 4 inches of lift, same axle/tranny/DS combo....I have the same question as you - supposedly, the ZJ DS is an inch or so longer.....

I've got a 4.5 RE kit, but my rear is the front DS from a wrangler rubicon. It is shortened, and It has 1330 double cardon. I was limited with this because of my t-case. I don't know how much a shaft is from the yard, but if you could find one from a newer wrangler, not a rubicon because they have 1330 driveline (96-06) it is about 4 inches longer. just get it shortened and it will be cheaper than buying a custom one.

Justin

so i read so much on here about guys running the front shaft in the rear at 5+", but now when i ask if they have any problems or if they noticed or changed anything, none of them pipe up???

I went to 3" without SYE and kept my stock rear shaft. very minor vibes (liveable) and I did notice my slip yoke started getting sloppy. had it on for about 2 years.

recently I went to 6.5" lift with a SYE and I found that the front driveshaft from a 95 grand cherokee (don't know if auto/manual or what tcase) fit very well with my D35 rear axle and also with my ford 8.8 which is now in there. I wheeled it fairly hard only once (and we flexed the bejeesus out that jeep) since then and been driving on the road for the past couple months with no probs. I have a minor vibe but i am still dialing in the pinion angle. When I compared the front grand cherokee dshaft to the XJ dshaft, the grand is about 2" longer.

in summary

The front dshaft from a 95 grand cherokee (about 34" long) works very well on an XJ with AW4 trans and 242 tcase w RE H&T SYE at 6.5" lift. I wanted a stock dshaft so if I ever break it, I can just slap in another used one.

My lift measures out about five inches. I am running a front shaft on the rear. If you get full droop the shaft will not extend as much as you think because as the axle drops it also move towards the transfer case.

6" with a 8.25/sye and auto front d/s noproblems yet !

fuzzydog said:

I went to 3" without SYE and kept my stock rear shaft. very minor vibes (liveable) and I did notice my slip yoke started getting sloppy. had it on for about 2 years.

recently I went to 6.5" lift with a SYE and I found that the front driveshaft from a 95 grand cherokee (don't know if auto/manual or what tcase) fit very well with my D35 rear axle and also with my ford 8.8 which is now in there. I wheeled it fairly hard only once (and we flexed the bejeesus out that jeep) since then and been driving on the road for the past couple months with no probs. I have a minor vibe but i am still dialing in the pinion angle. When I compared the front grand cherokee dshaft to the XJ dshaft, the grand is about 2" longer.

in summary

The front dshaft from a 95 grand cherokee (about 34" long) works very well on an XJ with AW4 trans and 242 tcase w RE H&T SYE at 6.5" lift. I wanted a stock dshaft so if I ever break it, I can just slap in another used one.

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Do you know what engine was in the Grand? I've got a 4.0, AX-15, 242, D44 and I'd like to do a H&T and use a stock front. I've held a stock XJ front shft from an AW4 up to where the H&T would end up being, etc. So I know that the stock XJ front is too short by about 2" so that ZJ shaft might be perfect.

Sorry, the grand cherokee shaft was already off the vehicle so i have no idea what drivetrain it had

5.5 lift and front DL in rear with no problems. Used a lerado due to how long it is already.

5" lift everything else stock =/

Will I be alright with the stock rear shaft at 5"? I've been searching my balls off and this seems to be the most relevant thread.

Didn't change my drive lines, i have a 6.5 lift on stock front an rear drive shafts.... 89 xj with 33s on her

scottmcneal said:

Didn't change my drive lines, i have a 6.5 lift on stock front an rear drive shafts.... 89 xj with 33s on her

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Was wondering what kind of flexing you do and how long your shocks are. Do you know what kind of suspension travel you have? I really don't want to drop a driveshaft out while I'm wheeling. Thanks.

Im running 4.5 in of lift, super short SYE and had to have my DS lengthened. Most part of this is from the SYE I have is shorter than the rest. A standard SYE would more than likely be long enough to make it.

scottmcneal said:

Didn't change my drive lines, i have a 6.5 lift on stock front an rear drive shafts.... 89 xj with 33s on her

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how long have you been running this? I ran stock shafts on a 3.5" lift for under 2 years and started getting noticeable wobbling at my slip joint. I've heard of slip yokes coming apart at speed and it is not pretty...

Just over 6" with SYE and front shaft. Currently trying to fix MAJOR vibes issues that I created while attempting to fix minor vibe issues however; never had any issues when wheeling and I am not exactly a finesse driver.