Pneumatic DISCO Sway bar

[Curtis_H]

I have thought about this as well and I think its a great idea, but I would approach the splines differently. Instead of splines along the length of the shaft picture a flange on each shaft with splines in the end, and one flange being movable. I may not be explaining it well but I think the re engagement would be smoother and it may be stronger as well, and also it could be made on a mill instead of having to have shafts splined. I think a person might even be able to get away with a brake pad type engagement without splines at all

 

[redrider2911]

Splines on a flange. Your thinking kinda like the face of a Aussie locker?

 

[Curtis_H]

lol yes exactly.

 

[redrider2911]

See I follow your train of thought! lol Not a bad idea but I know the lockers require the force of the cross shaft to pry apart the 2 center sections and lock with the splines on the out flanges. The more torque from the front diveline the more pressure pushing the flanges together. Im just thinking that it would require an awful lot of air pressure to keep the 2 pieces from slipping. Sway bars have quite a bit of force on them.

 

[kastein]

If you used splines with perfectly vertical sides, or even slightly dovetailed sides, I think the force required could be minimized.

In fact if you used dovetailed splines (top of cut wide enough for the top of the land to fit through, obviously) I think you could probably use a light spring loaded clip to hold them in place. If you do a non symmetrical spline pattern that only interlocks at one angle, you could simply apply a tiny bit of force and then drive off, and the first time the splines all align it will snap into place.

 

[redrider2911]

If you used splines with perfectly vertical sides, or even slightly dovetailed sides, I think the force required could be minimized.

In fact if you used dovetailed splines (top of cut wide enough for the top of the land to fit through, obviously) I think you could probably use a light spring loaded clip to hold them in place. If you do a non symmetrical spline pattern that only interlocks at one angle, you could simply apply a tiny bit of force and then drive off, and the first time the splines all align it will snap into place.

True, I think Aussies have about a 45 degree taper on their splines. Probably to minimize wear since it will need to ratchet quite regularly. I can even machine the splines as deep as I want, probably about 1/4" or so. What I love about this idea is that minimal movement would be needed to engage and disengage the setup. With a tapered keyway type setup the collar would have to slide at least an inch. This could be easily controlled by a lever and cable. pneumatic disco just sounds so much cooler than mechanical disco. lol

 

[Curtis_H]

If you piloted the shafts like you were talking about before so that they kept themselves centered and used deep splines with a steeper side, maybe not perfectly square but fairly straight, i think you could get away with minimal spring pressure. I love the idea of an asymmetrical spline pattern so they will only lock in one position. Also, the splined pieces could be removable allowing for a cheap rebuild kit to be offered, and we all know how much those dirty cheap xj driving bastards love rebuildable parts.