FYI on Front Driveshafts (for 5 speed)

[MrShaft696]

Last wheeling trip did my double cardan joint in, the center ball was doing the "angry sparrow" on the front shaft. Took me a bit to figure it out, but I jacked up the front and spun the wheels & there it was.

Option one (on a budget) would be to just grab one from the junk yard & go. Apparently finding a front driveshaft for a 5 speed is very difficult, I looked all over the damn place & couldnt find one, and the few that I did see were junk, missing or the old style pre-historc oddballs. I must have checked out over 50 jeeps in the se pa area. The automatic drive shafts are 1"-2" longer, approx 32-33 inches where mine measures about 31" end to end collapsed.

Option two, what I would reccomend (other than buying new or new parts) would be to go and find a shaft from a automatic with good joints, and just swap the joints over. Its not extremely difficult to do with minimal tools, just have to take some care. There are some how too articles around too. As long as your shaft is straight and balanced there is no reason to toss it, unless you have 300 bucks burning a hole in your pocket.

Option three is to have the automatic shaft shortened, but its not worth it because shortening costs around 80-100 dollars & it should be balanced afterwards for around 80 as well, so you just blew your bank.

Option four is to just jump off a bridge, then you dont need one, hah but that is my experience with that over the last few weeks, hopefully someone will find the info useful.

 

[JeepinCoastie]

I know this may seem to easy ...
why not rebuild the joint ... its easy and not the parts arn't that expensive?

as a mater of fact I'm doing my rear one today ...

 

[MrShaft696]

I know this may seem to easy ...
why not rebuild the joint ... its easy and not the parts arn't that expensive?

as a mater of fact I'm doing my rear one today ...

I am saying that sort of.....


If you are poor, in my opinion, its easiest to grab another one & go for 20 bucks, its second easiest to replace the original joint with the used shafts joints you found for 20 bucks again, third easiest to get a new or new parts, & 4th to modify.

Yeah the replacment parts are not that expensive but still more so than going the used route, I guess thats my point.

 

[asp]

i don't think i could justify rebuilding my rear shaft when i can go to the yard and get another that will last me at least 6-8 months for 20 bucks. call it the cheap route, but it's not that bad.

in terms of rebuilding the actual front shaft and double cardan, i'm hesitant to do that. mine has developed play in the slip and i'd rather not plug $ into that. why not just put a auto driveshaft in a lathe and cut off 2"?

 

[MrShaft696]

i don't think i could justify rebuilding my rear shaft when i can go to the yard and get another that will last me at least 6-8 months for 20 bucks. call it the cheap route, but it's not that bad.

in terms of rebuilding the actual front shaft and double cardan, i'm hesitant to do that. mine has developed play in the slip and i'd rather not plug $ into that. why not just put a auto driveshaft in a lathe and cut off 2"?

Everything you guys are saying are viable options, but everything is relative.

On what you said, in my situation a decent shape junk yard shaft will last me a while, based on the fact that the jeep is a second vehicle, it does less than 5k a year.
For you maybe its a no brainer because you have access to a lathe, for me its a no brainer because I dont. Im sure someone else will say " I just chop up junk yard shafts and weld a square tube in place at whatever length". So its relative to your skill, tools, $, and use of the jeep how you handle it I reckon! It seems very simple, and when it comes down to it, its really not a big deal. But I always encounter interesting situations, trying to deal with stuff on a budget.

 

[asp]

So its relative to your skill, tools, $, and use of the jeep how you handle it I reckon! It seems very simple, and when it comes down to it, its really not a big deal. But I always encounter interesting situations, trying to deal with stuff on a budget.

good point. my bad.

i reaaaally want good driveshafts. i keep getting play in the slip joints. i think that's what happens when you thrash small driveshafts. :spin1:

 

[vetteboy]

Two brand new 1310 joints from Napa @ $8 each, rebuild kit was around $25 last I checked. $41 and you're good as new, plus you only have to do the job once.

Or spend $20 on a questionable junkyard shaft, which may or may not last a long time, spend a few hours driving to the place to get it and possibly remove it yourself, take it all apart while being careful not to damage or lose any pieces, take yours apart, put it all back together again and hope the parts are good...

Man, some of you guys are masochists.

 

[asp]

i've never rebuilt one myself, but i've heard of it costing others around 80-100 bucks :dunno: that's the only reason i've shyed away from it.

 

[vetteboy]

Just checked the Napa site again:

PUJ617, list price is $49, so it's gonna be a bit less than that in the stores. U-joints are still $8.

Even at that price, I'd much rather do the job once with new clean parts. If you don't have the extra cash, I always just pulled the front shaft out and waited another week or so to do it.

 

[MrShaft696]

Two brand new 1310 joints from Napa @ $8 each, rebuild kit was around $25 last I checked. $41 and you're good as new, plus you only have to do the job once.

Or spend $20 on a questionable junkyard shaft, which may or may not last a long time, spend a few hours driving to the place to get it and possibly remove it yourself, take it all apart while being careful not to damage or lose any pieces, take yours apart, put it all back together again and hope the parts are good...

Man, some of you guys are masochists.

Haha yes, not by a intentional choice, but by trial and error. So moral of the story is..... replace the fn' joint... & I believe there are 3 joints in the double cardan assembly plus the single joint for a combined total of 4, therefore bringing your good faith estimate to 57.00 plus taxatoin.

 

[asp]

yeah that's really not that bad of a price.

 

[vetteboy]

I believe there are 3 joints in the double cardan assembly plus the single joint for a combined total of 4, therefore bringing your good faith estimate to 57.00 plus taxatoin.

Nah, there's just two.

The one at the diff is its own maintenance item.

 

[MrShaft696]

Nah, there's just two.

The one at the diff is its own maintenance item.

affirmative

good site for reference
http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/driveshaft/driveshaft-5.htm

 

[XJ Beater]

5spd front shaft fits my auto just fine???

 

[asp]

that's cuz the auto is longer :twak: an auto in a 5spd would bottom out on the slip.

 

[asp]

what shape is that driveshaft in that's in your auto right now, jay? i'll trade you an auto front shaft for that one you have if it's in good shape.

 

[MrShaft696]

that's cuz the auto is longer :twak: an auto in a 5spd would bottom out on the slip.

Yes, I even tried to stuff the auto shaft in there just to check & it wouldn't even fit in there fully compressed. Got to measuring & that 1" makes a big difference.

 

[asp]

that 1" makes a big difference.

that's what she said :sure:

 

[XJ Beater]

pm sent anthony

 

[MrShaft696]

ok so Ive been doing some testing in my laboratory and I cannot seem to remove a u-joint from a driveshaft without destroying at least one set of needle bearings. O great minds of Naxja and wherever, please tell me if this is common & that it is possible to remove a u-joint without fu*king it up.