Looks like I need to take yolk off, shorten it, then cut more off input shaft and and drill /tap more to give this drive shaft more room . It's almost fully collapsed. Anyone else have this issue ? Instructions said just use an XJ front as the rear. 5.5" lift.
I would shorten it. You only need and inch or two of spine engagement on the yoke. It seems like that's a lot of leverage hanging off the back of the output shaft.
I would guess he followed the directions, and did not think about cutting down the yoke?
I mean, if you get a kit like this, cut/drill tap is all you should really need to do. The yoke should be machined/cut to the correct size.
A manual shaft is in fact shorter, should be just about right. If you cut more off the output shaft and re-drill, it'll ruin the previous threads so it would need to be enough to allow a significant amount of new threads, or a longer bolt. Cutting it down is probably a better option and the bearings will thank you, but a manual shaft would probably work fine.
If its not all the way compressed at full droop, it should be fine. The shaft gets longer as the suspension is compressed. Mine looks about like that with the same setup. Next time I have the rear ds out I'll probably trim the yoke a bit, but its been fine for over a year.
Lift the rear with a jack and hang it by the frame .... you'll find that if you eve grab air you punch the rear out of your t-case like that (if you're lucky it'll only pop out the slips dust cap by the u-joint). One side drops and yeah the axle will twist and pull back as the other will compress, drop both sides together and the whole axle shifts forward, not back as it does under compression. you should have roughly 1-1.5" more shaft exposed there.
Either have that one cut down or find a new one the right length ... it'll cost you about the same coin.
I think you're on the right track, I'd definitely cut the output shaft shorter as that looks way long. Should be easier on the bearings and give you a better driveshaft angle. Just make sure your driveshaft is long enough if you're planning to cut the input as short as possible.
I didn't have to, but still opted to cut about 3/4" off the yoke (and cut the output shaft accordingly) for the above reasons... which put the slip yoke pretty much centered in it's travel with the Jeep at it's normal ride height, so there's more than enough room for it to compress or extend as the rear suspension moves.
Did cut down the input shaft to 1" of spline, cut and inch off the yolk and gained the play I needed on the driveshaft. Thanks guys . Drives nice and smooth
