I recently put the 3" IFS eliminator on a 91 pickup and I am left with the decision of what to do for a front driveshaft.

So far I have talked to Davez offroad and Jesse high angle driveline. I have measured 28* at full droop and that is going to demand some decent angle out of the joint. Davez says his kit can handle that and Jesse is saying it will need a special joint which will cost a lot (starts at around $800). Carolina Driveline said they could not even make me a shaft that would go 28* so I am wondering if Davez can really get that kind of angle, especially if Jesse is also saying I will need a higher angle joint to flex like that.

The kit from Davez is only $500 so it would save me a lot of money. Worst case is I just use limit straps but I would like to retain full articulation if possible. Part of me just wants to go with Jesse's recommendation but if I dont have to drop the extra $300 I dont want to.

 

Try making your own , its not very hard . Ive heard of people just bolting it in and spinning it to get it somewhat straight before welding . And you don't need a $300 long spline . A stock toy driveshaft will do just fine , thats what I'm running. If you make your own , be sure to stay on the long side at first . You can always shorten it . Tack weld and test it with your suspension

http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=197516

 

Yeah making my own is definitely an option, and most definitely cheaper, but I would like to have it balanced if possible.

 

Are you wanting to run a CV joint on the front driveshaft? I plan to build a square shaft for the front using two u-joints. For the CV joint to properly work, the pinion flange needs to be pointed directly at the tcase output flange. Unless you cut and rotated your knuckle balls (I don't remember if you did or not), you shouldn't need a CV.

 

Question for you (although too late for me lol), was the sleeve of the yoke and the ID of the driveshaft tube close enough for a "press" fit? When I built my rear CV driveshaft I used the front CV off my 4runner and the rear driveshaft off my 4runner and there was a decent difference between the two. We ended up machining the shoulder part of the sleeve to have a slight interference fit.

 

Yeah I didnt cut the knuckle and the pinion angle is pretty bad. Thats why the guys at high angle driveline are recommending the high angle CV that is so expensive. I am sort of shocked that just the 3" springs cause that much angle?

Bump do you know what your front shaft angle will be at full droop? You had even more lift than I did.

 

I haven't had the chance to measure it yet. Right now I have bigger fish to fry lol (transmission doesnt have 2nd or 4th gear). Since your pinion flange is prolly pretty close to parallel with the tcase output flange, just run single joints on both ends.

 

im a big fan of tractor pto shafts for the spline section (cut to length). I used to run single creeper u joints on mine on both ends. i ditched the cv because it would bind at droop more than my single joint did.

 

Hey nice 4runner! Check out my profile theres a couple of pic's of mine.
Yes it was kinda of a press fit . I had to hit it on the bench for it to slide in .
I built the shaft for a spare rear . I did the same for the front with no cv.
I don't think you would need the front shaft balanced unless your going really fast . Make one its easy , fun to make , cheep, you learn something new . Save your money for something else and buy one later on .

 

Thanks. And yea I've looked at your 4Runner several times. That's a clean ride.

 

28* sounds extreme, you must have a single case trans setup? i probably have as much spring lift as you do, and i'm at ~18* at rest, but i have dual cases.

even when the flanges are parallel, you probably have to run a cv to overcome steep angles like that.

i got a front driveshaft from jesse, it was $550 maybe 3-4 years ago, long slip i think, with a stock toyota cv that had the shell ground out to allow for a wider angle.

it took six weeks to arrive, and the paint peeled off within a couple of months, but it's performed perfectly, no vibration even at 40mph.

$800 for that is, wow

you can grind the cv case(shell?) yourself for clearance, but getting the cv apart is a nightmare, in my case some idiot had welded some the caps on the ujoints to the cv shell

i was also unable to find a vendor that sold new ujoints and parts for the cv, which was irritating... they usually fail first at the center ball area, which i think also has to be modded.

 

Yeah I have single case but I would think most people doing an SAS are running single case. I would love to run duals one day but that is down the road plus its auto.

I am only at 15* at rest but the 28* happens when I am at full droop. I emailed Davez offroad and they say their shaft can handle this kind of travel but I am skeptical.