SOA driveshaft questions

[FSJeep13]

I have the TT Fab SOA kit comming in the mail and had a questoin about the front driveshaft. I was looking through old threads and it seemed that a lenthening would be fine, but also a new wider driveshaft would be good. Also that a '80 or so xj front shaft would work as well.
This is not my specialty... Those seem to be the options what should I ask for when I bring it into the shop? I'm leaning on them just lengthening it, but i have the QT and the angle it too steep as I've also heard. This case I would need a high angle cv which in lack of understanding driveline terminology is a new driveshaft for $250.

Any ideas, advice, or plain education for me? :thumbsup:

[Casey]

The easiest thing to do is take a trip to the junkyard and find a driveshaft that's longer than what you need and the same size tube as the shaft you have up front. That way if the one you get at the boneyard is a single cardan joint you can use the stock shaft for it's cv. I also got really lucky and found one for the rear that was the perfect size for $20.
Take both to a shop that can cut, re-weld and balance (unless you don't run on the road, then it's not so important to balance) the shaft for you. I've had several made in the past few years and the most I have spent on one is $100. They cut up two shafts to build one.


For more info and lots of pics of SOA rigs...

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?p=690523#post690523

Good luck.

[FSJeep13]

I can only think of pulling one from about the same year, but a Blazer... How do I measure the drive shaft? Just the tube? Then I can just get one that is maybe 3" longer?

[malodin]

granted i am running a d300, but i was able to use my stock shaft cut and welded to a chevy s10 blazer shaft, the s-10 fit nicely inside the q/t shaft and then i was able to slip it in and measure up exactly how much compression and extension i needed, basically at full rest i put 1" compression and the rest extension so at full extension there is enough spline shaft length it stays together. it was probably the simplest thing to do because they fit so perfectly snug in there all i had to do was drop the drive shaft on the ground a few times and it went about 1/4-1/2" at a time or so, till i hit my line.