SOA Front DriveShaft Discussion

[XtremeOverKill]

I'm hoping to do a SOA conversion on an 84 Grand Wagoneer and trying to learn as much as I can before hand.

What's the grey area around the Front Drive Shaft.

I've heard one option is to just get the shaft lengthened, i've heard there are other year Jeeps we can replace it with... and then I wonder what are our options.

Would an extende front shaft from a Quadra-Trac transfer case be something that I could use with my NP229?


Thanks in advance!

I did try searching but didn't have any good luck.

[Blake]

Search threads posted by me. I posted what should have been the last SOA thread. It covered everything.

IIRC, you can run a front shaft from a mid '80s XJ with a 5 speed. Those shafts were a little longer than a FSJ shaft and bolt right up.

[rustywagoneers_com]

80-up trucks are easier than QT's. QT's have a pretty short front DS and get into bad angles very quickly when SOA.

Anyone ever found an 'easy' solution for an SOA QT rig?

[Pattywagon]

I choppped and sleeved mine. It needs to be about 3 inches longer. Used a section of chevy driveshaft and it slipped right over top of the Jeep one nice and snug. Welded it up and no vibes up to 60km/h so far. I only used 4x4 off road and dont go over 60 when it snows so it worked for me.

You never said proper you said "easy" lol

[XtremeOverKill]

Thanks

I take it the QT Front shaft will not work?

[rustywagoneers_com]

I choppped and sleeved mine. It needs to be about 3 inches longer. Used a section of chevy driveshaft and it slipped right over top of the Jeep one nice and snug. Welded it up and no vibes up to 60km/h so far. I only used 4x4 off road and dont go over 60 when it snows so it worked for me.

You never said proper you said "easy" lol

Length is no problem, easy enough to change as you describe.

My concerns are the operating angles of that awfully short front driveshaft.

[Woody the Danger Wagon]

I gotta say, Xtreme - I went SOA on my 90 GW, and I ended up just taking my stock shaft and having it extended. I think it cost me about 80 bucks.

I tried to take Blake's advice and looked all over for one of those XJ shafts, but there are tons of variables - different drive traine combinations = different lengths etc. I spend about three weeks on ebay and XJ forums trying to find the right one, and finally just extended mine. Kinda nice because you can obviously customize the length that way - and build a relationship with a local company that can help you with any future drive-shaft issues.

[Blake]

Yeah, those longer front shafts are hard to find for sure.

It's much easier and cheaper to have a shop extend it.

[Dome]

I just let a driveline shop extend mine. I had them do my primary and a spare, they charged about $100 each.


A junkyard shaft would certainly be cheaper... if your lucky enough to find a mid 80's XJ with a 5 speed that is (or 2 if you want a spare).

[GI-John]

Sorry to dig up an old thread.


But.

I measured static height and found I needed a 27" front shaft. 360/T18/D20 with a SOA

I went to the junkyard with a tape measure in hand and found that a Dodge Durango front DS was the perfect length. 18.00 and a 2.00 core

YMMV, but I hope this helps

John

[78 Arizona Chief]

I have done SOAs on both my '78 Cherokee with QT and my brother's '88 Gwag with a 229 now 208.

On my '78 I am running 2" springs on top. The big issue is running angle and full droop angle. At full droop running a 14-inch travel bilstein, my cv would max out and bind. I had Tom Woods build me one of their high angle 1310 cvs. That added about 4 degrees more of angle. It still operated at a steep angle at ride height that kept burning up the CV. Ultimately I ended up replacing the front axle with a High pinion 44 cut down to the stock specs for my jeep.

On my brother's '88, we ended up rotating the pinion up on the axle 2 degrees. We had to build a custom crossmember to address the driveshaft interference issue, and had Tom Woods build a 1310 high angle CV shaft. We have to be careful with the length of shock because with the 10" travel (I think) bilsteins, his front driveshaft is really close to maxed out a fulldroop.

Hope this helps.
Kevin.

[Chief Gunner]

I had a friend give me a front drive shaft from a Rubicon unlimited. MY stock drive shaft blew up on me, so I needed a replacement. I took my Jeep to a drive shaft specialist who meassured, shortened, balanced, and re-built the CV joint for about $120. Well worth it I think as the front drive shaft on my Jeep always rotates (NP 228).

[Michael]

Build a square shaft and be done with it.

[Tad]

All QT SOA rigs (real QT's, 74-79) have the issue of a shorter front shaft and a bad angle to start with.
This is because (as Dave mentioned) the front output is further forward than what we find on a D20 rig or any of the 80's rigs.
Not much one can do about that other than go true high-angle shaft, even then (get one with a warranty) I have a local member that has trashed 2 "lifetime warranty" front shafts in less than 1 year.
SOA is probably not the best option for a QT rig.

[duncanstives]

All QT SOA rigs (real QT's, 74-79) have the issue of a shorter front shaft and a bad angle to start with.
This is because (as Dave mentioned) the front output is further forward than what we find on a D20 rig or any of the 80's rigs.
Not much one can do about that other than go true high-angle shaft, even then (get one with a warranty) I have a local member that has trashed 2 "lifetime warranty" front shafts in less than 1 year.
SOA is probably not the best option for a QT rig.

When you say a "true high angle driveshaft" you mean one with double cardigan joint on both ends?
One solution miht be to pick up a high pinion axle... Mine was not much of an issue with angle (because its not a QT) but I did not have to modify the cross member which I understand has to be done most of the time with a SOA rig (and I have lift shackles AND soa on mine).