I'm considering getting a couple two piece drive shafts from Tom Woods Custom Drive Shafts; I'm looking for advice/opinions/experiences/etc. on the topic to make sure it's the route I want to go before I invest the money.
Currently I have single piece drive shafts front and rear but both experience rubbing on the frame at max articulation or drop as shown in the pictures below (notice that I didn't take the front drive shaft picture until I'd already unbolted it but you can see where it mates up to the flange and you get the point).
My biggest concern with my setup is that my suspension doesn't have a lot of drop and I have a long wheelbase rig at 120" and only 18" belly height (picture below). The thing is incredibly stable and I love that aspect of it, but square shelves are my nemesis and my belly sometimes stops me (typical solution is more right peddle but it's not the most comfortable approach). The buggy is fully covered in skid plates and I drag all the time which is great, that's what I want it to do; but I need more drop in my suspension travel to keep my tires in contact with the rock to keep from high centering as much. My thought is that if I have more drop I can keep my tires in contact with the rock and drag myself over those square shelves.
Enter the two piece drive shaft...
Tom Woods Custom Drive Shaft is right down the road from my house and I've heard great things so that's the route I intend to go if I decide to make the change. They offer a two piece shaft as shown below (from their website).
The splined shaft that goes through the pillow block towards the transfer case is 1 3/8". They could reuse some of the pieces from my current drive shafts to bring the cost down a little. Joints would all be 1350.
A couple concerns I have:
Currently I have single piece drive shafts front and rear but both experience rubbing on the frame at max articulation or drop as shown in the pictures below (notice that I didn't take the front drive shaft picture until I'd already unbolted it but you can see where it mates up to the flange and you get the point).
My biggest concern with my setup is that my suspension doesn't have a lot of drop and I have a long wheelbase rig at 120" and only 18" belly height (picture below). The thing is incredibly stable and I love that aspect of it, but square shelves are my nemesis and my belly sometimes stops me (typical solution is more right peddle but it's not the most comfortable approach). The buggy is fully covered in skid plates and I drag all the time which is great, that's what I want it to do; but I need more drop in my suspension travel to keep my tires in contact with the rock to keep from high centering as much. My thought is that if I have more drop I can keep my tires in contact with the rock and drag myself over those square shelves.
Enter the two piece drive shaft...
Tom Woods Custom Drive Shaft is right down the road from my house and I've heard great things so that's the route I intend to go if I decide to make the change. They offer a two piece shaft as shown below (from their website).
The splined shaft that goes through the pillow block towards the transfer case is 1 3/8". They could reuse some of the pieces from my current drive shafts to bring the cost down a little. Joints would all be 1350.
A couple concerns I have:
- Am I introducing a weak point with the 1 3/8" splined shaft (45" TSL SXIIs, ~400hp)?
- You can't balance two piece shafts so you can get some vibration issues. For my use I don't see this as a big deal. Fastest I see myself going is 70mph; you may notice it on the pavement but I doubt you would in the desert.
