Originally posted by chadbuckner
does anyone have any comments on home made long travel front driveshafts? (square tubing in a snug fit outer square tube?) also looking for front springs either stock toyota rears or rancho 44044s or an unlikley steal on some allpros or alcans (yeah right!!!)
I made my own square driveshaft for the front on my last buggy. I just bought some reciever hitch tubing(Palmers Metal Mart has it, as well as other places I'm sure) and welded my old yokes onto the ends. The small tube fit's a little bit loose in the larger tube, so if you are coasting at a slow speed in 4WD it might clank around a little, but I wheeled it like that for a year or so with no complaints. Some people have ran a bead down the outside corner of the inside tube and hit it with a grinder to make a tighter fit. When there's torque to the front it generally won't make any noise. You can also stick a zerk in the larger tube to lube it. I made it because everywhere I went I was sitting on my front driveshaft and screwing 'em up too often. The square tubing will take just about any amount of abuse. It also saved my but in another way. In the middle of Upper Heldorado(which is not somewhere you want to be seriously broken), I broke a front spring center pin, and the pumpkin side of my front axle slid back about 12"-18". With my old driveshaft, it would have bottomed out, and likely broken the t-case. The square driveshaft didn't bottom out, no problems(aside from the broken hub, broken u-joint, broken pinion yoke, hole in the radiator, etc., but we won't go into that
).
I wouldn't put one in the rear of a daily driver, and I'm not sure I'd put one in the front if you do much high speed 4WD(baja, whatever). Unless my front driveshaft is better protected on my next vehicle, I'll probably use one in the front of it as well.
Can't beat the price.
