Custom Driveline Options?

[SaddleUp]

jumping in late on this thread...

I have Jess' 1350 CV shaved for a good drop. Totally eliminates drive-vibe.

It's been working bomber for a few months and a bunch of trails, but another axle-wrap issue has developed. I have yet to bind the actual CV joint, but I've DESTROYED 3 axle-end ujoints. My driveshaft is currently hanging on my bronco right now until I figure out why exactly my rear axle is wrapping like heck. Either way, it's cheaper to carry around a stack of axle-end ujoints and I have yet to see a deformed 1350 yoke as a result of my beating. If the CV were to break often, that would be an issue to resolve. Jess at highangle puts together a 32* 1350 CV for a decent price. He offers a 42* option as others do as well, but I would question the maximum RPM for that shaft even now. Still seems like a grey area. Friend of mine got Jess' 42* CV for the front of his beast 70s highboy ford running a d60 front, 44" tires, high gears, and fresh 460. It was perfectly stable on the highway and romping on the trail, but I would still question how much it could be trusted. It's also a considerable investment.

Have you ruled out trying to limit the center drop of the rear axle? It might be something to consider hoping it won't combat articulation in your case.

Anyway, see what Jess and Tom Woods have for shaft seeing as I have bought shafts from both. Great stuff - decent price - and cater to applications such as yours.

best of luck!

Jesse was one of the first I spoke to. The 1350 still uses the same 1/2" center pin though which is what I have been breaking so there doesn't seem to be a great advantage in using it over the 1330. I've also spoken to most of the others suggested here and they pretty much confirmed the same thing. FWIW, Jesse was the only one that pressed me to upgrade to the 1350 CV even though he pretty much said it wouldn't help my problem. I.E. He is the only one that seemed to be trying to sell me something I don't need. I'm sure what he does is great stuff though. I'm just not going to spend 5 or 6 hundred bucks on this when can stockpile 8 or 10 drivelines for the same money. As to limiting the center in the rearend I'm doing so already. That is probably what saved me from replacing the entire CV and allowed me to just rebuild the one I have the last time. (The previous two were hammered) I'm not worried about the axle end. I can probably twist the driveline in half before I have any problems with it.

 

[toddz69]

I have Jess' 1350 CV shaved for a good drop. Totally eliminates drive-vibe.

Jess at highangle puts together a 32* 1350 CV for a decent price. He offers a 42* option as others do as well, but I would question the maximum RPM for that shaft even now. Still seems like a grey area.

So do these 1350 CV d-shafts from High Angle, Tom Woods, etc. live a long time at highway speeds?

Todd Z.

 

[toddz69]

I know I have seen a number of posts on this subject but I'm not turning up much that is useful. This post i mainly for those that have had problems with drivelines being broken. Essentially my problem is that my rear driveline is at 22 degrees which is pushing the limits of the stock CV joint. (I broke the third one last weekend) Before I run out and get another I want to know who others with similar problems went to and what your experiences were with them. Did they fix the problem? How much did it cost? I have no intention of spending $400 or $500 to fix this. Before I do that I'll buy 3 or 4 Big Bronco drivleines and cut them down to carry as spares. I want to see if there is an option to fix this right though at a reasonable price first though.

Are you breaking driveshafts because of excessive torque or are you breaking driveshafts because you're exceeding the CV operating angle at inopportune times?

After our driveline angle discussion a few days ago, I went out and installed my front d-shaft onto my Atlas (in the rear) just to check things out. The shaft was 3-4" too short, but with a little extrapolation, I determined that my d-shaft in the rear will be at about 21 deg. I know of one solution for this problem, but it's gonna cost about 3-4 X $500!

Todd Z.

 

[SaddleUp]

Are you breaking driveshafts because of excessive torque or are you breaking driveshafts because you're exceeding the CV operating angle at inopportune times?

After our driveline angle discussion a few days ago, I went out and installed my front d-shaft onto my Atlas (in the rear) just to check things out. The shaft was 3-4" too short, but with a little extrapolation, I determined that my d-shaft in the rear will be at about 21 deg. I know of one solution for this problem, but it's gonna cost about 3-4 X $500!

Todd Z.

A combinaion of both but the main factor is exceeding the operating angle of the CV. This only happens though if I get the backend hopping up and down. The 1310 and 1330 CV can be clearanced to go to about 30 degrees. (Supposedly the 1310 is like this stock but the one I just picked up isn't) On my front I've been running a stock rear 1310 driveline which has held up fine. The last 1330 CV I put in back held up pretty well after I added a limiting strap to the center of the rearend. The ball loosened up enough though that it was making noise yet sounded a lot worse than it actually was. After I pulled it apart it looked like it would have easily got me through another day on the trail. (I actually ran it to finish the trail I was on) I've run the limiting strap on the last 2 runs and haven't noticed any adverse effects from doing so. (Articulation is still just as good as before)

 

[nvrstuk]

It was dark up at Liberty when I saw you last so I didn't crawl in the mud to look at your setup BUT, what kind of axle wrap prevention do you have? If your busting CV's when it's hopping up and down (and not at any other times) then I'm willing to bet that you are wrapping the axle and binding, causing the breakage. I'm running a much shorter driveline than you, not running an auto to help with shock absorption, geared even lower and haven't had an issue at all with pretty much stock ujoints on Tom Wood's prepped drivelines (extra long splines (to resist wear) and clearanced CV area). It's been on there 6 years now. As you know, I eat front axles, twist teeth off my Dana 20 low gears, and have cracked Dana 20 cases (not from hitting it) and you know I'm not EZ on my rig. I stated all this to try to show that I think something else is causing your grenading driveline issues IMO. Wish we could have had more time sitting around the fire...
Hoping to explore more Tillamook area before SOB, you in??

Todd, what costs 3-4X $500??? Ouch!!

 

[toddz69]

It was dark up at Liberty when I saw you last so I didn't crawl in the mud to look at your setup BUT, what kind of axle wrap prevention do you have? If your busting CV's when it's hopping up and down (and not at any other times) then I'm willing to bet that you are wrapping the axle and binding, causing the breakage. I'm running a much shorter driveline than you, not running an auto to help with shock absorption, geared even lower and haven't had an issue at all with pretty much stock ujoints on Tom Wood's prepped drivelines (extra long splines (to resist wear) and clearanced CV area). It's been on there 6 years now. As you know, I eat front axles, twist teeth off my Dana 20 low gears, and have cracked Dana 20 cases (not from hitting it) and you know I'm not EZ on my rig. I stated all this to try to show that I think something else is causing your grenading driveline issues IMO. Wish we could have had more time sitting around the fire...
Hoping to explore more Tillamook area before SOB, you in??

Todd, what costs 3-4X $500??? Ouch!!

High $$ option is Hi9 rear diff. What is your rear driveline angle at static ride height, Brian?

Todd Z.

 

[SaddleUp]

It was dark up at Liberty when I saw you last so I didn't crawl in the mud to look at your setup BUT, what kind of axle wrap prevention do you have? If your busting CV's when it's hopping up and down (and not at any other times) then I'm willing to bet that you are wrapping the axle and binding, causing the breakage. I'm running a much shorter driveline than you, not running an auto to help with shock absorption, geared even lower and haven't had an issue at all with pretty much stock ujoints on Tom Wood's prepped drivelines (extra long splines (to resist wear) and clearanced CV area). It's been on there 6 years now. As you know, I eat front axles, twist teeth off my Dana 20 low gears, and have cracked Dana 20 cases (not from hitting it) and you know I'm not EZ on my rig. I stated all this to try to show that I think something else is causing your grenading driveline issues IMO. Wish we could have had more time sitting around the fire...
Hoping to explore more Tillamook area before SOB, you in??

Todd, what costs 3-4X $500??? Ouch!!

Axle wrap was part of my problem. I've fixed that now though. The last 2 broke after I put the bar in however the first one had been run for quite some time before that (Up the back of 7Up for instance where you can see the springs in an S shape). The one that broke up at Liberty didn't actually break even though it sounded like it had. (I started this post before I pulled it out) The ball in it was worn out but not enough to come apart. (I think it held together because I had it limited in the center to prevent hopping) Keep in mind I have the shackle flip as well so my rear springs flex a lot. (I ran 47" up the ramp in reverse last year) I suspect the last driveline was sort of worn out before I even started since it was a quick fix where I cut down a spare Big Bronco driveline and didn't do anything else. As far as length it's the same length as a stock front driveline. (Which would actually work in a pinch by swapping the slip yoke and t-case yoke) At any rate the worst case scenario now is that I may end up swapping a driveline out on the trail if it breaks. (Now that I have a spare it probably will not break again)

As far as Tillamook before SOB I'm in and have adjusted my plans to accomodate this. (We discussed it briefly before I left there) I'm going to keep the details to private messages though so we don't end up with 20 rigs for a prerun.

 

[nvrstuk]

Static angle

Todd-

Static angle is between 20-21 degrees (close as I can get). Rear length is 22 1/2" long.

What numbers will you have with your new setup? Of course you're coming up to play in the sand this August right???



Rick-

Good idea on PM. Will keep in touch

 

[nvrstuk]

Jost wondering, how many more years do I get to stay a "Jr. Member". Kinda liking this "new" title.

 

[toddz69]

Todd-

Static angle is between 20-21 degrees (close as I can get). Rear length is 22 1/2" long.

What numbers will you have with your new setup? Of course you're coming up to play in the sand this August right???

Looks like mine will be ~26" long with 21-22 deg. too. Makin' me very nervous abouth both CV bind and u-joint life (lots of highway cruisin') at that angle.

I'll be playing in another kind of sand, Nevada silt to be specific, that weekend. SOB is the same weekend as the BITD Vegas to Reno off road race. My racing partner called a few days ago and said, "Let's go to SOB this year". Told him the bad news :-(. If things go as planned, we'll do about 600 miles in the dirt that day while you're playing in the bowl. Next year....

Todd Z.

 

[SaddleUp]

Looks like mine will be ~26" long with 21-22 deg. too. Makin' me very nervous abouth both CV bind and u-joint life (lots of highway cruisin') at that angle.

I'll be playing in another kind of sand, Nevada silt to be specific, that weekend. SOB is the same weekend as the BITD Vegas to Reno off road race. My racing partner called a few days ago and said, "Let's go to SOB this year". Told him the bad news :-(. If things go as planned, we'll do about 600 miles in the dirt that day while you're playing in the bowl. Next year....

Todd Z.

The 1310 CV is supposed to be good to 30 degrees stock provided it is heavy enough for what you will need it for. (I don't seem to have any more from the 1310 I picked up than the 1330 does but I intend to shave it some anyway) The 1330 (Which is what I've been running) is more limited at around 22 degrees (Without shaving) according to the places I've talked to. (Tom's, Jesse at Hi-Angle, and 2 others local that were recommended to me)

 

[toddz69]

The 1310 CV is supposed to be good to 30 degrees stock provided it is heavy enough for what you will need it for. (I don't seem to have any more from the 1310 I picked up than the 1330 does but I intend to shave it some anyway) The 1330 (Which is what I've been running) is more limited at around 22 degrees (Without shaving) according to the places I've talked to. (Tom's, Jesse at Hi-Angle, and 2 others local that were recommended to me)

With my driving style, the 1310 is more than enough for me, strengthwise. I think I'll call Tom Woods and talk to him a bit. I will probably gain a little relief in my angle too because my pinion yoke needs to be rotated up about 10 deg. to get everything aligned correctly.

Todd Z.

 

[bmc69]

I'd been breaking the rear spline stub due to a combination of axle wrap, 39.5 tires and big torque (490 ft-lbs at less than 3000 RPM). I Fixed the stub breakage problem with the 1330 stuff I'm using by going to one of the Extreme Travel ends from Rockford, but the rear ujoint binding due to axle wrap is still causing me troubles. The pic below compares the spline section of stock 1330 spline stub vs. Rockford XT spline kit (12" travel on the splines btw)

My CV angle is not that bad though and I have had zero issues with the CV.