My vehicle is a 90 bii that had the original cv style rear drive shaft. Purchased a gkn conversion shaft from A-1 Cardone w/u-joints. My problem is that I dont know which way to install it. Has a long portion of shaft and the shorter portion of the shaft that goes into it. Bolt patterns are the same on both ends. Need to know which end faces front, and rear.

 

The 'short end' is the one that goes to the trans/t-case flange and the 'long end' goes to the rear axle pinion flange. I'm going to assume by 'GKN Conversion' you mean a Spicer design shaft with u-joints. I pulled one of these out of a junkyard and it had new U-joints with fresh grease.... and spent like 8 bucks on it.....

 

Old drive shaft was cv style w/boots on both ends. New shaft is frome A-1 Cardone with u-joints on both ends (Part #65-9822) Have seen pics of it installed with the "short end" coming from the trans to the t-case.AND pics of it installed with the "short end" coming from the t-case to the trans. Have had no help from the manafacturer at this point.as is the case with most b2 aftermarket mods. The shaft will bolt up and fits either way, Just need to know which end is which. If anyone has and A-1 Cardone conversion they installed, let me know. you can see part at cardones website (part #65-98220)

 

There's only one rear output on 4x4 (and 4x2 with the 'dummy' t-case) BIIs. I've seen both long and short end bolted to the t-case / rear end. I don't think it's going to make much difference if you only have two u-joints. If it's a double-cardan type, then the end with two u-joints will go on the t-case end, not the rear axle end.

 

Thanks for the replies Kernel, I have the shaft mounted with the long section going the rear end and the short section into the t-case. It is working fine with no problems. But with the money I have invested in my drivetrain I am **** about correct installs. I can't believe no one out there has run into this problem swapping out a cv driveshaft on a B2. By the Way..Is a single shaft(not a double cardan) There has to be a front and a back on these shafts. Maybe I am over analyzing the situation.... anyone with pics or info swapping a rear cv shaft to a u-joint shaft on a B2 would be appreciated.

 

I think with the single u-joint at either end, it's not going to matter much, as long as when the rear axle moves up and down with suspension travel, the slip joint moves freely. That is the big concern. If it were double-cardan on one end, that is definitely the end you want at the t-case. I also think if it were critical, the shaft would have been marked somehow. You can always look in a Haynes/Chilton's manual or go to autozone.com's online repair guides and see if it's covered as to which way it's supposed to go in 'correctly'. I hear you about being very careful and overly ****. I sometimes put more money, time, and effort into something that could have been easily fixed with less involvement - mostly because I look further into things than is sometimes necessary. I'm going to try and avoid that with an upcoming repair just to get the thing on the road. I don't feel like tearing an entire engine apart to inspect pieces and parts.... I think I can get by with pulling the oil pan, cleaning it out really good, having a look-see, flushing the engine oil system, and calling it good - after I fix the problem. The good news is, I have a line on a couple of spare engines I can rebuild and have ready, just in case!

 

Good Luck Kernel!