ONLY BECAUSE I HAVE NOT BEEN PUBLICLY SHAMED IN AWILE...... I am thinking about making my own driveline with access to physical help but conflicting advice. From the output of my stock AOD to the FORD 9" there is nothing, allowing me to start fresh. From my research I believe I know what I need. 1) slip joint for an AOD 2) driveline tube 3) tube yoke for each end of driveline 4) pinion yoke. 5) two universal joints.


Should I take the opportunity to update all parts to be compatible with the larger 1350 universal joints? Recommendation on greaseable vs. non greasable universal joints for non-spirited driving? Recommendation on outside diameter and wall thickness of the DOM tube for non spirited driving? Most important.....given my questions....should I be considering attempting this at all????? Thanks for the long read, Matt

 

Do you have the ability to balance the shaft - Do you have the knowledge of how to balance the shaft

 

f6

if you have the fab skills... go for it... but a cheaper option might be finding one in the junk yard with a comparably equipped transmission that is long enough or longer... and a 9" yoke and work from that... a good spring shop could do you one up for around a hundred bucks if you have the parts... the problem is in the balancing... I'll bet you're not set up to balance one... so you gotta go the shop anyway...

Unless you just want to play with it... I'd check around with some spring shops and scrap yards... and if you ain't gonna get agressive... sounds like overkill to me YMMV

john

 

NO and NO. I know I would have to get the shaft balanced elsewhere and I am ok with that. I can't take it to a shop now. The shop people can't come to my house. Some part locations haven't been finalized yet. I wouldn't trust myself to conform to their measurement guidelines. I thought if I could get the correct parts and tack them in place I could get a much better idea of potential conflict. At worse I figure I would have to buy more tube and start over.

 

Thanks for the response John, when you say overkill are you referring to the u-joint size or all of the new parts? I read all the time of the success folks have had at junk yards but have never had much luck for a number of reasons.

 

If there are no recommendations for me..maybe I should just ask what diameter driveline and universal joints you guys are using for your particular application? Thanks

 

I have done just about everything on a car/truck that could be done...with the exception of making a driveshaft. When I was in high school I had a 40 Plymouth coupe. One day while barreling down a back road the driveshaft broke and lifted the rearend of the car up about three feet. Luckily no one got hurt but it made a believer out of me that a driveshaft is something that required more skill/experience than I cared to develop. I have all my driveshafts fabricated by a local driveline shop and never think twice about laying out the cash for a professionally fabricated unit.

 

As critical as a driveshaft is to the vehicle, I would never attempt to build one myself. Tractor PTOs that turn at 540 RPM, yes. Automotive driveshafts that turn at many thousand RPMs, NO. Larger diameter is better, easier to keep it happy at high speeds.
Lots of good on line reading about drivelines available.

 

I have had good luck with building driveshafts. In my case I telescoped a smaller inside of a larger with spacers. I balanced it with BBs. Look it up. The worst that could happen is my weld fails and the truck comes to a stop, one shaft spinning inside the other. I have driven 80 mph with this setup with no vibration. Funny though I came to this particular forum because of the classified dilemma we are experiencing. For my current project I need a driveshaft and transmission yoke for a '48-'52 f1 with a 3 speed. This is reportedly the same as that missing from my '47 half ton pickup turned woodie wagon since this past fall. I fear that if I post this in the wanted classifieds it will be glossed over by a bunch of guys looking for a twin turbo setup for an excursion or a lincoln navigator. The 'jailbar' door was just a mock up to get the body angles accurate. All 4 doors will be wood.

 

I have a warm 460 and C6 in mine. Just had a propshaft made, using 3" tube and 1350 ends/UJs. It hasn't broken yet, but then I havent driven it yet either......

 

My Aod is hooked up to an 8.8 explorer diff. I shortened the donor town car shaft. I put in a new stub, and bought a matching diff flange (driveshaft side) These parts can be bought from Denny's driveshafts at a very reasonable price. I welded the stub to the tube. I've had the welds checked. I didn't balance, but will if I have a vibration. It's running 1310 series on both ends with a greasable precision 369 u-joints. The denny's website has all the measurement info you need. Good luck.

 

In a pinch I have repaired shafts while 4 wheeling.
If it was a street vehicle I would have a shop make it..

Besides balancing,the joints need to be phased.

 

If you really wanted to make the whole thing yourself I think a lathe would be a good idea to keep things aligned for welding.

Honestly I think it would be more expensive to build it this way than to just have an original one shortened for you by a driveshaft shop.

It is really not as critical as people make it out to seem. Even the balancing is not that critical I did not pay for it to be done when I had mine shortened at the back because I knew I would be changing front eventually and never bothered in the end. There are not any noticable vibrations...

Don't put BBs or fluid in it thinking it will "spin balance" cause that does not happen and probably wears out your U-joints faster. The guy at the shop said sometimes the get shafts in and they just can't balance them and it allways turns out that someone put hydraulic fluid or some other oil OR BBs in the shaft. He could have been lying to get balancing business but I would certainly agree with him that it is snake oil. If it worked manufacturers would do it.

As a final note if you want to shorten with tack welds or make a new one with tack welds THEN take it to a shop for them to finish I am sure that would be something they normally see. My first one was around $80 to shorten and the second one was about the same, if needed a different size U-joint and they just thru on a good used one and kept my old one for someone else. sorry I talk too much

 

I make all my own, have not had to have one balanced yet. Here is a how-to thread with pics from one of my builds.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...uck-style.html

 

Talk too much....No way. To the people who do this all the time it must be routine/boring. But for the novice there can not be enough talk. I have three pages of variables, spline count, u-joint size, tube length/diameter/thickness. Slip joint and yokes a plenty. Add a little misinformation from u-tube just for fun. My buddy who has built Fords all his life says piece of cake. It is for him but not for me. Thanks for the info.