Quick way to index your shortened driveshaft

[mguner]

Before you use an angle grinder or whizz cutter to cut through the top of the weld bead on your soon to be shortened driveshaft, Take a piece of small angle iron a foot or two in length and line it up on both sides of the U-joint caps scribing lines tangent to the caps edges along the section where the new cut and weld will be. Using a flexible strap to wrap around the shaft will help you scribe the line for the new cut. Once the end yoke has been removed and the excess shaft material removed you use the lines as guides to tap the yoke back into the shortened shaft. Careful measurements and light tapping along with a level and a broomstick or shaft that is cup size can help true the yoke before welding. Leveling the shaft on a flat surface via the stick or shaft and measuring the distance from the stick or shaft to the flat surface until it reads the same 180 degrees apart. I did this one with the joint in place but the stick method is much more accurate because of variations in thickness in materials on the yoke. You of course are also measuring distances from yoke to yoke. Once it is true quickly tack weld two spots 180 degrees apart and then proceed to button it up. Even with my shortcuts on this one I put it in with the old joint shown and drove it to work at 80 MPH today with no vibrations. I hope all yours work out just as well!

 

[Woods74]

Nice trick, I eyeballed mine in, works great! There is more than one way to skin a frog. All I know is I will never pay someone $200 to shorten my drive shaft again....

 

[KevinB]

What do you do when your driveshaft was already removed, and will be shortened along with a new rear end and tranny install? How do you know what orientation to install it?

 

[mguner]

The orientation in the car is not important. What is important is the phasing of the yokes on the shaft. The "ears" on the shaft are always supposed to be even with each other from one end to the other. When they are not you can get severe vibration.

 

[trapster]

Looks like you cut the balance weight off

 

[mguner]

Looks like you cut the balance weight off

Two actually but I added extra bead in the weld......

 

[KevinB]

The orientation in the car is not important. What is important is the phasing of the yokes on the shaft. The "ears" on the shaft are always supposed to be even with each other from one end to the other. When they are not you can get severe vibration.

Sorry this is all still new to me, my stock driveshaft still has the splined yoke attached on the front, not sure about the other end. So you are saying when I take mine to get shortened they would cut off one end end weld back in the same orientation and that's it? Once that's done it doesn't matter what orientation the driveshaft is reinstalled?

 

[halifaxhops]

And they usually balance it.

 

[mguner]

Sorry this is all still new to me, my stock driveshaft still has the splined yoke attached on the front, not sure about the other end. So you are saying when I take mine to get shortened they would cut off one end end weld back in the same orientation and that's it? Once that's done it doesn't matter what orientation the driveshaft is reinstalled?

The slip yoke has a blank master spline cut but the tail shaft does not. The shafts are balanced off the car so just stick it in any old way. Two piece shafts like in trucks with a slip joint must be indexed properly if taken apart though.