I was surfing this morning and happened to take a look at the install instructions for the Trailmaster suspension lifts and noticed a link for the install of their replacement drive shafts.

They offer replacement driveshafts which have you replace the yoke at the transfer case, but utilize the stock flange at the differentials. Wouldn't this alleviate the concerns of over torquing the pinion nut and make the install much easier. I often over think things and have been concerned with the crush sleeve issue in replacing the diff yokes. The shafts from Woods and JE Reel seem to use either both stock flanges or replace both.

Anyone have any thoughts on these from Trailmaster? What are the advantages of replacing the transfer case yoke and not the one at the diff.

I would like to add that their install instruction sheets have some great pictures for reference. All companies should put this much effort into this so important link with the consumer!

 

yes. you are understanding things correctly and keeping the factory pinion flange will eliminate the concern of further crushing of the crush sleeve. i am running a JE Reel 1350 shaft with this setup now and haven't had any problems with it. in fact, with this setup, i am not having the problem of the u-joint hitting the gas tank that others have when using an upgraded flange. granted, the factory flange is not as strong as an upgraded flange, it is stronger than a 1310 yoke and so far, strong enough for my purposes. if you go this route, your install will be very easy.

oh, regarding the TM shaft, i have no experience with it but would imagine that it'll be fine.

 

WOL, are saying that you did not replace any of the yokes, or you only replaced the ones at the t/c?

 

i've run several setups but the one i am running now has a replacement flange at the t-case and is using a factory flange at the pinion.

 

Can someone explain all this flange, yoke, crush sleeve, etc business? Or point us to a good source or thread where all this is explained?

thanks

 

Consider the driveshafts from Coast Driveline in Ventura, CA...nice guys. They have machined aluminum adaptors at the transfer case so the whole thing is bolt up without taking the diffs apart at all. They were easy to install and work very well on my Unlimited Rubi. I had an initial clearance problem with the front shaft yoke and the auto shift cable mount, but a little sawsall time fixed that. If your JK is over 2" lift or has a manual trans, you shouldn't have any problems at all.

http://www.coastdriveline.com/

 

your factory drive shafts are attached to your t-case and axles using "flanges" - essentially, a connector that has a round flat face that allows you to bolt up a matching round flat face with 8 small bolts or in the case of the front pinion, 4 large bolts. most aftermarket u-joint style drive shafts require you to change out these flanges and replace them with a "yoke" or new heavy duty flange. while this is straight and simple enough to do on the t-case, you do run the risk of over tighening the nut on the pinion end and this can cause the crush sleeve to crush more and that is something that you don't want to do. if you are regearing, this is no big deal as you will have a new crush sleeve installed but if you are not, you really need to take special care to not exceed crush the crush sleeve more. to do this right, you will need an expensive inch lb. torque wrench that can literally measure within an 1"-5" lb. to do this and get it close, you need to mark your pinion nut in relationship to the pinion, count the amount of rotations it takes to get it off and then reinstall it back to that point and maybe just a hair more. red lock tite will be needed to keep the nut in place. hope that helps you out.

 

i've run their shafts and can tell you that it is a great setup that is easy to install. in fact, i am still running their front shaft now. if you have a 6-speed, you will need a 1" body lift for the front drive shaft as the spacer will come into contact with the t-case shifter cable bracket. in fact, even with a body lift, you will need to grind the edge of the bracket a bit to prevent any contact. in the rear, if you get a 1350, the u-joint and spacer will hit your gas tank a bit at a full flex. this is not that big of a deal but it is something you should be aware of. aside from that, the quality of their shafts are great and the spacers make it supre easy to install.

 

What about the fornt spacers causing contact on the t/c shifter on an auto. Is that still an issue to be aware of, or is it only on a 6-speed?

 

it's just a 6-speed issue as the bracket for the shifter cable is attached differently on an auto.