StevenP’s 37s + IFS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ build

If I’m going high end, Comeup. Cheap winch, my Engo has been great or HF or Smittybilt. Most of the cheap ones probably come from the same factory.

Stay 2 piece. It keeps your DS out of the rocks and is easier to balance.

 

Is it worth having the DS shop re-tube the driveshaft with something thicker when they cut down the prop shaft? I’m trying to plan ahead for my own crawler install in the fall and I’d love to know what your advice would be.

I don’t think @StevenP would mind me asking here since we’re on the subject

 

Don’t mind at all, the more information the better

My initial thought is stay two piece as well.. so when I measure it would just be from the carrier bearing to the diff yeah?

 

I didn't even measure flange to flange. I just measured my old shafts. Measured the from the front of the trans adapter to the front of the stock case. With TG that number is 8 1/2". Then I just subtracted that 8 1/2" from the rear shaft and added it into the front shaft. Then I sent those numbers off to Tom Woods to make my new shafts.

 

I was wondering about this short cut myself.. how has that worked for you? And I thought TW only did 1 pieces

 

It's worked perfect. My flange to flange numbers ended up being exactly what I sent Tom Woods. I don't have too worry about 2 piece shafts. My wheeling rig's a 97 4Runner. lol

 

Ahhh I see. Do you ever have issues with your drive shafts banging obstacles?

 

Nope. I never touch my rear shaft. Everyone of the guys I wheel with in Taco's has rear shaft contact. It's just one of many reasons that the 3rd Gen 4Runner platform is the best wheeling rig you can build. lol

 

Contact free, your rig is corona ready! Do you know if those tacos who do bang their drive shafts are 1 or 2 piece?

 

2 piece. The biggest offender is @Tacoma1192 I'll let him chime in and tell you how many shafts he's destroyed. He might have killed more shafts then I have CV's.

 

Oh yeah! I wanted to ask, saw the other day that you use RCVs and must’ve totally spaced.. how have they treated you? I’m afraid to upgrade a.) because they supposedly make the ring & pinion the next weak spot, and b.) they’re expensive lol. I feel like I should probably start slowly gathering things for a SAS down the road and that RCV money would go far, but if they hold up the IFS to harder trails then maybe I don’t need to SAS.. especially with the crawl box and taking obstacles slower.

My damn mind and indecisiveness, always over thinking things!

 

I'm super happy I went with RCV. I knew I'd never SAS my rig. There are way to many compromises to make SASing. I'll have a SAS one day but it will be a ground up buggy. That meant I had to make my IFS as bullet proof as possible. RCVs did that. I haven't changed a CV in 18 months and my diff is doing just fine.

 

I’d just run the stock rear shaft until it gets banged up. All the shortening comes out of the intermediate shaft that will never see a rock so no reason to do anything different on it. If you ever do bang up the rear shaft, retube it in .095 or .120 wall tube. I’m .095 since my traction bar protects it and the lighter tubing makes for a less destructive sawzall in the event of a failure on the highway.

You’d measure from the output on the tcase to carrier bearing. The easier way to do it is what @theesotericone said and just measure the length of your crawlbox and shorten the tcase to carrier bearing driveshaft by that amount.

 

@Snowy Oh wow, I feel so dumb if I had just visualized it that would’ve been so apparent! Thanks for putting my mind into the right spot

 

this is great news, but baaaad news for my wallet.. lol

 

Stay with the 2 piece shaft and just get it retubed at a local shop. I used a local shop and it has been fine in 12years of wheeling.

 

Contacted a shop earlier today that does some drive shaft stuff and is on the street behind where I live. Just waiting to hear back from them, hopefully I’ll be dropping them off tomorrow or sometime this week

 

2 piece DS provides better ground clearance plus the CSB help absorbed vibration

 

Very nice @02hilux !

 

Trying to think of ways to mount my ARB twin compressor, and looking in the engine bay again, I had an idea..

I’ve considered a dual battery set up before, and I could clear space for the compressor by relocating my battery, and doing duals, under the bed on the passenger side. Use a couple of AGMs mounted upside down so the terminals are accessible and I don’t have to cut anything up, just make a crossmember for them and a bracket to hold them that sits flush with the frame, use some big terminal posts in the engine bay so I don’t have to rewire anything, and run some thick welding cable from those posts back the batteries.

AGMs should be fine for any deep water stuff right? I thought about putting the compressor back there but I think the batteries would hold up to dust/dirt/mud/water better than the compressor.

Yay or nay?