How to install my Shaft?
Q I’ve recently had to replace the rear driveshaft on my ’99 Toyota Hilux. My brand-new driveshaft caused a vibration, so I installed the driveshaft with the slip yoke on the rearend side instead of the transfer case side. This eliminated the vibration, but put the slip yoke in an position exposed to damage while going over rocks, logs, or whatever else maybe out there on the trail.
I figured that putting the slip yoke toward the transfer case would be the preferred method of installation, both from factory and in custom applications, and I was committing a four wheel-drive crime by doing it any other way. Then I found myself reading through “BDS Betters ‘BlueFerd’” (Apr. ’11). Picture 7 shows the slip yoke on the rearend side of life. This is when I started to ask which way is the best way to install a driveshaft with a slip yoke? Is there any benefit to putting the slip yoke by the rearend? Or should it be a rule of thumb to keep it hidden away by the transfer case?
Brian G.
Via nuts@4wheeloffroad.com
A I hope you’re not lying awake at night worried about your driveshaft, because it will be fine. Yes, it is probably better to have the slip spline at the transfer case so it is protected, but if the ends are identical—say, the same U-joint or flange at either end—then you should have no problem running the spline at the axle end. I’m a little confused as to why the direction of installation changes whether or not you have a vibration, as that doesn’t make any sense, but if it works it works.
If you are running a CV joint in your driveshaft then you cannot turn it around, as the pinion angle will be toward the transfer case and the CV will need to be at the transfer case, resulting in the slip spline at the axle, and no CV/Slip Spline driveshaft is available.
I would call the driveshaft shop that supplied the shaft, explain your vibration and your fix, and ask if they could possibly rebalance it.
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