1 piece vs. 2 piece driveshaft????

[hxckidd]

I thought this has been brought up but i couldnt find the answer I am looking for on this. This past weekend I sheered the rear yoke on my driveshaft off. I think it was caused by it binding at full droop. I have talked to a couple people and they have conflicting answers. The driveshaft shop said a 1 piece is better then a 2 piece if you can make it work ( cut out cross members, and under the 77" limit). I have also heard that 2 piece is better and i should stick with a 2 piece. By the way this is on my 97 ranger ext cab. What are most race trucks using??? And would it be worth while to upgrade?

[johnnyweb]

ive had trucks with both 2piece and 1 piece and have not had any real problems with either one. neither truck has over 17" of rear wheel travel though. how much rear wheel travel do you have? give us a little info on your truck like, transmission,rearend, 4wd 2wd etc.

[hxckidd]

the truck is a 97 ext ford ranger 2wd. Right now it has a 2 piece driveshaft. The rear has a set of LT deavers with extended shackles and droops out to about 17-18" from axle to frame. I think it bound up at full droop because of the marks on the driveshaft yoke. you can tell in the pics that the top of the yoke came into contact with the other side of it. I either have to get the yoke on the driveshaft cut and put a new one on so i can ge tthe u-joints out, or get a whole new driveshaft. I would like to do it right the first time, so i dont waste money

[johnnyweb]

sounds like its time for a one piece driveline. you probably have a little to much drop for the 2 piece. we run a one piece in our race truck we have no problems with it hiting our cross member. we use the stock bump stops. and an 8.8 rearend w/deaver springs. also i would opt for the nongreasable u joints because they seal better then greasable joints and keeps the silt out better. good luck!!

[pciscott]

On my Prerunner I have a two piece driveshaft, the truck weighs 6500lb and has 600hp and I have had no problems for over 7,000 miles. Sounds to me like you have an axle wrap problem. Are you running some kind of traction bars? My truck has 34" of rear travel with no problem as of yet. The truck is 4-linked so there is no problem with axle wrap. The only downfall to a 2 piece shaft is they cost almost double as a one piece shaft. Wade at Drivelines unlimited in Irvine can set you up with whatever you need. Good luck.

[johnnyweb]

i would expect scotts pre runner has a longer drive shaft being it is a full size. that is probably why the two piece works for him. but he has a point about the axle wrap. are you using a block with your rear spring set up? it would be alot of axle wrap to bind the u joint though. sounds to me like you need to cycle the rear suspension and see were the bind in the u joint happens. before you spend the money on a new drive shaft.

[hxckidd]

i have no blocks just the deaver pack. I dont think axle wrap had much to do with this. I was out in barstow and the rear bucked up a bit and when it came down there was unpleasent noises. I am planning on cycling it when i have time to see how much plunge i would have thoughout the cycle. But it made me curious as to what other people were running when i got so many different opinions. It also seems funny that out of all my friends with rangers nobody has had this problem.

[slimjim]

i have a stock 2 piece on my 86 ex cab with 2-link & nationals. travel = about 18". I go through u-joints pretty fast, but never a yoke binding like you are talking about. You should check the angle between the driveshaft and the pinion gear at ride height, and through the cycle. I forgot what the ideal angles are, maybe somebody else can chime in? When you put in the new springs, did you change the angle of the leaf perches on the axle? I have ridden in alot of different rangers, and the one piece driveshaft on the ex-cab often vibrates too much. I guess that is why some driveshaft places said won't offer a reciept or warranty on the one pice for an ex-cab ranger.

[johnnyweb]

did the drive shaft have alot of miles on it? were you on the gas when the rearend landed? yes you are right i have not heard of many problems with the drive shaft with the setup you have. i have the same set up on a 94 extcab 4x4 and no problems at all as a matter of fact the driveline is original w/125k on it. our race truck uses the 1 piece and only because it was thet way when i got it and it works fine so i havent messed with it.

[johnnyweb]

i just thought of something else. how long of long shackes do you have? because the longer they are the farther down the pinion angle will go. its some thing to think about.

[hxckidd]

i have the camburg shackels which are about 1.5" longer and i moved back the rear hanger like 2" to keep the springs from binding with the shackle when they start to droop. My driveline has 118,000 miles on it. I was more then likely on the gas when it happed too but i happend too, but was only going like 20mph.

[singlehanded]

Are you running bumpstops and limit straps. My ranger with the exact set up only pulls 17 inches and must be limited to like 15 to be safe. The rear shackle hit on the mount at 17. Maybe everything is just getting jerked around hard and needs to be limited???

[johnnyweb]

sounds to me like you have it set up right. maybe it was just time for it to go. some sort of carma or something.