[Tim]

WOOT!

[Tim]

now comes the final installment of this project. well, except maybe updates, comments and a & q's from those interested.

on monday my front shaft came from tom wood's. again i was pleasantly suprised with the speed of his shop and how fast he got both shafts here. wow!

the front (like the rear) has a longer spline and is made from DOM tubing for more strength. there are some other differences between the old shaft and the new one other than length:



they installed their gold seal greasable u-joints and claim to have the best warranty in the world. they will even cover damage to the drive shaft. the grease fittings are in the bearing cap.

they rate their forged slip yoke at twice the strength of those you could purchase elswhere.

the spline offers almost twice the contact area and are cut the full length of the stub. they tell me this will also increase the life of the spline.

dom tubing gives twice the strength of cold rolled and welded tubing

their cv housing is also custom. made from steel and not cast iron. it is more flexable and improves contact with the u-joint.

their socket yokes are made from steel (not cast nodular iron) and manufactured at tight tolerances. they clame that it lubes better at servicing.

once they are done they high speed balance the shaft with the best equipment...

they also sent me some more information on their center pivot point. instead of steel they use a glass filled PFTE (teflon) seat. this generates less heat than a steel one. they replaced the needle bearings with an oil-lite bronze bushing.


do i know what all that means? no, not really. but, i can tell you i have been running tom wood's products for the last 6.5 years and have no complaints. they are a fine company and i am glad to have their products on my jeep.

i kinda scanned through their information and put it down here. so, if you need more info on their shafts call them at 877-497-4238 or www.4xshaft.com

one more thing:

i thought i would know right off the bat if i wanted to go right to 35" tires or stay on 33"ers... not too sure. as of now, on flat land cruising at 60 MPH the engine turns at 2100 rpms.

i am sure there will be more updates to come...

transmission done-
over and out--

[JEEP97TJ]

Hey, nice build-up. I am curious where you got the trans temp gauge/sensor, and how you wired it all up.

Also, how do you like the B&M transmission cooler? Is it mounted as a stand alone cooler, or is the fluid routed through the radiator too? (I'm guessing not since you swapped from a standard to auto trans).

[Tim]

Originally Posted by JEEP97TJ

Hey, nice build-up. I am curious where you got the trans temp gauge/sensor, and how you wired it all up.

Also, how do you like the B&M transmission cooler? Is it mounted as a stand alone cooler, or is the fluid routed through the radiator too? (I'm guessing not since you swapped from a standard to auto trans).

the temp gauge is an autometer from summit racing. it came with the sensor. i also purchased a bung that i brazed into the pan for mounting the sensor.

the b&m cooler works just fine. actually both of them do. there is also a radiator for an auto in my jeep. i replaced the old one about 5000 miles ago. i will have the option to go through the radiator, i just dont want to right now.

[Tim]

Originally Posted by JEEP97TJ

Hey, nice build-up. I am curious where you got the trans temp gauge/sensor, and how you wired it all up.

Also, how do you like the B&M transmission cooler? Is it mounted as a stand alone cooler, or is the fluid routed through the radiator too? (I'm guessing not since you swapped from a standard to auto trans).

the temp gauge is an autometer from summit racing. it came with the sensor. i also purchased a bung that i brazed into the pan for mounting the sensor.

the b&m cooler works just fine. actually both of them do. there is also a radiator for an auto in my jeep. i replaced the old one about 5000 miles ago. i will have the option to go through the radiator, i just dont want to right now.

[Tim]

Originally Posted by JEEP97TJ

Hey, nice build-up. I am curious where you got the trans temp gauge/sensor, and how you wired it all up.

Also, how do you like the B&M transmission cooler? Is it mounted as a stand alone cooler, or is the fluid routed through the radiator too? (I'm guessing not since you swapped from a standard to auto trans).

the temp gauge is an autometer from summit racing. it came with the sensor. i also purchased a bung that i brazed into the pan for mounting the sensor.

the b&m cooler works just fine. actually both of them do. there is also a radiator for an auto in my jeep. i replaced the old one about 5000 miles ago. i will have the option to go through the radiator, i just dont want to right now.

[97casteeltj]

so what was the overall final length of the driveshafts.....i have a TW rear but a stock 5spd front....

[TJeeper]

The AW4 is 1" longer than the AX15. I have an HP30 with the stock front driveshaft, I'll probably leave that one alone. The rear driveshaft on my Jeep has a 100k miles on it. I'm going to measure after I'm done and get a new one.

[97casteeltj]

Originally Posted by TJeeper

The AW4 is 1" longer than the AX15. I have an HP30 with the stock front driveshaft, I'll probably leave that one alone. The rear driveshaft on my Jeep has a 100k miles on it. I'm going to measure after I'm done and get a new one.

so you're saying i may not need to adjust my driveshafts??

[TJeeper]

Originally Posted by 97casteeltj

so you're saying i may not need to adjust my driveshafts??

No I'm saying you are going to have to measure them. It depends on how much compression you have left on the driveshaft now and how much you will have after installing the new transmission. I know on mine the rear will bottom out. I've got more room on the front because the HP30 requires a slightly shorter driveshaft than a LP30.

[97casteeltj]

Originally Posted by TJeeper

No I'm saying you are going to have to measure them. It depends on how much compression you have left on the driveshaft now and how much you will have after installing the new transmission. I know on mine the rear will bottom out. I've got more room on the front because the HP30 requires a slightly shorter driveshaft than a LP30.

aw, i see

thanks

[Canfourjeep]

How long is your rear drive shaft? I am doing this and without a SYE mine looks like around 13 inches.

[TJeeper]

Originally Posted by 97casteeltj

so you're saying i may not need to adjust my driveshafts??

I finally got to the point where I could measure the front driveshaft today. I put the frame on jackstands, unbolted my AntiRock, removed the wheels and dropped the axle as far as it would go. I even stood on the driver's side hub to make sure the joints weren't binding. My stock driveshaft is 1/4" longer than the maximum extension that I need. But, when I tried to bolt the driveshaft on the yoke, I realized the axle shifts over to the left at full droop, and the driveshaft was resting against the control arm mount on my RELA crossmember. Either I have never dropped my axle that far in the 8 years I have run this lift, or moving the transfer case back 1" changed the angles enough that now I have a problem. I guess I will find out when I wheel it.

FWIW with only 1/4" of extension left on my driveshaft, I probably would get a new one (especially since it is now 10 years old) except:

1. I am running Warn hubs
2. My TJ is no longer a DD- I put about 1k miles on it last year, and so far this year I have 0 miles on it.

[Canfourjeep]

What drive shaft did you use in this?

[Tim]

fwiw, on mine i used tom wood's on both ends. he reworked the rear shaft and built me a front one to my new measurements. i think he even cut me a little deal because i was a returning customer. he will always get my business... good service, very rapid service and tough product.