cj5 with t18 rear dshaft

[gliryan]

I've just put a T-18 /Dana 20 into my early CJ5 . It's lifted on 4" yj leafs and overall pretty modified. Yesterday I tried to build my rear driveshaft, but couldn't for multiple reasons. First my 8.8 rear axle uses a bigger 1330 ujoint, need to get something to fix that. And second when my axle goes full droop the angle is ridiculous of the shaft, too much it seems for the joint. This may be because I don't have the correct ujoint in the back or the correct flange. I forgot to measure what the length was going to be…but somewhere around 17" I'd guess. Its got to be a little shorter than my T-90 /d18 to Dana 44 shaft. I think that was around 19".

My first question is how long is the stock driveshaft for a stock T-18 CJ5 ?
My second question is how tight is that T-18 /Dana 20 tucked up in the belly? The difference in d18 to Dana 20 cases is huge. The rear output is farther back and up quite a bit higher with the Dana 20 . Currently I've got that output right below the floor of the jeep, but the oil pan of the Dana 20 on the low spot sits an inch or two below the frame already…

Any help or conversation appreciated!
Also I've got this all behind a GM 4.3l v6. I had to bend the T-18 shifter back some even where it's currently sitting, so I'm inclined to think that my positioning is further forward than stock.

Here's the jeep I'm working with, I'll try to get driveshaft pics soon.

 

[Old Dog]

for the 8.8 you either need a new flange for the 1310 joint or they make a conversion joint that is half 1310 and half 1330.
I went with a new flange to keep it simple in the future.

 

[BusaDave9]

My first question is how long is the stock driveshaft for a stock T-18 CJ5 ?

It doesn't matter. You need to measure how long your drive shaft needs to be. Measure with the suspension compressed and again fully extended.

Then call up Tom Wood - 1-877-497-4238 Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts - Tom Woods Custom Drive Shafts Custom Driveshafts Specialist

Because of your steep driveshaft angle you need a CV or double-cardan joint. Mount your rear axle so the pinion points to the TCase output. Like this:

If you call up Tom Wood's Drive shafts they will help you out with all this. I always go to them for driveshafts and they have excellent service.

Oh, yes, the output on the Dana 20 is higher than the Dana 18 because the Dana 20 has a centered output and the D18 is off to the side where it is a little lower.

 

[gliryan]

Old Dog do you know what the part number is for one (conversion ujiont), or how to get one at a parts store? I talked with my store and we couldn't figure out how to find one. I'll do a little internet searching after posting this to see if I can find any numbers.

Busa I'm going to be building my own driveshaft. Not spending a few hundred bucks on one. I'm curious as to the length of a stock one to see if I'm dealing with too short of a distance and potentially to hear from someone that had lifted theirs. Maybe they had the same issue. I've got a couple of double cardan joints laying around, but my output flange doesn't accept one. I tried doing a little searching to figure out what flange I needed to run my DC, but didn't find any conclusive information in the short amount of time I looked.

 

[Old Dog]

Here's one conversion joint, not sure if the part #'s would work at the local parts store or not though. U-JOINT 1310-1330 conversion 1-1/16" / 1-1/8", SVOM4635A

 

[gliryan]

Cool thanks. What flange did you end up going with instead?

 

[Old Dog]

This one N2-2-1379 Ford 8.8 1310 Flange

 

[gliryan]

I ended up finding a cv yoke for my Dana 20 in the garage!! Not sure where that came from. My case also ended up being a coarse 10 spline, surprising since its a late 70's. Then I bought a new 8.8 flange yoke for $35 locally at the driveline shop. Then today I got that built and installed. I get a little bit of binding at full droop, so I may limit droop. Its a pretty small amount of binding though. Total compressed length is 20 7/8".