driveshaft M.I.A.

[DesertRat]

so i was driving home from vegas last night on the 15 freeway, and just as i passed zzyzx rd i hear some horrible noises and feel some very wrong vibrations. after coasting to the side i get out to find my drive shaft has sheared off and is now somewhere behind me on the freeway. now that i have to replace it, im wondering if now is the time to move the motor forward which sits a little too close to the firewall for me. is this as simple as moving the motor mounts forward and getting a longer driveshaft?

 

[tarry99]

so i was driving home from vegas last night on the 15 freeway, and just as i passed zzyzx rd i hear some horrible noises and feel some very wrong vibrations. after coasting to the side i get out to find my drive shaft has sheared off and is now somewhere behind me on the freeway. now that i have to replace it, im wondering if now is the time to move the motor forward which sits a little too close to the firewall for me. is this as simple as moving the motor mounts forward and getting a longer driveshaft?

Moving it forward length's the rear and shorten's the front..........look around maybe that V8 combo has other issues...........finish posting all your equipment. Transmission ,Transfer Case ETC.

 

[poppatello]

Well I am by no means any type of expert but there are some things I can think of that may need to be address. What type of coolant are you running? Exhaust? Engine, and so fourth.

If you have basic cooling using a clutch style fan then you have to be careful about the fan distance. To close and you will hydro wind so to speak or even hit the coils.

Than it depends on what engine your running. You have to watch your oil pan drop. You have a whole lot of things going on in the front there like steering linkage and axle movements during wheeling. If you have a big drop down oil pan it may hit. Also think about if you ever need to get to it for maintenance or repairs. I've heard some folks needed to losing up the springs to drop the pan.

Then you have to watch if your exhaust will interfere with anything if you move it up. If your running a V8 this would be more crictical then a straight motor.

Another thing to think about is center of gravity. If you never wheel then I wouldn't worry about that to much unless you like to drift around sharp corners. Remember jeeps are off balance as it is and we start lifting them and adding bigger tires. Then you move more weight forward. May only be an inch but it really changes the center of gravity.


If you're running an electric fan set up, have a straight 4 or 6 motor with only one exhaust set-up and don't do major hill style wheeling I would say it's not really a big deal. Move the motor mounts, re-pipe your exhaust, and get new drive shafts. Also need to redo the fuel lines, electrical wires such as engine to body harness unless you have enough slack, heater hoses if your running one, and gas pedal linkage...

 

[DesertRat]

i would gladly post it, if i knew what it was lol. relatively new to off road stuff.

 

[tarry99]

i would gladly post it, if i knew what it was lol. relatively new to off road stuff.

Desert,
Pretty tough to help you..............How about some pictures?
Look around on the internet , you should be able to see things that match with yours.

 

[poppatello]

Yes there are tons of great info on jeeps. This is by far the best hobby in the entire world. Great people and assholes (I'm one of the earlier half ).

Some sites will run you out of there acting like this (Pirate 4x4). This is by far one of the coolest sites I've come across. To bad many of the folks don't live this far East as I would surely have some cool buddies and a third beer fridge.

Check out this site for some helpful info.

Tranny info:
Novak Jeep Conversions - Home
They even have pictures of all the trannies that you could have in your jeep and how to ID them. They also have info on the Transfer Case and even what motor you could have.

You are of course more then welcome to post up pictures. Everyone loves pictures. It's like candy...

 

[DesertRat]

after comparing pictures and drawings, i think the front is a Dana 30 , still not sure on the back

 

[poppatello]

Well the front looks like a 30 as you stated, I'm not sure what tranny you have. It's not a T-4 . What speed is it? Your rear looks the the famous Dana 44 . I know it's not the AMC20 . I haven't seen a rear cover like that before though.

Your Transfer Case looks like the good old Dana 300 . There is clearly a small lift if any as your steering linkage is where it should be...

 

[DesertRat]

tranny is a 4 speed

 

[DesertRat]

there is a small metal plate attatched to the front axle with lots of numbers. any idea what they mean?

 

[Tinman22]

Saginaw 4, basically a sag 3 modified some had a deep 1st gear 3:50 compared to 2:54

 

[DesertRat]

thanks for all the help with identification! i definately have a lot to learn.

 

[tarry99]

Saginaw 4, basically a sag 3 modified some had a deep 1st gear 3:50 compared to 2:54

Desert,

Ok Dana 30 in the Front and a Dana 44 in the back........Tinman says thats a Saginaw 4 and the Transfer Case is a Dana 20 .

So why do you want to move the Chevy 350 Motor forward?

Measure the length of what the rear drive shaft should be. And get an Idea of how much angle you have from the back of the Dana 20 Transfer Case down to the yoke on the Dana 44 take a picture.........Angle will kill the universal joints in the drive line. Could be several fixes like lowering the rear Transmission mount, or it could be something like adding wedges to the rear spring perches to tip up the pinion angle, or as simple as someone never greased the U-joints.............

 

[DesertRat]

i want to move it forward cause i have about 1/16 inch clearance between the firewall and the distributor cap.

it would not surprise me if this was a lack of grease thing, i know i never did it

 

[CJ]

Instead of moving the engine forward I would suggest the die / BFH method of firewall modification. There is no way I would spend days or longer to move the engine when I could clearance the firewall in about 30 min or so.

 

[BusaDave9]

As stated you have a Dana 30 front axle:

A Dana 44 rear:

A Dana 20 TCase:

And although I can't disagree with Tinman22, that does look like a Saginaw 4 with the shift linkages on the side but I have never heard of one in a 4 wheel drive

.

 

[tarry99]

i want to move it forward cause i have about 1/16 inch clearance between the firewall and the distributor cap.

it would not surprise me if this was a lack of grease thing, i know i never did it

Desert,
Normal problem with a CJ5 conversion is the chevy rear mounted distributor.

How much room do you have to go forward? Fan , radiator, anything else?
When doing these conversions , everything is a matter of + or - a 1/4 inch here or there. Everything is tight. So again go through what I just mentioned plus the drive-line angles.........and tell us what you have.

 

[BusaDave9]

Instead of moving the engine forward I would suggest the die / BFH method of firewall modification. There is no way I would spend days or longer to move the engine when I could clearance the firewall in about 30 min or so.

Yea, what he said.
It is just too much trouble to move the drivetrain.

 

[tarry99]

Yea, what he said.
It is just too much trouble to move the drivetrain.

Desert, I would also agree with the above.........if you can do some body work to the firewall and make a little room for the cap that would be a much easier solution.

 

[CJ]

I have never had a firewall I couldn't clearance 1/4" or more by stretching the metal with a good dolly and die. It's very easy once you pull the dist.