How to make B2 driveshaft

[4.0B2]

Originally Posted by adsm08

How is that for vibration at higher speeds though? It seems to me that a single cardan shaft would be prone to vibrations in a B2 because its so short.

my shaft is a single cardan and works fine at 75... i don't drive my b2 that fast usually, but have...

mine is a first gen rear explorer 4wd shaft shortened and balanced by a machine shop.

[Jim Oaks]

Originally Posted by country0001

Still can't make the pics bigger? Not sure what to do?

Did you resize the photos after you took them?

If you took them with a digital camera, just email the original photo image files to jim@therangerstation.com

[country0001]

I sent them to you Jim. Thanks

[country0001]

OK. I figured out how to resize the pics. If the first two are big enough. I'll finish the rest next week.

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I had heard about this trick elsewhere and depending on what front driveshaft you get depends on what you can use it for.

You're going to be looking for the front shaft from an Explorer or a Ranger with a 1354 trans. You can get the flanges from the rear shaft. This mod works for BIIs with an a4ld, FM-146 or M5OD. If you have a TK-4, TK-5 or FM-145, the length will likely be wrong - those require a slightly longer shaft - which you might be able to do by leaving the double cardigan in place and just adding a flange.

Another thing that can be done (provided you can find shafts that both have coarse splines or fine splines) is to swap the front slip joint for a rear one (rears are supposed to be a little longer, IIRC).

For front driveshafts....

FM-145 front shafts are shorter (and thus about perfect for a D-35 front swap) than the front shafts in a FM-146, a4ld, and M5OD.

Front shafts out of a TK4 or C5 equipped Ranger/BII are shorter yet and will work for a D-35 swap in a FM-145 or TK-5 rig.

[country0001]

Pics resized. How's that for everybody.

[country0001]

This is becoming a hot topic again, any more suggestions?

[adsm08]

I'm still skeptical about the drive shaft angles involved here, but the longer you go with this one and not posting any issues the more tempted I get to try this.

[country0001]

I've had no problems with it at highway speeds

[adsm08]

How was the lift in the rear of yours done?Are the stock flat bottom blocks still in place?

[country0001]

Originally I had springs from a 89 F150. I have removed two of the leaves and kept the over load. The wheel opening was right on top of the fender. It have me right at 4" of lift.

[adsm08]

I'm just looking at the angle of your rake and wondering if the way it sits might not straighten the angles a bit.