which front DL slipjoint

nevada · Nov 26, 2008

ok, so i plan on doing dual cases here in a few months. im gonna need to lengthen the front DL. and ive pulled it apart a few times in the past, so i figured i would put in a long travel slip joint.
but, ive found 3 different lengths, all the same price.

marlin crawler 8"
towards the bottom of the pag.
http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/axles.htm

trail gear 10"
http://www.trail-gear.com/driveshaft.html

and inch worm 12"

http://www.inchwormgear.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=52&products_id=976

i honestly doubt i need more than 8", right now. but..im thinking..maybe in the future, if i change the front suspension...
so, would it be smart to just get the 10", or 12" now

or are there gonna be issues with running that much slipjoint. vibrations, or additional slop, longevity etc etc?
trail gear's said "Not recommended for use on the street."
thats what got me questioning which one to use.

thanks
nevada

WHITE TRASH1 · Nov 26, 2008

None of the above. Either make it out of square tube or buy this setup.

Not Jobless · Nov 26, 2008

None of the above.

I'd call Tom Woods.

Not Jobless · Nov 26, 2008

WHITE TRASH said:
None of the above. Either make it out of square tube...

WHITE TRASH1 · Nov 26, 2008

Jackazz said:

Rolling your eye's doesn't mean it's a bad setup. :kiss:

TrikeKid · Nov 27, 2008

Unless Trail-Mart has stopped welding their u-joints in, I'd steer clear of them.

crash2 · Nov 27, 2008

TrikeKid said:
Unless Trail-Mart has stopped welding their u-joints in, I'd steer clear of them.

Stay clear of marma....

crash2 · Nov 27, 2008

WHITE TRASH said:
None of the above. Either make it out of square tube or buy this setup.

Thats the same way we used to do driveshafts in the late 90's. The only thing we didn't have was good quality female spline material..... Plus the male spline material is pretty heavy...

Boonie Buster · Nov 27, 2008

All-pro was having a sale on their long slips, $149.... I got one, they advertise their crap weird, like everyone of these horrible toyota guys 8" of "usable" slip.....

nevada · Nov 28, 2008

WHITE TRASH said:
None of the above. Either make it out of square tube or buy this setup.

i dont think so tim! so far, youve had pretty good advice, but, ive gotta say, you failed on this one:eeek:
if i was in HS still, and didnt have ANY money, than MAYBE a square tube DL would be in order.
also, that other one, daves stuff... that female side of the slip is VERY short....not sure i like that. are they all that short? cant really tell by the pics, but i dont think so. also, its more expensive...i dont really think i need THAT much slip.

Jackazz said:
None of the above.

I'd call Tom Woods.

do they sell JUST long travel slip?

TrikeKid said:
Unless Trail-Mart has stopped welding their u-joints in, I'd steer clear of them.

welded ujoints?
im not buying a DL, just a slip-joint, i'll have the DL made up here locally.

Boonie Buster said:
All-pro was having a sale on their long slips, $149.... I got one, they advertise their crap weird, like everyone of these horrible toyota guys 8" of "usable" slip.....

i'll check them out, thanks

Trekinseattle said:
I've got 8 inches of usable slip RIGHT HERE !! I think square tube works if your on a budget. But on rocks it kills things. Turns out square doesnt roll very smooth over hard rock. :looser:

I would think you would want to get the dual cases in and measure for your application. No body knows how far forward your axle is or any other mods. Measure and buy the appropriate drive line that best fits.

again, im not buying a completed DL. only a slip, so once ive got the duals, i can have a good one made up.

ok, now i see few actually voted in the poll, but more chose the 10"

anyone with personal experience with any of these, have any feedback to give?

megatoy66 · Nov 28, 2008

I voted for the trail gear, I have them in both ends of my rig with 47's, dual cases and 5.86 gears. I have tried to break them but they have held up to many trips to the hammers. No issues.

nevada · Nov 28, 2008

megatoy66 said:
I voted for the trail gear, I have them in both ends of my rig with 47's, dual cases and 5.86 gears. I have tried to break them but they have held up to many trips to the hammers. No issues.

thats good to know, thanks
another thing, im planning on keeping the CV in there. BUT, should i just run a straight shaft?
my truck is NOT street legal, and probably wont EVER see pavement again. BUT, i might take it to the dunes, or whatever, and i dont want to deal with bad vibrations. is that even an issue?

ive broken a CV in the past, but im sure it was due to a VERY out of balance, DL. as in, i made it, and it wasnt very straight.:looser:

anyone running the cv still?

Boonie Buster · Nov 28, 2008

I run a CV and had the shaft balanced in the rear, the front doesn't have one... I think i need to shim my rear pinion some though....:eeek:

If it's offroad only, i'd say use a single at each end, if your operating angles permit it. you're not going to be traveling at highway speeds so it wont matter much other than those high rev situations...:awesomework:

CHOP SHOP · Nov 28, 2008

WHITE TRASH said:
None of the above. make it out of square tube

I think your the dumbest smart guy I can think of. thats horrible advice.:booo:

just run the trail gear shaft. or spend a little more on a dual case adapter and get rid of the super steep shaft and eliminate the problem.:beer:

WHITE TRASH1 · Nov 28, 2008

CHOP SHOP said:
I think your the dumbest smart guy I can think of. thats horrible advice.:booo:

:haha: for a front shaft? Fawkit I run 1 1/2" inner 2" outter tube and it fits damned near as tight as a stock slip. The square shafts that bang, clang and make a terrible racket ont he trail are 2" inner and 2 1/2" outter guaranteed. That shiat has more slop in it that joop's bunghole.

I've been running the same front square shaft since '05 with no issues other than a slight click if the hubs are locked and the case is in 2wd otherwise it's quiet and strong. When I link the front and I no longer need a lot of slip I'll go back to a stock length slip but until then I'm square all the way baby!

nevada · Nov 28, 2008

CHOP SHOP said:
just run the trail gear shaft. or spend a little more on a dual case adapter and get rid of the super steep shaft and eliminate the problem.:beer:

yeh, i'll be getting dual cases. since i need to rework the DL's at that time anyway, i figured it would be a good time to get a longer slip.

i didnt think of that. with the 6"+ longer front, i probably wont need a CV anyway....

nevada · Jan 5, 2009

i ordered the TG slip. it should be here today:cheer:

still undecided whether i'll use the CV, or just the straight DL...

JACKED944RUNNER · Jan 6, 2009

Trail-gear is garbage for their long travel I had one fly apart, Coop went through two of them. Coop's splines twisted. When you get it look at the ceappy machined spilne which have sloppy clearances. The Marlin is way better.

nevada · Jan 6, 2009

JACKED944RUNNER said:
Trail-gear is garbage for their long travel I had one fly apart, Coop went through two of them. Coop's splines twisted. When you get it look at the ceappy machined spilne which have sloppy clearances. The Marlin is way better.

looks like a VERY nice piece to me:eeek: HEAVY duty, the splines seems to fit together pretty tight.

the only thing im NOT happy about...theres no cap. so its IMPOSSIBLE to grease the splines.
im gonna see if the OE cap will fit. if not, i'll find something to fit in there, and make it work.

Jaydog · Jan 6, 2009

nevada said:
looks like a VERY nice piece to me:eeek: HEAVY duty, the splines seems to fit together pretty tight.

the only thing im NOT happy about...theres no cap. so its IMPOSSIBLE to grease the splines.
im gonna see if the OE cap will fit. if not, i'll find something to fit in there, and make it work.

Drill, tap and put in a zerk :awesomework: