The Stupid Axle Questions Thread

[Zabo]

Guess this falls into stupid axle due to potential yoke and ring/pinion/carrier issues.

Picked up a '95 2dr Tahoe/FSB on a trade. Truck has a nice groan coming from the rear end and I can feel what I believe is the front driveshaft bucking into the floorboard. I'm pretty sure that all 4 u-joints are FUBAR'd and possibly the carrier/ring and pinion. Get a fair buck when placed in gear (except neutral). Doesn't seem trans related and the TC is quiet as a mouse. Doesn't matter since the stock stuff has at least 231K miles and will be tossed in favor of a 4.88 gear set and prep for a 4-6" lift.

So any advice on which u-joint (leaning toward Spicer as I've used them in the past) but also should I tear into the pinion yokes too and just replace them while I'm down there? It is getting lifted so a yoke that can handle extra deflection would obviously be worth installing now rather than a year down the line.

 

[TylerZ281500]

the yoke on the driveshaft? with a lift youll need a longer driveshaft, you can measure the width of the yolk on the pinion usually they dont go bad but it could happen that they spread. so obcviously when you start tearing into everything for a regear anything you are thinking you may not need to replace have checked for wear and make sure its still within the same specs it needs to be.

spicer all the way, working in drivline ive seen how terrible many other u joint manufacturers are.

 

[Zabo]

Sorry, I had just gotten off night shift and the whole brain to hand translation thing got lost somewhere in my elbow.

What I meant was the TC Yoke (due to the bucking) but also the pinion yoke since this truck did see some trailering w/o a proper trailer brake. Truck was built up by Majestic conversions of Saginaw (the same Majestic that does conversion vans) so I have no clue what was and wasn't upgraded for the long haul. I'm assuming nothing was done because while it's a 4wd Tahoe 2Dr it probably wore nothing knobbier than a car tire and saw nothing more than asphalt and a bit of gravel.

Probably move some of this to the offroad section as that's the main goal of this DD build.

 

[TylerZ281500]

ok first things tc yoke? never i dont follow. as for your lift you can be my test subject, most driveshafts need to be lengthened to be proper for a lift, most people dont, and it could affect your trans in the long haul, fbody driveshafts come in aluminum and steel and are a bit lnger so they might work for you if you got me a stock measurement i could find out for sure if itd work and such.

the groan could just be the rear end finding a time to be on its way out, if your lifting it and making an offroad hauler type rig id suggest a 14 bolt with some gears to match your tire size and an eaton tru trac, money very well spent.

mines a 2dr as well so ive been through all this, your bucking issue is it when your turn in 4wd? thats common with ifs dont worry about it as theres nothing you can do. now if your driveshaft is spinning while your driving thats an issue because it shouldnt be. bad u joints that make noise would cause a noticeable vibration especially on a yukon.

 

[Zabo]

TC yoke as in the yoke coming out of the transfer case to the front "diff". Something is bucking against the floor when in 2HI and 4HI/LO so I'm thing the TC is a possible culprit since if I'm looking at it right the transfer case is almost under the drivers seat on the 2drs.

As for a 14 bolt I'm thinking so, build up one from a 1 ton junk yard find. If I get a two for one maybe to a SRS when/if the front throws in the towel.

As for the shafts I know my F-body shafts. Think they may be a smidge short (going off my 4 th gen TA). I'll just have one fabbed to the rear/lift specs rather than trying to gorilla an off the shelf one into place.

Plan is to clean, restore, and enjoy/use/abuse.


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[TylerZ281500]

TC yoke as in the yoke coming out of the transfer case to the front "diff". Something is bucking against the floor when in 2HI and 4HI/LO so I'm thing the TC is a possible culprit since if I'm looking at it right the transfer case is almost under the drivers seat on the 2drs.

As for a 14 bolt I'm thinking so, build up one from a 1 ton junk yard find. If I get a two for one maybe to a SRS when/if the front throws in the towel.

As for the shafts I know my F-body shafts. Think they may be a smidge short (going off my 4 th gen TA). I'll just have one fabbed to the rear/lift specs rather than trying to gorilla an off the shelf one into place.

Plan is to clean, restore, and enjoy/use/abuse.


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3rdgen and 4th gen fbody shafts are the same length and actually an inch or two longer, i measured roughly before i cut mine into breaker bars.

1 ton rears are usually 8 lug id think youd still be 6 lug so youd need a semi float 14 bolt unless you get aftermaket shafts with gm 8 lug.

in 2hi your transfer case yolk shouldnt move thats why i was curious about that. nothing there should spin in 2 hi. i thought you were referring to torque onverter i was like wtf is this guy talking about about tc yolk.

but custom shaft is what i built myself at work when i was still there, all sicer stuff nice tube the works for my cost in parts

 

[Zabo]

Yeah, sorry about that. Well I've still got contacts in the f-body parts community so I could source a shaft.

If it's bucking in the floor then what could it be? It's not kicking in turns like a normal 241 in 4wd and when I do kick it into 4 hi in a turn it's not kicking hard (4 lo it's a mule kick) so I think the TC is fine except for the shifter indicator not lighting up.

So u-joints and a new rear? Are 1 ton 8 lug rears 14 bolts? What about the ifs diff? I'll probably change both when I do the gear swap right?


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[TylerZ281500]

your in michigan??? i have a friend that has an aluminum one and a few other friends and contacts as well. im thinking your bushing could be shot if it happen in 2wd as well. shifter linkage not showing up is the sensor in the front diff or a broken wire or bunrout.missing bulb usually.

1 tons are almost always fullfloating rears, some 8 lug 2500s are also fullfloats. to keep 6 lug youll have to stick with a semi float unless you want to get custom strage axle shafts then you could run either axle in the other configuration. ifs diff in front can be kept the same its alot of work to swap to a 9.25 front but youll be buying gears so just buy the matching ones for the front as the rear.

 

[Zabo]

Yeah, I'm just SE of Taylor.

Which bushing are we talking? Could it also be a mount?

As for a FF or SF rear would it be easier to find a SF heavy half rear or would it be worth it to swap the axles to 6 bolt? Or should I run a 1 ton setup? I'd rather pay for it once than wind up doing it over and over.


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[TylerZ281500]

yea the mount, itd be easy to find either or id price out buying 6 lug axle shafts for a fullfloat if youd like to go that direction but they are everywhere both axles are. theres a few right now on greatlakes4x4, if you run a 1 ton setup you can figure out how to swap to 8 lug, solid axle it, or just run the 6 lug semifloat(axle shaft swap on a full) not much difference i dont think, more of personal decision. both are a great upgrade, and even the semifloat is great for towing applications and offroading so your safe.