67 CJ5 Rear axle shafts

Just replaced the rear axle shafts on my 67 CJ5 Dana 44 with new shafts from Kaiser-Willys auto supply. The old originals were straight but the splines were twisted a little so I replaced them. Now I am having trouble getting a long side shaft wont bend. I recieved two shafts that were bent before I installed them and one that lasted 1 pot hole before it bent. The short side is ok but the long side axle that wasn't bent before i put it in bent in the middle, not on the outside past the bearing.These are Rugged Ridge axles. Are the OMNIX axle any better quality. I would like to find some good used Dana shafts but there are'nt any in my area. The originals lasted 12 years of on -off road. These can't get past a pot hole. Are there any other brands that I could get that are stronger?

 

Have you tried contacting R&P? http://r-p4wd.com/
Great guys but I am not sure they sell tapered shafts....definitely worth a shot.

 

Yup, check to see if Paul or John have any good used ones on the shelf. They might. They can also be reached at 503-557-8911 9-5 PST. They will need to know if you need 19 or 10 spline (yours should be 19 spline).


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Guys, do you think a little twist in the splines ruins the axles? I recall when I blew up my Trac-Lok, the mechanic who repaired it showed me the splines. They had a little twist, but he said we could put them back. He was a friend, and I took his word for it. They did not later break.

 

Looked at your Jeep statistics.
Your running a Dauntless with 5.38 FDR and a T18 plus oversized tires and limited slips.
IMHO your rig qualifys for installing the flanged offset D44 axle with it's larger diameter axle shafts.

 

I could put the original axles back in. I kept them for spares. I am also in the process of looking for a off set flanged 44. There is a Jeep salvage yard near Duluth Mn. that says he has one but I have to wait until Sat. for him to look through his stock. That would solve the problem.

 

AFAIK, Rough Country is Omix owned so I would expect the axles to be one and the same. A flanged axle unit would be good, but a full float conversion of your existing housing would be even better. Strength wise, maybe the flanged axle shafts are a bit stronger than Herm's full float, but when the shafts do break, your wheels/brakes will not fall off with the FF.

 

He's using a T14 tranny, the T18 probably should be D18 t-case. Also Lockrights are lockers, not limited slip.
Not the greatest setup for 19 spline tapered axles for sure. This thread also highlights the poor quality of aftermarket (imported) axle shafts for the 10 and 19 splined rear axle shafts. Regarding the twisted splines, they may or may not break, but they are more likely to break than un-twisted splines. When they break at the splines it makes for a rather un-pleasant trail repair, if you have a replacement with you. You'll probably end up pulling the case out to get the broken piece out of it.

 

Got a used straight Dana axle today from a friend. This should get me by for street driving but a flanged axle 44 or a full float conversion are needed over the
winter to be ready for next summer. Im
running Chevy 1/2 ton 6 bolt backing plates and calipers with the thick cj rotors. Can I use this setup with the flanged axle or the full float conversion?

 

Should be able to fit it to a full float if it now bolts to your 19 spline housing. You may need to come up with spacers for the caliper bracket but the key here is "may". I've never seen rear discs used with a flanged axle but someone has probably figured a way to make it work. Seems to me you would need something to set the caliper bracket farther to the inside than the common Jeep brackets. I have seen some rear disks where the bracket is directly welded to the housing.

 

Pre 1957 Jeep Dana 44 rear axle shafts all have 10 staight cut spline rear shafts.
They measure 1.225" outside diameter.

Post 1956 Jeep Dana 44 rear axle shafts all have 19 involute spline axle shafts.
They measure 1.245" outside diameter or .005" under 1-1/4".

Post 1970 Jeep Dana 44 use 30 count rolled spline axle shafts.
They measure 1.285" outside diameter.

A stock CJ with F-134 will be hard pressed to break a 10 spline axle shaft.
A stock CJ with V-6 will be hard pressed to break a 19 spline axle shaft.
A stock CJ with V-8 will be hard pressed to break a 30 spline axle shaft.

It's not just the engine torque that effects the overall drivetrain strength but the increase of clutch pressure.
Each engine size uses a larger clutch which transmits increased torque to the remainder of the drivetrain.
Therefore a V-8 engine with the same clutch as an F-134 would be hard pressed to break the 10 spline shafts.
Note that lower gearing always amplifies the clutches available torque.

Whenever traction increases via big or wide tires the drivetrain stress also increases.
Therefore when jeep has skinny tires it is more likely to spin and less likely to break an axle shaft.

Go with full floaters or offset flanged axles.
The offset flanged shafts are larger diameter than the full floaters and will take more abuse.
It is not very likely that you will ever twist a 30 spline axle with a 10.4 clutch, T14 and 33 tires.

 

I am using the GM 1/2 ton disc brakes with the thick rotor on a rear full float. It bolted right on. If you are thinking about doing a full floater then now is the time to go with 30 splined axles. I don't know if you can replace the side gears in a Lockright to use the 30 splined axles or if you have to replace the whole unit. I twisted the splines on a 19 spline FF with a Detroit, but that was with 35" tires too. If you drive nice, 19 spline with 33's should be OK. But if you think 35's may be in your life at some time changing to 30 spline now would be your best bet.

 

I have 35" BFG KM2's waiting to go on but want to get the axle issue straightened out before I use them on the trail. I'm looking into both options to replace the taper shafts.

 

6 bolt caliper brackets on a floater rear axle. Pretty simple, just a bolt on. R&P makes a disc kit for the flanged and tapered rear 44, but it uses a thin rotor, and small GM caliper.

 

Tim
I've seen a set of original 1970 flanged axles with over 300,000 + miles on them.
They both had slight twists in the splines.
Owner had no idea when that would have happened......he is the original owner of the Jeep and it has been Jeeped somewhat hard in it's life.
He replaced them with new NOS axles he had bought years and years ago when they were still available.
He probably could have kept running them, but......
He's kept them for trail spares.

 

It all depends on the severity of the twist. A slight twist generally is not a problem. It actually tightens the structure of the metal. Think of a rubber band that is twisted until tight but not until it starts thinning out. If the twist is too much then The structure of the metal becomes damaged. Think of the rubber band getting twisted too far where It starts getting thin right before it breaks.


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