PDA

View Full Version : How much of the YOKE should be sticking out?



toofun
04-11-2006, 12:19 PM
I just put in a tko 600 in my small block chevy and measured the driveshaft and had it shortened to 47 inches yoke center to yoke center. I just put it in the car and with the car on all four wheels it sits about two inches out from bottoming out the yoke on the tranny. Is this too much play or is this acceptable? The yoke lenght is in total about 4 1/2 inches so a good 2 and a half inches is IN the tranny. Thanks in advance

Mark
TOOFUN

Josh
04-12-2006, 05:07 AM
Normally, when you unbolt the drive shaft from the differential yoke and push it into the tranny, the u-joint should have no more than 1/2 inch clearance from the yoke.

toofun
04-12-2006, 06:27 AM
Hello Josh,

Thanks for answering my question but have another for you. I am assuming you are talking about when the car is off the ground but still supporting its own weight. I say this because the suspension tends to hang when off the ground on a lift. So I guess my question is should it be a half inch with the suspension on the ground or a half inch with the suspension suspended.

On another note I found that the machine shop that did the work cut the driveshaft 3/4 of an inch TOO SHORT. Seems the guy doing the work thought the measurement was from front of the yoke joint to the back of the yoke joint instead of centerline to centerline. If I measured correctly This should put me at the shaft sticking out about 3/4 of an inch instead of the 1 1/2 inches I originally had. This is at the car being supported by its own weight not with the suspension hanging. Is this acceptable??

Thanks again

Mark
TOOFUN

Jagarang
04-12-2006, 07:13 AM
Take this with a grain of salt since I have no idea what the true answer is, but it sounds a bit to short to me. An inch and a half of extra material the is not being utilized focuses more stress on the 2in or so that are currently carrying a rotational load.

Subtracting the .5 inch of normal play that Josh suggested, and your 4.5 inch estimate on the true length of the yoke, leaves 4 inches of available yoke to bear the load. Doesn't this mean that you could have 100% increase in load bearing surface than your currently utilizing, if your shaft had been made the proper length?

The shop should give you what you paid for if it turns out they messed up the measurements.

rickk
04-12-2006, 07:48 AM
.75 would be good .
rickk:hand:

toofun
04-12-2006, 08:59 AM
Thanks Rick and company.... The machine shop I took it to is making good on the driveshaft. They are fully replacing the tube and making it the correct measurement. When they are done it should be about 3/4 inch out past the rubber boot hence I should be good to go. Only bad part was yesterday I put the driveshaft in and filled the tranny, only then did I realize the problem with the measurement. I pulled the driveshaft out and fluid leaked on the floor(DOH!!) I only lost about 8 0z so Ill just have to reinstall the new driveshaft, level the car and top it off. Just a pain in the arse to clean that crap off my unsealed concrete garage floor!!

Mark
TOOFUN

Josh
04-14-2006, 05:52 AM
Tranny oil is a great sealent for garage floors!
All measurements should be done with the suspension loaded.

ProdigyCustoms
04-14-2006, 07:17 AM
3/4" is what we use.