I've got a 1-piece shaft from an EA81 wagon to put in my EA82 (carrier bearing mount wasn't perfect.....bearing is scaring me....). anyone know the length difference? I'm going to measure it tomorrow....but don't have any terribly accurate measuring tools ($5 tape measure and $2 plastic caliper).....

I've heard its like 170mm or something, but can't say for sure.. I really should measure these sometime because this question comes up many times.

I measured a few different ways. and always got 9 3/8". which is equivalent to 238.125mm.

It doesn't need to be totally accurate. Remember the splined end of the shaft is a slip joint. Within 1/2" (err on the short side) will do fine. Don't measure the lengths of the shafts - measure the distance from the end of the tranny to the diff. The two-peice does not travel in a straight line so you can't compare just the drivelines side-by-side.

 

Also - the carrier bearing mount does not support anything but the weight of the shaft itself. It's angle and such are not critical as the center bearing is a CV joint. On my Brat I used a two-peice and just welded a couple tabs to the floor for the carrier mount. No problems here.

 

The two peice is superior in almost every respect perfomance wise. Better clearance, less vibration. There are plenty of used one's to be had. I see no reason to convert to a single peice.

 

GD

35k miles on my "good" 2-piece (came out of my '85 with 140k on it) with my homemade carrier brackets, and the bearing is loose and noisy and both u-joints on the rear half are seized and causing vibration......

 

yep, I know the front is a slip shaft, so I'm not terribly worried, but I would like to have as much contact as possible, since it'll be getting abused a bit.

 

also, the EA81 shaft is about the same weight as half of the EA82 shaft. and I just dropped it off at a driveline shop to have it modified, and the guy is going to use slightly narrower tubing, and says it should weigh about the same as it does now, even though it's longer. which would be sweet. less rotating mass is always good!

you should measure the relief the driveshaft has at full exxtension and sitting normal so that you know how much it moves during travel.that way you don't end up stuffing the thing into the tranny when you go over something with the rear suspension.........cheers, brian

the rear diff doesn't move almost at all.....it's not like a solid axle vehicle.