How much can the stock driveshaft and rear handle?

[Jim_PA]

The driveshaft has HD u-joints, and the rear was rebuilt (3.73 + limited slip from an early 60's truck) in my garage ... it seems nice and tight.

I'm heading out in May with some drag radials -- should I drag a magnet behind me to catch the pieces?

[joeys66pickup]

i would say it depends....are you dumping the clutch with the t-10 in your signature? thats gonna hurt alittle but its all about what rpms your turning and how you drive im assuming

[Jim_PA]

I'd like to leave the line around 2000-3K, and I don't intend to just dump the clutch.

Is it best to pre-load by side stepping brake&gas?

[Marv D]

I'd be willing to bet the T-10 will give up the ghost before the rest of the drive train. But.....If you don't have a driveshaft loop, GET ONE

[Jim_PA]

For the dumb question of the day... with a 2 piece drive shaft, do I need a loop on the front and the back?

[71chevytruckguy]

i run a mucnie m-20 in my truck and leave at 4500, 60 ft a 1.77. first thing you need to do is get a set of c-clip elimantiors for the rear end. snappin an axle and goin down the track on three wheels is not fun. another thing to do is weld the axles tubes to the diff. the spot welds will break. i always hold the clutch to where is just barely catchin to preload the drivetrain the rev it up and dump in on the green. im also running a line-loc which make thing 10 times simpler, aint gotta hold the brakes. so far my drive shaft is the only problem piece in the drivetrain i havent had problems with. manual are a whole lot harder on the drivetrain cause an auto kinda acts like a shock absorser for a lake of a better word. anything else ask. nce to see another guy running a 4 speed on here, was thinkin i was the only one. nad i dont know about the magnet part, but i'd deffently trailer it out there. Chris.

[Jim_PA]

Originally Posted by 71chevytruckguy

i run a mucnie m-20 in my truck and leave at 4500, 60 ft a 1.77. first thing you need to do is get a set of c-clip elimantiors for the rear end. snappin an axle and goin down the track on three wheels is not fun. another thing to do is weld the axles tubes to the diff. the spot welds will break. i always hold the clutch to where is just barely catchin to preload the drivetrain the rev it up and dump in on the green. im also running a line-loc which make thing 10 times simpler, aint gotta hold the brakes. so far my drive shaft is the only problem piece in the drivetrain i havent had problems with. manual are a whole lot harder on the drivetrain cause an auto kinda acts like a shock absorser for a lake of a better word. anything else ask. nce to see another guy running a 4 speed on here, was thinkin i was the only one. nad i dont know about the magnet part, but i'd deffently trailer it out there. Chris.

Nice! -- Good to hear yours is somewhat holding up to the abuse with minimal upgrades.

Personally, I hate automatics. I wish I had a manual in everything I drove.

Anyone know about the driveshaft loop on 2-piece driveshafts?

[joeys66pickup]

i love some stall with my converter...hahaha

[71chevytruckguy]

for the loops you only have to have them behind the front u-joints if your running slicks per ihra/nhra rules. so for a 2 piece you would need one where the shaft meets the yoke comin out of the trans and behind the trailing are crossmember where the first half of the shaft meets the second half. made a i pic to show it better. black is the driveshaft pieces, green is the u-joints blue is the transmission yoke, yellow is the pinion yoke, and red is there you need the loops. hope that makes sense, Chris.

[scatesracing]

Why not just put in a one piece.... I broke my stock 12 bolt posi with 4.10s and a stock 28 spline nine inch 4.30 gear and a mini spool ... never a drive shaft prob... both with an stock automatic with a shift kit (lots of stall) Now i have a nine inch with 33 spline,583 gears and a full spool, tranny brake 5200 stall.... and the same 15 year old u joints in my stock junk yard one piece drive shaft... holding up so far... Travis

[nxtruck]

Originally Posted by scatesracing

Why not just put in a one piece.... I broke my stock 12 bolt posi with 4.10s and a stock 28 spline nine inch 4.30 gear and a mini spool ... never a drive shaft prob... both with an stock automatic with a shift kit (lots of stall) Now i have a nine inch with 33 spline,583 gears and a full spool, tranny brake 5200 stall.... and the same 15 year old u joints in my stock junk yard one piece drive shaft... holding up so far... Travis

I agree with Travis on this. It is extremely easy to swap in a 1-piece in place of the 2-piece on these trucks. You don't have to cut the factory carrier bearing crossmember out to do this, either. I did this swap a few years ago and don't regret doing it. You eliminate one u-joint and a carrier bearing as potential problems and negate the need for a second driveshaft loop. I know that some guys are hesitant to use a 1-piece shaft in an application such as this because of the length, and to be honest, if it had to be much longer, I'd be more inclined to use a 2-piece unit. But, there are a lot of 1/2 ton 2wd pickups that come factory with a 1-piece shaft, and you can bet that the manufacturers have spent some time and money making sure that there would not be any durability or vibration problems.
Just my opinions...

[BADGMC]

My stock 2 piece shaft with u joints from 1985 has never given me an issue and I've been running 10.50's-60's for a couple of years with low 1.50 60ft.'s and I even twisted the input shaft on the transmission and no issues with the stock shaft. A one peice shaft properly build for that length is way more money than the second driveshaft loop you need. As long as what you have is in good shape just run two loops and you should be fine.

[Jim_PA]

Thanks everyone -- The pic is perfect! -

[scatesracing]

I was thinking of trying an aluminum one out of a middle 90s chevy or gmc.... I wonder how close the length is ??

[SSC's76]

Some good advice here. Launching at 2-3 isnt that bad and the way you plan on launching isnt harsh enough to cause any damage just the full throttle shifts afterwards tend to be harsh on the drivetrain. What is kinda nice about the 2 peice drive shaft if your making alot of power off the line and your getting axle twist the 2 peice units are alot nicer on tail shafts and the carrier bearing takes the load of course this has its down side as well.

[Jim_PA]

Carrier bearings are relatively cheap though

I am thinking about a one piece, but that won't happen within the next 4 weeks --

Is anyone using the $22 summit driveshaft loops?