i have an 83 4wd pickup and i just lifted it and the rear driveshaft needs to be extended 4 1/4 inches .ok i hear it is expensive to lengthen but cheap to cut one just wanted some input here... do i have any options like what other models driveshafts will fit/be longer so i can have it cut cheaply? how much did you guys pay to have one lengthened what am i looking at here?? thanks

 

How much did you lift it? Where/how did you come up with a figure of 4 1/2 inch? Any pictures?

 

6 inches and haha 4 1/4 was just my best guess hey maybe you can give me some input there to.... i measured and with adding 4 1/4 inches ill have 3/4 of an inch for it to play if it sets way down in the back i guess that'll be enough??

 

and ill get pics soon its a beater haha got a big project on my hands i got it cheap its got its dings but nothing horrible and i got got a few rust spots in the bed to take care of but startin slowly i put 5.29s and detroit front and rear in so we'll see how she works with a 36in tsl on her. gotta get a carb for her and fix the brakes too and the smart one i got it from took the front bumper off so gotta find a new one somewhere..its a shame they dont make a go to hell bumper for those years...

 

Did you actually measure the flange-flange length for the rear shaft? They usually do not need lengthening with a lift. Mine was not affected with a 3.5-4" lift.

And if it needs lengthening, check with your local driveline shop(s). Often a good idea to have it retubed with heavier wall tubing. The stock tubing is pretty thin and dents quite easily in the rocks.

 

Did you do a transmission swap in addition to the lift where you would end up having to lengthen your driveshaft?

you can find out how to measure for your driveshaft here:http://www.4xshaft.com/index.html

 

the guy i got it off of said he put another trans out an 83 its a 5 speed(supposedly identical to what came out) and before i lifted it it was fine but now i mean heck i can jump in the bed and it'll fall out its barely in there... i just thought id ask about what kinda price am i looking at to have it lengthened??

 

I paid $200 to have the front lengthened and the rear shortened when I put my crawler in.

 

If you know the stock length of the driveshaft, and the stock angle, and height, you could just easily use the Pythagorean theorem to find the longer length of the hypotenuse (drive shaft) to a pretty close estimate how far it actually has been lengthened...(Two measurements, stock and after lift, to compare the hypotenuse)