4340/4140 Chromoly TTB Slip Yoke

['84 Bronco II]

Does anyone know of a vendor for chromoly slip yokes for the center joint of a Dana 35/Dana 44 TTB?

You can get pretty affordable 4340 axle shafts sets for the Dana 35 and Dana 44 TTB through Jeff's Bronco Graveyard now, but no one lists a 4340 slip yoke for them which pretty much defeats the purpose of buying 4340 shafts in the first place. I talked to Solo Motorsports over a year ago and they said they should have one soon, but every time I checked back, they kept telling me "just a little while longer" until I lost interest. I'll probably try calling them again this week.

Yes, I am aware of the Dana 50 center joint swap which is great for guys with Dana 44s, but you still don't have a 4340 inner shaft then. If I can get some 30 spline side gears I might look into that for my Dana 35. I am trying to keep this as cheap/easy and bolt in as possible though and I am not sure about the clearance of a 1350 center joint in a Dana 35 beam.

Carnage picture for funsies. Full circle clips and welding most of the U-joint caps in is not enough

 

[bdkw1]

Too much weld, just tack them.

 

['84 Bronco II]

Too much weld, just tack them.

Tacks don't do shit

I have tried stock, just tacked, just full circle clips, and lately I have been running full circle clips with the caps half welded in. Tacks don't seem to be any better than doing nothing and the caps just eject and take out the ears. With full-circle clips, the ears will stretch and the caps will freely spin in the ears before the ears rip out. With full circle clips and welds reinforcing the ears where they tear out, they last significantly longer, but still break.

Welding the caps in like pictured above is fairly common in rock buggies not running 300M bling shafts.

EDIT: I just looked through my pictures and realized I've gone nearly two years on this on this slip yoke and it has been about 18 months since my last shaft failure (when I started welding the caps 50% in). In that time, I have done the hardest wheeling I have ever done with the Bronco II and that is about the longest I have gone between breaks. I would say the combination of full circle clips and welding the caps half way in has definitely been an improvement over tacked or full circle clips on their own.

 

[willis_racing]

So when we were out there after the break didn't you mention something about the shaft on the TTB 3rd members being a regular Ford 31 spline setup with an extra seal thrown in somewhere?

From the looks of things, chromoly slip yokes are readily available in 31 spl if you can figure out how to run a 1350. I found one for 1310 but it's on backorder. What's the center Ujoint size again?

 

[arse_sidewards]

chromoly slip yokes are readily available in 31 spl if you can figure out how to run a 1350.

Shouldn't that be as easy as cut a chromo 1350 long side inner for whatever is cheap (Jeep?) to the right length and send it to someone (Moser?) who'll put a new spline on

 

[willis_racing]

Shouldn't that be as easy as cut a chromo 1350 long side inner for whatever is cheap (Jeep?) to the right length and send it to someone (Moser?) who'll put a new spline on

Seemed like his concern with a 1350 in a D35ttb is the yoke ears physically fitting inside the beam when installed, so I was more going for how can we find a yoke that'll run his normal size Ujoint, but honestly running a 1350 in the center is likely not a bad move if all it takes is one more lightly modified shaft. He may not be a good enough welder to make room for a 1350 in the beam pocket but he knows I am

 

['84 Bronco II]

So when we were out there after the break didn't you mention something about the shaft on the TTB 3rd members being a regular Ford 31 spline setup with an extra seal thrown in somewhere?

From the looks of things, chromoly slip yokes are readily available in 31 spl if you can figure out how to run a 1350. I found one for 1310 but it's on backorder. What's the center Ujoint size again?

Shouldn't that be as easy as cut a chromo 1350 long side inner for whatever is cheap (Jeep?) to the right length and send it to someone (Moser?) who'll put a new spline on

Dana 35 and 44 TTBs use the standard 5-297X/760X axle shaft joint which has bigger 1.1875" caps like a 1350 driveline joint but with a 1310 cross width, so a regular 1310 transmission slip yoke won't work for that.

If I can get a 30 spline side gear from Eaton (I previously tried and couldn't), or get my existing ones broached by Branik, I could upgrade to a Dana 50 inner and slip yoke which would probably hold up alright assuming I can get it to reasonably clear the Dana 35 beams; I know people typically have to do some clearancing on Dana 44 beams. The problem is that the aftermarket does not make Dana 50 TTB style shafts to get something to work with my existing 27 spline side gears. I could potentially get a Jeep JK/JL style 27 spline shaft made which uses 5-7166X joints that are the same dimensionally as the 5-1350X joints used in Dana 50 axleshafts, but with inside retaining rings instead of external retaining rings. I could probably buy a 5-1350X and 5-7166X and swap two of the caps to make it work with the Dana 50 slip yoke.

I was hoping to get a lead on a direct replacement chromoly slip yoke for a 5-297X-760X joint that would serve as a stronger stock-replacement solution that would avoid the need for custom parts.

 

[CowBro]

I have been wheeling d35 and d44 beams in my bronco2s and rangers for 20 years and I am 99% sure the piece you are asking for doesn't exist (yet).

I am currently running the JBG chromo shafts in my d44 ttb with a d50 center slip shaft, so far so good. I had to clearance thr d44 beam to fit the 1350 shaft, I just ground it down and welded a gusset on to support the area.

My $.02 would be, unless you want to spend $$$ on custom shit, I would have someone tig weld the next set to reduce the heat input, there is a chance the mig weld on there affected the shaft. And run that with a good spare on hand, and make it a regular maintenance point to check that joint before/after every trip.

One other thought. Are you possibly Over flexing that joint? It is not hard to max out the angles on the center joint. I keep mine strapped at a conservative 14" of travel with no bind.

Phil

 

['84 Bronco II]

I heard back from Branik, $500 to EDM my side gears to 30 spline. I also talked to Solo, and they said that they are on revision 2 of their Chromoly Dana 35/Dana 44 TTB slip yoke and that it is very close to being released, but they are still working to get the angle out of it that they want. They told me to call them back in the middle of next week, so I hope that means they are going to have something available imminently?

I have been wheeling d35 and d44 beams in my bronco2s and rangers for 20 years and I am 99% sure the piece you are asking for doesn't exist (yet).

I am currently running the JBG chromo shafts in my d44 ttb with a d50 center slip shaft, so far so good. I had to clearance thr d44 beam to fit the 1350 shaft, I just ground it down and welded a gusset on to support the area.

My $.02 would be, unless you want to spend $$$ on custom shit, I would have someone tig weld the next set to reduce the heat input, there is a chance the mig weld on there affected the shaft. And run that with a good spare on hand, and make it a regular maintenance point to check that joint before/after every trip.

One other thought. Are you possibly Over flexing that joint? It is not hard to max out the angles on the center joint. I keep mine strapped at a conservative 14" of travel with no bind.

Phil

I may have cooked it a bit with the MIG, but I don't have any confidence in it holding up much better using a TIG process. I am tired of going to the junkyard to get new shafts, modifying them for full circle retaining rings, and having to tear apart the entire front end to swap them out. Even if I kept spares on me, I really wouldn't want to try and change a center joint out at camp since it sucks bad enough in the shop. A solid axle would serve me better for the way I use the truck currently, but I also like the TTB and don't want to give up on it yet. If I can get roughly a 30% strength increase with 4340 replacement shafts, I think that would probably be enough to keep me from constantly worrying about blowing up a shaft and ruining a trip.

I think I pull around 13" of travel, but I don't remember off the top of my head. I limited my compression travel with bump stops since I would need to tube out the front end. I clearanced the yoke for 33º in both planes before I installed it.

 

[[486]]

I heard back from Branik, $500 to broach my side gears to 30 spline.

do some lathe work (at the bench grinder if you've gotta) to get a d44 side gear into your carrier, weld the gears all together with the carrier because they probably won't act like gears properly

use your locking hubs as your selectable locker

 

['84 Bronco II]

do some lathe work (at the bench grinder if you've gotta) to get a d44 side gear into your carrier, weld the gears all together with the carrier because they probably won't act like gears properly

use your locking hubs as your selectable locker

Been there, done that. It sucks

 

[arse_sidewards]

I didn't measure shit last night. Got home late.

I agree that if Solo has an off the shelf solution that would be worth waiting for. Hopefully it's not too expensive.

Dana 35 and 44 TTBs use the standard 5-297X/760X axle shaft joint which has bigger 1.1875" caps like a 1350 driveline joint but with a 1310 cross width,

Isn't that just a 1330 joint?

I have been wheeling d35 and d44 beams in my bronco2s and rangers for 20 years and I am 99% sure the piece you are asking for doesn't exist (yet).

There's been a huge proliferation of Dana 44-ish sized hardware in the last 20yrs

A lot of this tech is 20yr old.

There might be new combos of shit out there that could work but haven't been tried.

What I personally want to look into is CVs. I bet there's some mishmash of parts that will work if one were willing to run a custom shaft or cut/extend/weld. I just haven't had the time or drive to collect all the info.

 

[bdkw1]

I didn't measure shit last night. Got home late.

I agree that if Solo has an off the shelf solution that would be worth waiting for. Hopefully it's not too expensive.


Isn't that just a 1330 joint?


There's been a huge proliferation of Dana 44-ish sized hardware in the last 20yrs

A lot of this tech is 20yr old.

There might be new combos of shit out there that could work but haven't been tried.

What I personally want to look into is CVs. I bet there's some mishmash of parts that will work if one were willing to run a custom shaft or cut/extend/weld. I just haven't had the time or drive to collect all the info.

RCV does or did do a CV inner. I have had one of those fail too. Drove the last 100 miles with the axle flopping around in the beam. Good times.

 

[arse_sidewards]

RCV does or did do a CV inner. I have had one of those fail too. Drove the last 100 miles with the axle flopping around in the beam. Good times.

I know about that. I was thinking junkyard/Rockauto tech with cheap off the shelf parts. (Not counting the double splined shaft which would be a one time cost because you'd never break it.)

I know the Nissan Armada has CV flanges and a D44. I doubt whatever bolts to it has near enough angle or plunge to survive in a TTB so maybe you'd need to adapt to something else, but that's fairly easy. Wheel end could be whatever bolts to the knuckle (surely there's a unit bearing that fits with either a spacer ring or a re-drill of the knuckle).

 

['84 Bronco II]

Isn't that just a 1330 joint?

No, a 1330 has the same cross width as a 1350, but the same cap diameter as a 1310 driveline joint (1.0625"). The old 5-260X axle joints used in Dana 30s and some Dana 44s are the same size as a 1310 diveline joint, just inside retaining rings vs. external.

RCV does or did do a CV inner. I have had one of those fail too. Drove the last 100 miles with the axle flopping around in the beam. Good times.

I like my TTB, but not enough to drop RCV money on it They don't have an off the shelf axle kits for Dana 35 TTBs; I asked them at KOH when I broke a joint there too in 2022. They will custom make an axle set, but that is just stupid money.

 

[willis_racing]

Isn't that just a 1330 joint?

I was hoping it would be easy like that, but according to this table on the Currie website what we're looking for is a 1310BC or "big cap" yoke
Edit: er, not quite, I got some shit backwards

Standard U-joint Series, Dimensions and Part Numbers

Series	Cross Width	Cap Diameter	Spicer P/N
1310	3.219 (3 7/32”)	1.062 (1 1/16”)	5-1310X
1310BC*	3.219 (3 7/32”)	2 @1.062 (1 1/16”) 2 @ 1.125 (1 1/8”)	5-7439X
1330	3.625 (3 5/8”)	1.062 (1 1/16”)	5-1330X
1330BC*	3.625 (3 5/8”)	2 @ 1.062 (1 1/16”) 2 @ 1.125 (1 1/8”)	5-7438X
1350	3.625 (3 5/8”)	1.188 (1 3/16”)	5-1350X

*BC denotes Big Cap, a Ford creation with two thicker caps to resist the deformation caused by over-torquing of the u-bolt straps.

 

[welndmn]

Jack at CTM made a handfull a few years ago, BUT, as it's not a production part, you'd probably not like the price tag of it.

 

[arse_sidewards]

Still haven't test fit splines. Hasn't dropped off my todo list though.

 

['84 Bronco II]

Jack at CTM made a handfull a few years ago, BUT, as it's not a production part, you'd probably not like the price tag of it.

Thanks, I'll try to reach out to him and see what he has to say.

Sourcing a set of Eaton side gears has been a no-go, but I am not surprised since I couldn't source them a year ago either

 

[M92PV4U]

Full circle clips and welding most of the U-joint caps in is not enough

Try welding a washer over the cap to the yoke to secure it.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Try welding a washer over the cap to the yoke to secure it.

Have done that on a few "custom" pto shafts. They worked, but didnt really hold up all that well

 

['84 Bronco II]

Well, a little update on this. It sounds like Solo is close to having some kind of chromoly slip yoke, but every time I called they seemed confused about it and I kept getting the run around.

If you're interested, call and ask for Bobby, but the last time I talked to him, he started going on about 1330 joints I am not sure if he is confusing 1310WJ (5-760X) with 1330, or if actually means their slip yoke is being made for a 1330 joint. I asked him if they were making a 1330 inner axle shaft to mate with it since no one makes a 1330 axle shaft, and he started rambling about 1350 joints being to big for Dana 35 outers and Dana 44 knuckle swaps.

I need to get this together by Chile Challenge next month, so I ordered the Dana 35 4340 outers and passenger intermediate shaft from JBG, bought a Dana 50 passenger inner and slip yoke off eBay since none of the local yards had one at the moment, and got a custom 4340 30 spline driver side inner from Dutchman.

I tried to source the Eaton side gears again hoping someone had some NOS, but no dice. Fuck Eaton, this would have cost me <$200, but those cock suckers decided they don't need to support their shitty products Branik wants $500 to EDM side gears, so I bought a Yukon 30 spline Zip Locker and figured I could come out ahead selling off the Elocker and washing my hands of this Eaton junk.

Another disclaimer, I originally ordered the Zip Locker from Sexton since they had the best price, but they drop ship directly from the manufacturer and apparently Yukon has discontinued their 30 spline Dana 35 products, and may even be discontinuing support for the Dana 35 all together based on what the sales person told me. I reordered it through Amazon from Quick Performace which supposedly had several still in stock. In hindsight, I wish I had bought an ARB from Northridge since it would have only been $100 more with the Labor Day sale they had going on and I would have a supported carrier in the future.

Ideally, this would have been a good time to do a Dana 44 knuckle swap like I have been wanting to do for a while, but I didn't want to add that to my scope of work to get done in a few weeks and I wasn't keen on spending another $500-$800 on new wheels and getting my tires swapped over.

 

[welndmn]

That Dana 50 slip yoke will fit behind the dana 35 beam, or are you hoping it will?

 

['84 Bronco II]

That Dana 50 slip yoke will fit behind the dana 35 beam, or are you hoping it will?

I am going to make it fit.

 

[TTMotorsports]

Could someone like Branik machine you a custom 4340 axle? It's essentially an outer axle with C-Clip groove unless your axle is early style with bolt in pass stub shaft from the diff

D44 Forged 4340 Custom Length Front Axle Shaft

[email protected]

branikmotorsports.com

 

['84 Bronco II]

Could someone like Branik machine you a custom 4340 axle? It's essentially an outer axle with C-Clip groove unless your axle is early style with bolt in pass stub shaft from the diff

D44 Forged 4340 Custom Length Front Axle Shaft

[email protected]

branikmotorsports.com

The problem is the slip yoke, not the axle shafts. I got a custom 4340 driver side inner from Dutchman, and there are off the shelf Passenger side 4340 inners for both the Dana 35 and Dana 44 TTBs. Dana 35s didn't come out until 1990, so they are all C-clip.

 

[TTMotorsports]

Gotcha. Would have to find someone with the brown or CNC machine you a custom slip axle shaft.

Could you find a 4340 slip that's the correct u joint and than get a customer inner pass side axle made with the splines for the slip?

 

[arse_sidewards]

Gotcha. Would have to find someone with the brown or CNC machine you a custom slip axle shaft.

Could you find a 4340 slip that's the correct u joint and than get a customer inner pass side axle made with the splines for the slip?

You still need the diff side of it though. So you'd be into it for both the custom pass side inner and the diff stub yoke.

You might be able to cut a little bit of expense out by using a D44 IRS CV flange stub and then bolting a companion flange to that with an adapter plate in the middle to account for bolt pattern differences. But I think you'd wind up with too limited angle.

 

['84 Bronco II]

Gotcha. Would have to find someone with the brown or CNC machine you a custom slip axle shaft.

Could you find a 4340 slip that's the correct u joint and than get a customer inner pass side axle made with the splines for the slip?

The axle shafts aren't the problem, you can get those off the shelf and custom made no problem. The issue is the slip yoke for a 5-760X joint like the Dana 44 and Dana 35 use. That is what I was trying to work with Solo on. I also reached out to CTM, but they never answered the phone or returned my messages

The Dana 50 yoke is the only real upgrade option, but then you are stuck sourcing junkyard inner passenger shafts since no one makes new passenger inner shafts, and no one makes custom axle shafts with Dana 50 5-1350X style yokes.

 

[welndmn]

If you've got a custom inner shaft, why can't you use a driveshaft slip yoke?

SONNAX T3-3-4281HP Forged Chromoly Transmission Slip yoke for GM 700R, 4L60, 4L65, 4L70 1350 Series 27 spline | FREE SHIPPING