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How long is too long to wait for driveshafts? Looking for a driveshaft shop...

Glad that worked out well.

For what's worth. None of my local driveshaft was paid until I picked up driveshaft.
 
Looks great! Yea, local shop is good for normal stuff but not many will do what you needed!

I recently completed front driveshaft build for my rig. There are not many options out there for multi-piece high angle. I called HAD, Adams, Tom Woods, and JE Reel. None except HAD were interested in building what I wanted. There is also an outfit called Driveshaft Superstore based in Phoenix that advertises high angle stuff on the web but when I called them they said the website was 10 years old (so the prices were way out-of-date) but they could build something if I gave them the specs.

I tend to view driveshafts as consumable and like carrying spares so I ended up rolling my own by customizing off-the-shelf components. I only needed 32-ish degrees which could be achieved with minimal grinding. A friend machined the tubes to fit the yokes and I ended up with two shafts for $800. The carrier bearing and mid-ship shaft added up to another $900 so I'm like $1,700 in the hole for a front shaft & spare. Shit ain't cheap. :shaking:

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Glad that worked out well.

For what's worth. None of my local driveshaft was paid until I picked up driveshaft.
That’s how most businesses operate
 
Ive always wondered what those parking brake pads look like. Do they sit on the rotor correctly?
 
Glad that worked out well.

For what's worth. None of my local driveshaft was paid until I picked up driveshaft.
That’s how most businesses operate
same here, Southbay Driveline in San Jose, nothing up front.

Usually when you call a business and order custom parts built to your specifications, shipped to your location you're going to pay up front. I have some stuff at a local machine shop, and a local driveline shop right now, and will be paying when I pick them up. Two different types of transactions...

Ive always wondered what those parking brake pads look like. Do they sit on the rotor correctly?

I can get a closer pic or two tomorrow if you want - think they're just regular brake pads, and seem located pretty well. I think they kind of center themselves when the brake is applied, but I'll take another look
 
Nothing up front is fine for something standard that they can resell when you flake.

I can understand how they may want a deposit for some super custom $2k shaft that they can't sell to anyone else. On the other hand, I don't like paying for things that don't exist.

When I've walked into HAD, I have always payed when it's done, fwiw.
 
Usually when you call a business and order custom parts built to your specifications, shipped to your location you're going to pay up front. I have some stuff at a local machine shop, and a local driveline shop right now, and will be paying when I pick them up. Two different types of transactions...
ah, I don't call SouthBay driveline, I just go over there. Maybe over the phone is different.
 
Ive always wondered what those parking brake pads look like. Do they sit on the rotor correctly?

Finally got some pics today. Entire caliper floats around and kind of centers itself where it needs to be. It seems like a nice setup. I was just going to throw a ball valve in-line with the front brakes for a park brake, but the guy I'm building this for wanted this instead. Now that I've done it, I like the mechanical aspect of it. Anyway, I tried to take a pic of how it normally sits vs. when the lever is pushed. And I machined the area around where the bolts hold the mounting bracket to the tail housing, because they were so smokin close to the driveshaft bolts that are spinning. Now I have more room, and can also fit a lockwasher in there as well:grinpimp:

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Now I just have to order the cable and lever setup. I think I'll probably just order something based on my specs from ControlCables.com unless I find something better in the meantime. I just want to be able to build my own handle so I can match it to everything else, so may just build the whole thing. Haven't decided that one yet...
 
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And I got a carrier bearing mount started, but once tacked up I started picturing the type of force it might see from a heavy 'fall off a rock and land on your front driveshaft really fuckin hard' event,'

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and I think I'll probably cut a few pieces out and make it a little heavier duty tomorrow...
 
The pic verifies what ive thought all along. There isnt 100% pad engagement, not that big of a deal for a parking brake.
 
The pic verifies what ive thought all along. There isnt 100% pad engagement, not that big of a deal for a parking brake.
What do you mean by 'pad engagement?' There is maybe 1/16 or 1/8" strip of the top of the brake pad surface that is above the rotor, the rest of the pad surface is touching the rotor - I'd put it at 95+% of pad surface engaging the rotor.

As long as you can crank on the ebrake and it holds strong even on an incline, that's what matters. Hopefully that is the case:homer:
 
What do you mean by 'pad engagement?' There is maybe 1/16 or 1/8" strip of the top of the brake pad surface that is above the rotor, the rest of the pad surface is touching the rotor - I'd put it at 95+% of pad surface engaging the rotor.

As long as you can crank on the ebrake and it holds strong even on an incline, that's what matters. Hopefully that is the case:homer:
It appears theres alot more than 1/16th- 1/8th. Realize, im blind in one eye with 4 year old sears glasses! Anyways now i know after wondering for a long time.
 
It appears theres alot more than 1/16th- 1/8th. Realize, im blind in one eye with 4 year old sears glasses! Anyways now i know after wondering for a long time.

Well, you're looking at a camera-phone pic I took:flipoff2:


Maybe these pics better show what I see in person:

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Although there are 'indentions' in the diameter and it is not perfectly round, so at those parts, there is a little bit of surface area that is not touching, but it is very small. The indentions are probably half the width of the pad, if that makes sense

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Just want to make sure you don't live the rest of your life under the wrong impression:grinpimp:
 
Yeah thats pretty damn good. Dont worry i have wrong impressions of all kinds of things.
 
I know people have already referenced our fast turnaround time but I'd like to weigh in anyways. Here's the straight truth: Covid and the domino effect it has created has created a lot of serious challenges. In 2021 especially we have experienced two things at a level we have never seen before. 1, an incredibly high demand and 2, and incredibly low supply of parts. There was one month in particular where we didn't have all the parts required to build about 50% of the shafts we normally build, we lost money that month. The Covid era has created serious challenges, that is undeniable. What I think really separates the men from the boys is how we react to those challenges. We are always looking ahead and working on ensuring that we are going to have adequate inventory. If we are out of part A we will substitute it with part B whenever possible. If we are out of both part A and part B we'll just mark whatever drive shaft as out of stock and stop selling it. We're never going to accept an order an take someone's money unless we have the parts on the shelf and the manpower required to build what they need. We would rather someone buy a shaft somewhere else than have to wait a month to get one from us. Plus, we don't want a month's worth of work hanging over our heads, we like to stay caught up. I know that there are a couple other drive shaft manufacturers who are confronting the current challenges the same way we are and staying caught up. The point being, there is no reason anything should take weeks or months to produce or ship. You either have the parts on the shelf or you don't and you shouldn't sell something you don't have to sell. As a consumer I'm just as sick of the excuses and the weeks long wait times as the rest of you. As a manager of a business I can tell you that there is a level of control that we still have over things and we don't have to let the obstacles stop us in our tracks. You don't need to accept anything more than a week for a shop to build you a drive shaft.
 
I recently completed front driveshaft build for my rig. There are not many options out there for multi-piece high angle. I called HAD, Adams, Tom Woods, and JE Reel. None except HAD were interested in building what I wanted.

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@Tom Wood's maybe you could comment on the above too?
 
@Tom Wood's maybe you could comment on the above too?
It's really simple to explain. What the guy from Tom Woods is talking about is mass production using off-the-shelf parts. This thread is about custom high angle driveline that normally require custom machine work along with other non-standard components.
 
... also, if Tom Woods doesn't think it will work reliably; they won't build it.
 
... also, if Tom Woods doesn't think it will work reliably; they won't build it.
That's a rather ill defined statement. Is a one ton driveshaft built to flex 35 degrees and running 20 degrees at ride going to last for 100k highways miles? Not likely. Is the same shaft capable of lasting for years under a hard core rock buggy? Yes. Is it "reliable"? I guess it depends.
 
Just like me, but in construction; one explanation is that shops don't like call-backs. I have actually had Tom Woods build me 1350-based, two-piece front shaft for my old LJ though.

I'm not sure if that is why three other shops "weren't interested in building what I [you] wanted."

Sometimes people ask me to build them things that I don't think will work, so I don't do the project.
 
Having seen other driveshafts made by TW, I'm curious as to why they "weren't interested" in your project. I've used Woods extensively in the past, and custom never scared them before.
 
I can't answer why we were not interested in building the shaft. It sounds like that conversation was a long time ago so a can only speculate. I can see that there is a carrier bearing, intermediate shaft, and a second drive shaft involved; basically a two piece drive shaft. There are of course many factors that are important such as angles, tire diameter, horsepower, and intended use that are important in our evaluation of what can built. I can't tell from the photos if this is a 1350 series or a 1410 series shaft, my guess is 1350 but if it was 1410 we cannot build a 1410 series two piece shaft. Also, when it comes to two piece shafts we hall have our own designs and different ways of approaching it. Ours can be found here Two Piece Front Shaft. Perhaps the way we build them was not the way this vehicle needed. Frankly, two piece shafts suck, there is no way to make them work well, it is just a matter of making them work as well as they can given the circumstances. We may have thought that what we could offer would not be adequate or we may have been out of the parts required to build such a shaft, in either scenario we would indeed turn away a customer. I'm not however talking about mass production using off the shelf parts. We build many drive shafts that require extensive machine work or creative designs. Even so, some things are just outside of our wheelhouse and we'd rather admit that and say no than to sell you something that we don't have full confidence in.
 
I can't answer why we were not interested in building the shaft. It sounds like that conversation was a long time ago so a can only speculate. I can see that there is a carrier bearing, intermediate shaft, and a second drive shaft involved; basically a two piece drive shaft. There are of course many factors that are important such as angles, tire diameter, horsepower, and intended use that are important in our evaluation of what can built. I can't tell from the photos if this is a 1350 series or a 1410 series shaft, my guess is 1350 but if it was 1410 we cannot build a 1410 series two piece shaft. Also, when it comes to two piece shafts we hall have our own designs and different ways of approaching it. Ours can be found here Two Piece Front Shaft. Perhaps the way we build them was not the way this vehicle needed. Frankly, two piece shafts suck, there is no way to make them work well, it is just a matter of making them work as well as they can given the circumstances. We may have thought that what we could offer would not be adequate or we may have been out of the parts required to build such a shaft, in either scenario we would indeed turn away a customer. I'm not however talking about mass production using off the shelf parts. We build many drive shafts that require extensive machine work or creative designs. Even so, some things are just outside of our wheelhouse and we'd rather admit that and say no than to sell you something that we don't have full confidence in.
:beer:
 
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