1350 Driveshaft vs a Stock JL Driveshaft

[Jeep Generation]

Well over due upgrade for us. We finally replaced our stock rear driveshaft for a new Tom Wood's 1350 driveshaft. This video shows the differences of a 1350 and a stock driveshaft, plus step by step install. We ripped the boot and dented our stock driveshaft in multiple spots, we lost the grease that is held in by the boot and the driveshaft vibrated due to the dents. All fixed now!

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[Jeep Generation]

Someone ask me this on another source. Thought that I would share. Great information...


"I'm confused about 1350 vs 1310. A lot of people say to use 1310 because you want your driveshaft to be the weakest link and that 1350 is too strong and will cause other parts to break which will cause more to fix. What's your take?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great question. That is a question I asked Shawn from Tom Wood's and he gave me a great explanation. He is the expert, so I'll give you his response down below....
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"Hi, here’s my answer to why 1350 is better in a JL than 1310. Before I get into all the specifics, I should mention that we actually don’t even offer a 1310 JL shaft. We feel that a 1310 is underrated for the front shaft and down right dangerous for the rear shaft. For the JL specifically, we have decided that we would rather lose a customer than to sell someone a shaft for which we are not confident that it will be safe and reliable. I’ll explain the factors which have influenced that decision.

The newer Jeeps are “Not your dad’s Jeep Wrangler”. For decades a Dana 30, 35, or 44 was the same. It didn’t matter if it was in a Jeep, a Chevy, a Scout, they were all essentially the same. When the JK came out, they called the axles by the same name but they were a bit different. Pretty much all the components were beefed up. Bigger axle joint, bigger pinion shaft, etc. There is a good explanation of this here https://www.dynatrac.com/blog/the-difference-between-new-generation-dana-44-axles-and-older-ones/ . This confuses a lot of people. Naturally they think “Jeep Wrangler, Dana 44; a 1310 series drive shaft has been worked fine in Jeeps for 20 years, why wouldn’t it work now?”. But the newer wranglers and the axles they come with are a far cry from a Jeep Wrangler circa 1990. With the introduction of the JL, things got even bigger. I don’t know about the rest of the axle components but a JL pinion shaft is huge, nearly 1.5” in diameter whereas an old school dana 44 pinion is about 1.125”. The Dana 44 pinion shaft in a JL is noticeably larger in diameter than a pinion shaft from a dana 60. This is also true of the transfer case. A 231 transfer case that came in almost every jeep pre-JK used a 26 spline output shaft. The 241 transfer case that comes in a JK or JK uses a 32 spline output shaft, the same as a 205 or an Atlas! So when people talk about wanting their drive shaft to be the “fuse”. I say that’s fine, as long as they aren’t using a 20 amp fuse in a 30 amp circuit so to speak.

A JL is just a bigger, heavier, more powerful vehicle. More weight takes more effort to move. A JL weighs about 1,000lbs more than a TJ, that is a 30% increase in weight. Horsepower, 260 vs 150-190 depending on the motor. Again, a huge increase. And size, the bigger vehicle means more stuff you can load into it and more weight you can add to it. The available torque in a JL is greater, all of it, it is all bigger.

With the bigger JL jeep one can run 40 inch tires with just a few inches of lift, something that would have been unheard of in a TJ or YJ. Those bigger tires take more effort to turn because they are moving the jeep forward further per rotation. For rough numbers, one rotation of a 35 inch tire moves the jeep forward about 109”, one rotation of a 40 inch tire moves the Jeep forward about 125”. Think of your tire as a rack and pinion gear. The bigger the tire, the bigger the “gear” and the less mechanical advantage you have in moving all that weight through space. Newer Jeeps almost always run bigger tires than the older wranglers, so the drivetrain needs to be a bit stronger.

So that’s my 15 minute dissertation. Yes, it makes sense to have the drive shaft be less strong than something more expensive like the transfer case. But people are often unaware of just how strong everything is. On the flip side. If a guy with a TJ or YJ or CJ thinks he wants to run a 1350 shaft against his stock transfer case and stock axles, we will say “No you don’t, you’ll be making the drive shaft stronger than the rest of the drivetrain.” ."

 

[Jeep Generation]

We stopped by Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts to get a new Front 1350 Shaft. Big THANKS to Shawn and the rest of the Team over at Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts for letting us stop by and film the process of making a Custom Drive Shaft for our Jeep JL.

 

[wibornz]

Someone ask me this on another source. Thought that I would share. Great information...


"I'm confused about 1350 vs 1310. A lot of people say to use 1310 because you want your driveshaft to be the weakest link and that 1350 is too strong and will cause other parts to break which will cause more to fix. What's your take?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great question. That is a question I asked Shawn from Tom Wood's and he gave me a great explanation. He is the expert, so I'll give you his response down below....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hi, here’s my answer to why 1350 is better in a JL than 1310. Before I get into all the specifics, I should mention that we actually don’t even offer a 1310 JL shaft. We feel that a 1310 is underrated for the front shaft and down right dangerous for the rear shaft. For the JL specifically, we have decided that we would rather lose a customer than to sell someone a shaft for which we are not confident that it will be safe and reliable. I’ll explain the factors which have influenced that decision.

The newer Jeeps are “Not your dad’s Jeep Wrangler”. For decades a Dana 30, 35, or 44 was the same. It didn’t matter if it was in a Jeep, a Chevy, a Scout, they were all essentially the same. When the JK came out, they called the axles by the same name but they were a bit different. Pretty much all the components were beefed up. Bigger axle joint, bigger pinion shaft, etc. There is a good explanation of this here https://www.dynatrac.com/blog/the-difference-between-new-generation-dana-44-axles-and-older-ones/ . This confuses a lot of people. Naturally they think “Jeep Wrangler, Dana 44; a 1310 series drive shaft has been worked fine in Jeeps for 20 years, why wouldn’t it work now?”. But the newer wranglers and the axles they come with are a far cry from a Jeep Wrangler circa 1990. With the introduction of the JL, things got even bigger. I don’t know about the rest of the axle components but a JL pinion shaft is huge, nearly 1.5” in diameter whereas an old school dana 44 pinion is about 1.125”. The Dana 44 pinion shaft in a JL is noticeably larger in diameter than a pinion shaft from a dana 60. This is also true of the transfer case. A 231 transfer case that came in almost every jeep pre-JK used a 26 spline output shaft. The 241 transfer case that comes in a JK or JK uses a 32 spline output shaft, the same as a 205 or an Atlas! So when people talk about wanting their drive shaft to be the “fuse”. I say that’s fine, as long as they aren’t using a 20 amp fuse in a 30 amp circuit so to speak.

A JL is just a bigger, heavier, more powerful vehicle. More weight takes more effort to move. A JL weighs about 1,000lbs more than a TJ, that is a 30% increase in weight. Horsepower, 260 vs 150-190 depending on the motor. Again, a huge increase. And size, the bigger vehicle means more stuff you can load into it and more weight you can add to it. The available torque in a JL is greater, all of it, it is all bigger.

With the bigger JL jeep one can run 40 inch tires with just a few inches of lift, something that would have been unheard of in a TJ or YJ. Those bigger tires take more effort to turn because they are moving the jeep forward further per rotation. For rough numbers, one rotation of a 35 inch tire moves the jeep forward about 109”, one rotation of a 40 inch tire moves the Jeep forward about 125”. Think of your tire as a rack and pinion gear. The bigger the tire, the bigger the “gear” and the less mechanical advantage you have in moving all that weight through space. Newer Jeeps almost always run bigger tires than the older wranglers, so the drivetrain needs to be a bit stronger.

So that’s my 15 minute dissertation. Yes, it makes sense to have the drive shaft be less strong than something more expensive like the transfer case. But people are often unaware of just how strong everything is. On the flip side. If a guy with a TJ or YJ or CJ thinks he wants to run a 1350 shaft against his stock transfer case and stock axles, we will say “No you don’t, you’ll be making the drive shaft stronger than the rest of the drivetrain.” ."

Very informative..

 

[Jeep Generation]

Upgraded the front drive shaft to a 1350 Tom Wood's to match our rear. Both stock once were wrecked.

 

[Rodeoflyer]

They offer a 1410 now for about $150 more B-E-E-F

 

[Hercules]

Random question from a newbie here- first off awesome videos. I have a JLURD, had a shop install a clayton overland 2.5 in lift. They’ve recommend a front driveshaft replacement (I’m assuming to the angle) if you expect to flex it hard. I haven’t pushed it yet, but want to get ahead of the game. The install seems straightforward enough. My one question is with the LCAs and front geometry set as it is without problems, will I need to adjust anything for pinion/castor during the front drive shaft install, or is it simply measure correct length needed, take out the old, and bolt in the new, nothing else required?

 

[Rodeoflyer]

Nothing else required, you won't hear much in responses because it's debatable.

If I was you, I'd go ahead and just replace the front POS front DS. It's a slipjoint.

I haven't yet but mines popping like crazy... just a matter of time.

 

[grimmjeeper]

Random question from a newbie here- first off awesome videos. I have a JLURD, had a shop install a clayton overland 2.5 in lift. They’ve recommend a front driveshaft replacement (I’m assuming to the angle) if you expect to flex it hard. I haven’t pushed it yet, but want to get ahead of the game. The install seems straightforward enough. My one question is with the LCAs and front geometry set as it is without problems, will I need to adjust anything for pinion/castor during the front drive shaft install, or is it simply measure correct length needed, take out the old, and bolt in the new, nothing else required?

Nothing else required.

The new driveshaft comes with a new yoke for the transfer case. So you pull the old shaft, pull the nut on the yoke and remove the yoke. Bolt the new yoke in place and torque it properly. Then attach the new driveshaft.

You can do it in your driveway. Just make sure you have the right tools to deal with the pinion nut. I forget the size off hand but it's big and it's metric. It's also torqued to 166 ft-lbs.

 

[Hercules]

Awesome. I’ll Probably go down and rent one form autozone of something. As far as the rest, seems feasible. Might be time to put an order it with tom
Woods. Ill
Do front DS first, then the rear later on when the stock one shows wear. With Clayton’s warning and being kn the fringe with a 2.5 lift, I don’t really want to toy too much with DD issues up front in 4wd. That Grease that was referred to in the video for the splines (rtv?), does it have a specific real name?

 

[J0E]

Upgraded the front drive shaft to a 1350 Tom Wood's to match our rear. Both stock once were wrecked.

My JLR front was toast, exactly like you describe your rear and your front. Had to go with Adams because they had by far the cheapest shipping to HI. The Adams tech I talked to said I might get another year or more out of my rear. Currently on 37's but going to 38's.

They offer a 1410 now for about $150 more B-E-E-F

But that sounds like putting a 1350 on a TJ, per the following:

. On the flip side. If a guy with a TJ or YJ or CJ thinks he wants to run a 1350 shaft against his stock transfer case and stock axles, we will say “No you don’t, you’ll be making the drive shaft stronger than the rest of the drivetrain.” ."

Do front DS first, then the rear later on when the stock one shows wear. With Clayton’s warning and being kn the fringe with a 2.5 lift, I don’t really want to toy too much with DD issues up front in 4wd. That Grease that was referred to in the video for the splines (rtv?), does it have a specific real name?

Exactly my plan.

 

[grimmjeeper]

Awesome. I’ll Probably go down and rent one form autozone of something. As far as the rest, seems feasible. Might be time to put an order it with tom
Woods. Ill
Do front DS first, then the rear later on when the stock one shows wear. With Clayton’s warning and being kn the fringe with a 2.5 lift, I don’t really want to toy too much with DD issues up front in 4wd. That Grease that was referred to in the video for the splines (rtv?), does it have a specific real name?

It's RTV silicone. Basically liquid gasket maker. A little bit between the splines makes sure fluid doesn't seep out. Easy to find at any auto parts store.

The nut is maybe 31 or 32 millimeters. A 1-1/4" socket is close enough if it's a 6 point socket.

Also, do yourself a favor and don't use red locktite. Use blue. Your future self will thank you when it comes time to pull it apart for maintenance.

Finally, on the axle flange (not on the transfer case side) use some antiseize between the flange on the axle and the flange yoke on the driveshaft.

 

[Hercules]

Thanks for the advice. Always can count on good help from JL forum mbrs.

 

[Anthonylewis208]

Is anyone having clearance issues with a 1350 front driveshaft and some sort of external cooling bypass filter thingy coming off the transmission? I did not go with a Tom Woods, rather a local shop. Wondering if their 1350 has larger joints possibly causing the issues. Sheered off the filter a little and caused a slow drip leak of Trans fluid. 1st time using the new DS and it was a bummer. Thanks in advance.

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