
Toyota Driveshaft Spacers

a division of Visual Diagnostics LLC
Visitor #
8769
since 05.MAR.2008

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NOTE: Due to extraordinary high order volume, it may take some time for production and shipments to catch up. Order backlog could be up to 5-6 weeks, so if it bothers you to have your order delayed that long, wait until we catch up before placing your order.
On the Toyota 4WD Pickups, 4Runners and Land Cruisers, the front and
rear drive shaft bolt to "companion" flanges on the transfer
case with a mating flange on the driveshaft. On the 2WD pickups, the
drive shaft typically slides into a slip yoke output on the
transmission and bolts to the rear differential with a flange. Up until
now, the only way to make a driveshaft longer was to remove it and have
a drive line shop cut the existing tubing off the driveshaft and weld
on a new length of tubing. If you needed a significant change in
length, this was not so bad to do. But often, you only needed to
lengthen the shaft a small amount, from 3/4" to 1-1/2" for
example. Since you had pay for a whole new length of driveshaft tubing
(plus the labor to install it) and not just the additional inch or so
of additional tubing, it could cost hundreds of dollars to have a shaft
lengthened, even a short amount.
What are some indications that your driveshaft is too short?
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One obvious indication is that the slip yoke on the driveshaft pulls
apart as the suspension drops away from the vehicle. This is typical of
front drive shafts, especially with a leaf sprung front axle with
rear-mounted spring shackles, as is common on solid axle Toyota
min-trucks (both factory and solid axle swaps).
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Another less obvious indication is that the slip yoke is not engaged
far enough and thus it causes some vibration. An easy way to check for
this condition is to grasp the center section of the driveshaft near
the slip yoke and give it a good tug side-side. If you feel any play in
that slip yoke, you may have too little spline engagement inside (or
the slip yoke may be out of grease or even worn out).
Ideally, you only want just a little more slip yoke compression travel
than needed by the change in driveshaft length as the suspension fully
compresses. How much is that? It is hard to give an exact answer, as
every vehicle is different. Generally a rear driveshaft needs less slip
yoke travel than a front driveshaft. A longer driveshaft generally
needs less slip yoke travel than a shorter one. A driveshaft that is at
a flatter angle will generally need less travel than one at a steeper
angle.
So how do you determine how much slip yoke travel you need on your
vehicle?
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You might try driving someplace where you can go over some bumps to get
the rear (or front) end to compress fully. Then hop out and examine the
cleared portion of the driveshaft slip yoke and mark or measure the
amount of compression observed.
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You could take some careful measurements of the shaft length and height
on each end then use that to draw out a triangle, with the shaft on the
hypotenuse of the triangle. Then measure how far your suspension can
compress from the static ride height and use that to create a new
triangle with the shorter height due to the suspension compression.
Then solve for the length change of the driveshaft.
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Aside from the above, you should probably have 1" to 1-1/2"
of rear shaft slip yoke compression length. Up front, you'll probably
need 2" or more of slip yoke compression travel, depending on your
suspension travel, where the spring shackles are located, etc.
Generally having too much slip yoke compression travel is better than
not enough. Whatever you do, you do not want the driveshaft to
"bottom out", as that can cause severe damage to the transfer
case, as it will take the brunt of the impact should the slip yoke
compress fully. But if you have so much slip yoke pull apart that it
separates or vibrates is no good either. Until now there has only been
one solution, that is to have the shaft physically lengthened at
considerable expense. But now available for the Toyota 2WD and 4WD
trucks are some simple bolt-on spacers that fit many of the common
driveshaft bolt patterns and typical application listed below:
The spacers are machined from billet T-6061 aluminum and are
~4.25"/108mm in diameter (does not need to match the outer
diameter of the transfer case or pinion flange) and include 4 - 10mm
metric grade 12.9 mounting bolts and lock nuts to replace the stock
mounting bolts. These spacers may fit other Toyota driveshaft flanges
and feature a male locating ring on one side and a corresponding female
recess on the back side (both approx. 46mm in diameter) to fit the
corresponding ring and recess on the stock driveshaft and companion
flanges. To check if your's will work, measure the center-center bolt
hole spacing and compare to the above dimensions and see if you match
up with one of the 3 bolt patterns,
Notes:
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(*)
For the '79-'83 pickup rear drive shafts (that use a 60mm x 60mm x 8mm
bolt pattern) there are several options available:
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The first option is to re-drill the transfer
case and drive shaft flange holes to 10mm to accommodate the larger,
late-model 10mm bolts.
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Simply order the regular spacer in the
thickness desired.
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(**) For the '79-'83 pickup rear drive shafts (that use
a 56mm x 64mm x 8mm or 9mm bolt pattern) there are several options
available:
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The first option is to order an un-drilled
spacer and then drill the spacer to match the flange on the driveshaft.
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If this option is chosen, you'll be
getting the 10mm hardware, so plan on drilling out the flanges to fit
the 10mm bolts.
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The second option is to send in the flange
off the transfer case and an un-drilled spacer will be custom drilled
to match your flange.
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Cost for the custom drilling is
US$25.00 plus the cost of the spacer.
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This includes one set of 4 holes, if
additional sets of holes are required, add $10.00/set of 4 holes.
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A mating flange is reuired to ensure
proper fitting of the holes in the spacer to the flange.
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For the 8mm bolts, a third option is that
sleeves to step down the spacer hole size from 10mm to 8mm are
available. They cost $15.00 for a set of 4.
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In addition, 8mm bolts and nuts are
availble for a cost of $15.00 for the set of 4 alone, or $10.00
additional in place of the standard 10mm hardware.
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So, for a spacer with 10mm holes, a
set of 4 - 10mm/8mm sleeves and 8mm hardware (in place of the 10mm
hardware), add $25.00 to the cost of the desired spacer. Allow approx.
1 week extra time for the sleeves and hardware as they are special
order items.
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(***) Some Tacoma pickups use a 65mm
square bolt pattern.
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Now a special single drilled spacer is
available for that application.
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The standard triple-drilled spacers directly fit
the bolt patterns listed in RED in the table above.
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Also available are un-drilled spacers.
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If the above bolt hole patterns do not fit your requirements, you can
purchase an un-drilled spacer then drill it to fit your driveshaft
flange. This would be applicable for the 1st gen 4WD pickups which use
the smaller 8mm driveshaft bolts or for some of the later model Toyotas
that use a pattern different than above.
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For the 8mm bolt applications, a hardware kit is available for $10.00
additional.
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These spacers will also work with the FJ-40 and FJ-60 Land Cruisers,
after marking and drilling the blank spacer to match the driveshaft
flange bolt pattern.
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These vehicles typically use an 11mm flange bolt (~7/16").
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Allow approx. 1-2 weeks for for custom
orders.
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NOTE: Due to extraordinary high order volume, it may take some time for production and shipments to catch up. Order backlog could be up to 5-6 weeks, so if it bothers you to have your order delayed that long, wait until we catch up before placing your order.
Order a drive shaft spacer below:
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Inventory:
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0.75" - In-stock
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1.00" - In-stock
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1.25" - In-stock
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1.50" - In-stock
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| 0.75" Spacer; US$65.00 |
1.00" Spacer; US$68.00 |
1.25" Spacer; US$71.00 |
1.50" Spacer; US$74.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
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Inventory:
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0.75" - In-stock
-
1.00" - In-stock
-
1.25" - In-stock
-
1.50" - In-stock
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 0.75" Spacer/65mm; US$65.00 |
1.00" Spacer/65mm; US$68.00 |
1.25" Spacer/65mm; US$71.00 |
1.50" Spacer/65mm; US$74.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
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Inventory:
-
0.75" - In-stock
-
1.00" - In-stock
-
1.25" - In-stock
-
1.50" - In-stock
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 0.75" Spacer/un-drilled; US$65.00 |
1.00" Spacer/un-drilled; US$68.00 |
1.25" Spacer/un-drilled; US$71.00 |
1.50" Spacer/un-drilled; US$74.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
US Delivery; $8.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
International Delivery; $13.00 |
Notes:
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Your order will be shipped via Priority Mail for domestic (US
addresses, including APO/FPO) with a delivery tracking number provided
at time of shipment.
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2-3 days delivery time typical, expedited shipping available at an
additional cost.
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International orders will be
shipped via US Priority Mail International by default
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6-10 days delivery time typical, expedited shipping available at an
additional cost.
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Unused parts may be returned for a refund,
less the cost of postage on the original shipment and a 10% restocking
fee.
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Please be sure to double check your shipping address, both that it is
correct and that it is able to receive US Mail deliveries.
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Also, international shipments require a local telephone number for
customs paperwork, include that in the "Note To Seller" field
of the order form.
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Lack of phone number will delay shipment of the parts.
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Returns Policy:
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Parts may be returned for a refund within 30 days of original purchase.
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A 10% restocking fee will be deducted from original purchase price less
outgoing postage.
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Parts must be in new and unused condition for the refund.
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Used or blemished parts can yield partial refunds at the discretion of
4Crawler Offroad.
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The customer is responsible for return shipping charges.
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One exception to this policy is in the case that the spacers do not fit
properly.
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In such a case 4Crawler Offroad will refund the full purchase price
less shipping.
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Return to:
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4Crawler Offroad Products
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attn: Roger Brown
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PO Box 61092
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Sunnyvale, CA. 94088-1092
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Installed spacer on transfer case
output flange |
Allow approximately 30 minutes for the installation, assuming you don't
run into any rusted or damaged fasteners.
While you should not have to separate the drive shaft to install the
spacer, it is a good idea to put an alignment mark across both sides of
the slip yoke. Some white paint works well and will help you re-align
the slip yoke if you accidentally pull it apart.
Typically, the stock drive shaft (a.k.a. propeller shaft) flange bolts
use a 14mm head, so you'll need a pair of 14mm combination wrenches to
remove those. For the rear driveshaft, block the vehicle's tires or
place the rear axle on jack stands for easier removal. You can place
the transmission in neutral and release the parking brake if needed.
Break the stock flange bolts loose at the transfer case and then remove
them. Support the driveshaft before removing the last bolt to keep it
from falling. Then compress the slip yoke enough to allow insertion of
the spacer. Then slip the spacer in between the transfer case output
flange and the driveshaft flange and turn it to make sure you have the
proper set of 4 bolt holes in alignment. Slip in one of the supplied
metric socket head cab screws, a lock nut and washer (if needed).
Repeat for the other 3 bolt holes, just to make sure all 4 bolts are
installed before tightening them. If you find the bolts hard to
install, use a small round file to clean out the insides of the holes
in the flanges to make installation easier.
For un-drilled spacers, you'll want to use the existing flange to mark
the spacer for the location of the new bolt holes. The spacer can be
clamped to either the drive shaft or transfer case flange, probably
easiest to remove the flange from the transfer case output (30mm staked
nut holds it in place) and use that, clamping it to the spacer so it
does not move. Select a drill bit that just fits inside the bolt hole
or use a transfer punch to mark the hole locations. If you are unsure
of your drilling skills, you may elect to mark and drill one hole at a
time and then use that freshly drilled hole and a bolt to secure the
spacer to the flange for marking and drilling the next hole. Once the
hole location is marked, remove the flange and drill out that hole (a
drill press works best to ensure a straight hole). Use a bit that is as
big as or slightly larger than the hole in the flange. Once all 4 holes
are drilled, make sure all 4 bolts fit into the flange, spacer and
drive shaft before proceeding. If you find a slight misalignment, you
can run your drill bit through the holes to open them up a little bit
if needed. For the standard 10mm bolts, you generally want to drill the
holes with a 10.5mm bit or a 13/32" or 27/64" drill bit.
Once all 4 bolts are in place, alternately snug them down with an 8mm
allen key (a long handled key is recommended) and a 17mm wrench (for
the nut). Once all 4 nuts are snugged down, torque the nuts to approx.
45 ft.lbs. and re-check the torque after 50-100 miles of driving.
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email: sales@4Crawler.com
[Last updated: Saturday, 17-Jul-2010 09:51:58 PDT]
