i put a 6 inch suspension lift on my cj now the front driveshaft is too short by 2 inches or so and the rear is too extreme.
i don't have 3 to 5 hundred to spend on a cv driveshaft. can i buy just a cv joint for the driveshaft i have and what to do with the front
thanks
Is this a cj5 or cj7? A cj7,s should be longer. Its been awhile but cj,s have diff length shaft for diff models, (I am assumeing based on engine and trans). I have had to replace rear driveshafts with 4" lift before on a cj7, because more than half the splines were showing, funny thing is another cj7,s shaft fit it and was longer. I would call a 4x4 shop in your area if there is one and ask if they have any used shafts and go down there with yours and compare lengths, cheaper than a new one. It seems I have heard that you can use the front shaft of a cherekee on the cjs, not sure of that though.
I would likely start by lowering the trans and transfer case as recommended above, espesically if the rear is at a wonky angle. You can get an angleometer (or whatever the tech. name is) from HomeDepot or HarborFrieght for a couple of bucks to figure out the angle difference. As for lenghts, what are you looking for? I just finished parting out my 85 CJ7 that was totalled in an accident and have a couple of driveshafts. The 86 that I'm currently restoring has about 5" total lift, but I'll be lowering it down....So, those shafts are up for grabs as well.
Adding a CV joint (double-cardan is the correct term) to a stock driveshaft requires much cutting, welding, and balancing of the CV components in place of the single cardan yoke.
I'd recommend finding a used XJ or TJ front CV driveshaft to run in the rear and have it shortened. You will likely need a new yoke on the transfer case to attach the double-cardan joint to.
Don't forget that with a CV driveshaft the axle pinion needs to be parallel with the driveshaft, so the pinion needs to be rotated upward quite a bit. Shims usually aren't enough, you need to cut and weld the spring perches for proper alignment.