Bonkers Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 ... Okay, not really, but as i sit here I can't think of a better explanation: 1988 - 4.0L/Ax15/D35/LWB Went to reinstall the Ba10 driveshaft onto the back of the new Ax15 transmission. According to all the literature, the Ba10 shaft is 50" and the Ax15 shaft is 50" so theoretically it should pop right on... but as you can see from the picture its not exactly a precision fit. Now if I jack the truck up and pry it in I think it'll fit, but itll be TIGHT. From what I hear that is not an ideal situation for the shaft or the TC. I also worry about what might happen if I hit a large bump in the road. Others have been telling me to shorten the shaft, but before I do I just wanted to make sure I didnt miss something important. I do not want to modify a good part just to cover up a problem with another - I want to get this right. Any suggestions or observations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 what's the other end look like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 What Pete said. Are all the bolts to the trans and tcase tightened? You had to change the tcase to 23 splines. What year and model (XJ, YJ, TJ) were the trans and tcase out of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88whitemanche Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Looks like your about 2" off... And you don't want to install a TIGHT driveshaft because it will break your t-case... Best thing to do is install driveshaft yoke and bring it out 1" then measure center to center (u-joint cap) to the rear axle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonkers Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Ax15/231 is out of a 98 Xj. Motor and Axle are stock to this truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64 Cheyenne Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 You could shorten the stub as a temp fix, but no suspension flex off road allowed. Stub could pop out of TC and #$^*)&^$#%&* Not recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Did you by any chance swap the axle as well? i thing the D44 and 8.25 yoke stick out about an inch more than the D-35... When i swapped from BA10-5 to AX 15 the drive shaft was fine. but i had to shorten it when i swapped from D-35 to D-44 rear axle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Show picture of transfer case output and how drive shaft attaches to that. 96-01 Tranfer case is different than pre 96. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90comancheswb Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Yokes are different for 98 231 tc. I had to swap in a new style yoke to fit my 98 tc. I bet your old yoke can't slip onto the tc output shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64 Cheyenne Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Stubs also had different stick out lengths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Ax15/231 is out of a 98 Xj. Motor and Axle are stock to this truck. The '98 is a different animal. Starting in 1997, I believe, Jeep changed the transfer case output. On our MJs and older XJs, the front yoke slides into the tailshaft housing and the seal rides on the machined surface of the yoke. The newer style transfer case is sealed and the yoke just has a dust boot around it. Looks like you're trying to mix apples and oranges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonkers Posted November 27, 2015 Author Share Posted November 27, 2015 I took the yoke off the Xj because the spline count was different. It looked like it was the same lenght as the old Mj one. It makes perfect sense if the tailhousing is a different lenght though... And i do plan to put in my D44 soon, but i was gonna save up and have the locker installed during the rebuild... ie: $$$... i need to get her roadworthy immediately but the closest driveshaft shop is over an hour away opposite of my work schedule so itll be a week or more to get it cut. I was hoping to avoid having to do it twice but looks like thats my only viable option at this point... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Mopar went to the external slip yoke NP 231 in '96. T-case # 52099212. I did a lot of research on this before converting Georgia to 4WD and used the 9212 T-case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonkers Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Thanks 87 - I can't seem to find any information regarding how much difference the changeover affected the overall lenght, but if there is a difference the only thing left to do is get cutting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonkers Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 So I had 2.25 inches cut from the driveshaft, here's how she sits now - shaft bottomed out on yoke: Since (theoretically speaking) I shouldnt have had to cut it at all, I decided to err on keeping the shaft from falling off the trans. Worst case senerio I can always go back and cut it again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonkers Posted August 27, 2016 Author Share Posted August 27, 2016 Just a quick update... went to try to bleed my slave cylinder today and I noticed that the driveshaft has now returned to its pre-Ax15 lenght... minus the 2" I cut off.. so now the the shaft is sitting on about 2" of the yoke on flat ground... I'm about dun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86FUBAR Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Hum..... Well at least the Dana 44 pinion is 1" longer than the D35 so when you swap axles you will be better off .... That is as long as the length don't change again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonkers Posted September 3, 2016 Author Share Posted September 3, 2016 You know, i hadnt even considered that... So it may work out yet. Thanks Fubar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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