4340 Chromolly D2 Rear Shafts

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rdoane

Well-known member
Oct 5, 2004
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0
Houston, TX
I finally got my custom rear shafts done. The shafts were milled out of 4340 chromoly steel. For reference, the diameter of a stock D2 axle shaft is 1.24".

These cost substantially less than the available HD rear shafts for the D2.

If you are interested in a set send me a PM; I am not taking orders at this time, just checking interest.

Final production models should be ready after I install this initial set with a Detroit and have a chance to test them out; probably around the beginning of this summer.
 

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B

Badfysh

Guest
i am interested, but summer? sheesh!! i need axles now. . . . .
 
R

rdoane

Well-known member
Oct 5, 2004
1,366
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Houston, TX
p m said:
the neck just before the splines has the same diameter as stock, right?
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Which end are you refereeing to?

The only diameter difference from stock is where you see the darker steel. The ends have been milled down to the correct diameter.

The disk on which the bearing rests is the same diameter as stock and has been pressed on with a 10,000lb press.

The driver side shaft is a larger diameter than the passenger side shaft due to the fact that the fabricator couldn’t find a long enough piece of 4340 in 1.25” diameter. However, seeing as 4340 in 1.5” is what is used for 14 bolts, it is dirt cheap and the right length just requires a little more milling.

The only negative to having two different diameter shafts in this application is the aesthetic factor. I would be shocked if a Rover on sub-35” tires broke either of these shafts.

These were made with stock shafts as reference. As I stated before, they still have not been installed, and some final tweaking might be needed.
 
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LR Max

LR Max

Well-known member
May 1, 2004
1,190
7
Hotlanta, GA
p m said:
I've seen short shafts break more often than long - having the long one made out of thicker bar may have some consequences.
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......wow..... :rolleyes:

I want you to think about this for a moment. The short side currently has a diameter of 1.45" and is made out of 4340. The long side is made of 1.50" 4340. Your stock is 1.24" turd-steel. These axles actually DWARF most Dana 60 axle shafts (that come stock with 30 spline and 1.25" shafts).

I concour with your original statement that the short side is usually the side that goes. But this shaft is almost a quarter inch THICKER and made of superior material.

Therefore, your point is quite moot.
 
R

rdoane

Well-known member
Oct 5, 2004
1,366
0
Houston, TX
p m said:
I've seen short shafts break more often than long - having the long one made out of thicker bar may have some consequences.
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Actually, the short side is the stronger side seeing as less has been milled off of it.

I promise you, that other components are going to break before these axles do (like the craptastic Rover R/P).
 
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Nomar

Nomar

Well-known member
Apr 23, 2004
6,078
13
Virginia
blkdiscoII said:
Actually, the short side is the stronger side seeing as less has been milled off of it.

I promise you, that other components are going to break before these axles do (like the craptastic Rover R/P).
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...or the cross-shaft. I would definately upgrade the carrier before putting in those nice axles
 
B

bri

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
6,183
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US
blkdiscoII said:
Actually, the short side is the stronger side seeing as less has been milled off of it.

I promise you, that other components are going to break before these axles do (like the craptastic Rover R/P).
Click to expand...

I thought that the stock R&P are actually strong is this incorrect? I thought that the thing that made them crappy was the centering PIN.
 
R

rdoane

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Oct 5, 2004
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Houston, TX
bri said:
I thought that the stock R&P are actually strong is this incorrect? I thought that the thing that made them crappy was the centering PIN.
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IIRC Greg Davis chunked his GBR R/P in Moab a few years back. However, with the recent thread on R/P gear strength, it seems that my generalization that GBR R/P?s are stronger than stock might be wrong.

Regardless, when you install these shafts along with an ARB or Detroit, you eliminate the weak stock carrier. Thus, the only remaining Rover bits are the hub assemblies and the R/P and with tires under 35", I'd say the R/P is the next in line to fail.

Even though they become the weak link in the rear axle, they seem to be holding up pretty well with the GBR shafts and Detroits/ARBs. Lets put it this way, I don't plan on replacing my R/P, I just like to know what the weak link is.
 
B

bri

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
6,183
153
US
blkdiscoII said:
IIRC Greg Davis chunked his GBR R/P in Moab a few years back. However, with the recent thread on R/P gear strength, it seems that my generalization that GBR R/P’s are stronger than stock might be wrong.

Regardless, when you install these shafts along with an ARB or Detroit, you eliminate the weak stock carrier. Thus, the only remaining Rover bits are the hub assemblies and the R/P and with tires under 35", I'd say the R/P is the next in line to fail.

Even though they become the weak link in the rear axle, they seem to be holding up pretty well with the GBR shafts and Detroits/ARBs. Lets put it this way, I don't plan on replacing my R/P, I just like to know what the weak link is.
Click to expand...

I was also under the impression that the stock gears are also stronger than many higher gear ration R&P.

The argument about GBR R&P being stronger than stock is not a fair argument unless you are discussing gear ratio as well. From my experience with the gears and with wheeling with others, I would draw the conclusion that the 4.11 are not as strong as stock. But BGR has other gear ratios too, I think that there was a 3.9 that was stronger than the 4.11 and then the argument becomes whether the stronger metal makes up for the difference in tooth strength. Since not many people runs these, its only a theory that they might be as strong as stock.

What's this all matter? Well to me it means, just stay stock and deal with the hills with a gear change-- or possibly alter the TC.

Hijack off.

Maybe since D2 owners are so limited, these axles seem OK, but certainly they are in the development stange so to speak.
 
R

rdoane

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Oct 5, 2004
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0
Houston, TX
D Chapman said:
If they are hardened, why are they two different colors?
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It was the initial stock that was hardened, before they had to be milled down to the correct diameter.

The darker layer has been hardened while the shiny part is the bare steel.
 
D

D Chapman

Guest
So, if they are case hardened, you just took off the hardening....

I don't know, man. I'm not being negetive toward your plan, but I think you have some homework to do.
 
R

rdoane

Well-known member
Oct 5, 2004
1,366
0
Houston, TX
D Chapman said:
So, if they are case hardened, you just took off the hardening....

I don't know, man. I'm not being negetive toward your plan, but I think you have some homework to do.
Click to expand...
Your 100% correct.

Seeing as the driver side shaft is freakishly long and the stock Rover diameter is 1.24", 4340 stock in the correct diameter and length couldn't be found, so we had to improvise. The longer shaft is some case hardened stock used for 14 bolt shafts. Obviously when splining this, it had to be milled down to fit.

Same goes for the passenger side, where due to its short length we were able to find a closer fit to the correct Rover diameter.

The fabricator said that on the final shafts if there are enough orders, the shafts could be initially milled out of standard 4340 and then be heat treated in entirety.

However, despite the fact that these shafts had to be milled down, wouldn?t you agree that the chances of breaking one of these in a D2 is very small? We'll see how it goes when I get out there and start to romp on my truck.

I appreciate all the criticism, the more you guys critique, the better the final product.
 
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