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Thread: Ham's '48 - Driveline Question

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    Super Moderator LarrBeard's Avatar
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    Ham's '48 - Driveline Question

    Projects never seem to have a definite end. H’ep me, y’all!

    The 1948 2WD Willys-Overland Jeep trucks had a two-piece driveshaft. There is a support and bearing at just about the front end of the bed, with a short shaft from the transmission to that point and a longer shaft back to the differential.

    The universal joints on that shaft are a ball and roller joint. I’ve found out that these style joints were used on 1934 Chryslers – and maybe somewhere else – but I don’t know of any other applications. These joints are covered by a boot or bellows kind of like modern CV joints. There are a total of four joints and four boots.

    The problem is availability of parts. I have seen no place to get pieces and parts for the u-joints. A second problem is the boot/bellows that covers the joints. There is a boot available, but it is shown as a Jeepster or Station Wagon part, not a truck part. When I go to the truck parts manual, I can find a part number for the proper boot – but I have not found that part after a lot of eBay and Google searches. I have this feeling that it is non-obtainium. I have gone through two sets of the Jeepster boots and they split and disintegrate pretty quickly – leaving the joint open to dirt and crud – not a good recipe for long life. I don’t know if I have bad boots (old, dried out stock) or if I am misapplying the part.

    I am considering the option of going over to the local driveline place (which does fabricate drivelines for Auburns, Cords and Duesenbergs – that’s an advantage to be living close to Auburn, IN) to investigate having them make a custom one-piece driveshaft with Cleveland or Spicer joints.

    Has anyone ever looked into this sort of project? What are the things I’m not thinking about and what questions do I need to ask?
    Last edited by LarrBeard; 05-03-2019 at 11:31 AM.

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