Front drive shaft needed for over 4" lift?

[Arctic-Rodz]

this whole autotrac situation is

 

[Dlong30]

totally agree... thats why ive put off the full diff drop. I feel your pain on wantin more room. ive got some trail grapplers too and it doesnt feel right tuckin em in the fender wells lol

 

[bowtiefreak]

A new front drive shaft is no reason not to lift. Considering the cost of a lift, tires, gears, brake lines, possibly wheels, exhaust modifications, shocks. The shaft is not the more expensive stuff here. Don't get biger tires right away, get the shaft and the lift.

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

thats what it was! front shaft spins on auto-tracs, not on the older style. (mine doesn't spin)

so if you have someone look under your truck is your shaft spinning or not?

 

[Arctic-Rodz]

thats what it was! front shaft spins on auto-tracs, not on the older style. (mine doesn't spin)

so if you have someone look under your truck is your shaft spinning or not?

i dont know... but i can spin the drive shaft with my hand freely

 

[arveetek]

Peterson's 4-wheel and Off Road just printed an article in their January 2011 issue showing a 6" lift install on a 98 2-door Tahoe. This Tahoe also has the Auto trac. They left the front driveshaft alone, saying they didn't notice any vibrations in 2 HI.

I'm guessing the reason the MFG's suggest replacing the front driveshaft with a CV style on the Auto Trac units is that these particular trucks will see more highway speeds in 4WD. The regular part time units probably won't see near as much highway speeds in 4WD, but the vibrations will probably be evident in either kind of vehicle.

Casey

 

[Arctic-Rodz]

Peterson's 4-wheel and Off Road just printed an article in their January 2011 issue showing a 6" lift install on a 98 2-door Tahoe. This Tahoe also has the Auto trac. They left the front driveshaft alone, saying they didn't notice any vibrations in 2 HI.

I'm guessing the reason the MFG's suggest replacing the front driveshaft with a CV style on the Auto Trac units is that these particular trucks will see more highway speeds in 4WD. The regular part time units probably won't see near as much highway speeds in 4WD, but the vibrations will probably be evident in either kind of vehicle.

Casey

Thats what i was thinking, for those who drive on 4hi on at highway speeds i imagine that they will feel a vibration. I guess ill stick to 4" lift since I got 33" tires and theyre pretty new. Also got 4.10s going in

 

[newmarketeod]

A big difference that I saw between the two cases is the design of the front output. The Autotrac has the slip yoke in the transfer case much like the rear output. The part time (NP205) has a fixed output with the slip in the driveshaft.

Honestly I would recommend getting rid of the Autotrac all together. It is a problematic transfer case to begin with. If you pull a part time transfer case and driveshaft from a truck it is a bolt in swap. If you pull up your carpet the outline of where the shifter needs to go is embossed in the floor and the wires for the lights in the shifter housing are even there. All the connectors on the transfer case will plug in EXCEPT one. You will need to wire a switch to the front axle disconnect.

 

[grimm]

I have push button 4wd. I do not have Auto-trac, mine is part time. If you wanted to swap transfer cases, get a setup out of a 97 with-out Auto-trac, but with electronic push button 4wd. Perhaps it would save you the trouble of installing the floor mount setup, unless you would prefer that?

 

[EastTXYukon]

Id love to swap transfer cases with someone who has a manual stick t-case. Mine is like Grimm's....96 push button but doesnt have autotrac. IMO, the less buttons, the better!