measuring up for drive shafts

[madmadmax]

ok so ive got some inital measurements for the drive shafts but was wondering what the right way to mesher the shaft length was

as i under stand in with the car one the ground and from cup to cup or should i have both cups out and measure seat to seat

allso how diffrent can the shaft lenght be ?

thanks
ben

[welshpug]

cut outer tubular shaft in half, fit both parts.

lower vehicle to point where shafts will be fully compressed, due to inclination of the strut I believe this is near fully compressed, so takeing the springs off or using a spare damper without a spring will be needed.

trim away bits of tube till both halves will meet with the inner joint fully compressed, then take off a little more to account for any lateral engine/gearbox movement.

make a plug that fits snugly in both halves, drill through the tube and puddle weld onto the plug, then seam the centre after veeing it out, sometimes two passes will be required

[madmadmax]

thats grate but i don't have shafts to mess abut with and my welding skills are non existent and i don't have the tools to do it

[Dum-Dum]

It doesn't matter where you measure from and to as long as you can draw a diagram and send it to your driveshaft builder in a way that will mean they can build the right shaft. Obviously face to face distance / overall length are best.

A mock up is definitely the best way to get it perfect as its alot of money to waste if you've measured wrong.

[toseland]

just send them the drrveshaft?