Removing driveshafts

[vbrescueman]

Hey guys... I've been reading SS for a while. Got A ? I know that the rear driveshaft can be removed and truck can still be driven on a regular basis... can the front driveshaft ALSO be removed? Thanks for the help.

 

[cranetruck]

Yes, but you may need it more often than you think with only one driving axle (one wheel when it gets slippery).

 

[rizzo]

hey ct, have you ever gotten stuck in a entrance off the road where the rear axle holds up the drive and you need to engage front wheels? I've done that with the semi and had to engage the power divider in nice dry weather. I think it ussually a pot hole in a parking lot.

 

[cranetruck]

Yeah, all the time coming home to the hilly gravel road after a trip on the highway.
Just flip the lever, nobody needs to know that front wheel drive is required now and then.
That's why I rather not use freewheeling hubs, kind of embarrassing to have to get out of the mighty military 6x6 and turn the hubs to "lock" for just a little thing.

 

[Djfreema]

Hey Bjorn, Do you have an axle pulled or the whole rear driveshaft removed? I'm waiting on a front hub to use as a cap for when I remove one of the rear axles.

 

[cranetruck]

I have the interaxle drive shaft removed.

If I couldn't lift the entire bogie with the hydraulic outriggers, re-installing it may be a bit of chore since the flanges will not be aligned after even a short drive.
Lifted, I have more headroom and can rotate the axles as needed.
The air impact speeds up the process also.

Bottom line: Removing a 1/2 shaft is easier.

 

[M543A2]

For our M543A2 and our M35 we remove an axle on the front tandem. We cap the deuce hub with a front axle cap, and for the five ton we have an old axle we torched the axle shaft off the cap and use the cap to cover the hub. It does not do a lot of good to remove the front driveshaft because it is not spinning anything of consequence in the transfer box, and unless you have lockouts, the front gears are still turning anyway.
Regards Marti