I bought a 3rd gen 1LE aluminum driveshaft. I had to get a new u-joint for the drifeshaft because the previous owner had a u-joint for his Ford 9". The first u-joint I got was a 3130 from the local auto part store. That one did not work though. It wouldn't fit and the caps were to big. So I tried a u-joint for a steel shaft, that didn't work. Then I tried a u-joint that said it was for the front and the caps fit so I bought that one. Well I have the u-joint installed in the driveshaft but Im not sure if its the correct one. It seems a little short. I have a spare rear end yoke from a 4th gen rear end and there is a lot more space than the stock one. Here are some pics to show what I am talking about.


Making sure U-joint fits with spare 4th gen rear end yoke







Picture of my stock steel driveshaft U-joint with 4th gen rear end to compare the gaps.

 

What's that yoke from?

To my knowledge, the aluminum driveshaft uses a 1350 u-joint. You can see the outer clips holding it into the shaft. If the yoke was a 1350 yoke, it would have tabs on the ends to hold the caps in place. Since I see no tabs, there's nothing keeping the caps in place because there are no internal clips for the caps. If you installed this setup in your car, you'll lose the u-joint in less than a 1/4 mile.

If that yoke is for a 9", it's probably a 1310 series or maybe a 1330. If the yoke is from a 10 bolt, it should be a 3G u-joint. You're going to need a combination u-joint.

It's possible the driveshaft and yoke both take a 3G u-joint. The 3G is similar to a 1330 but it's not interchangeable. From the looks of that yoke, you need a u-joint that has external snap rings for the driveshaft and internal snap rings for the yoke.

 

In the first and second picture, that yoke is off a 4th gen rear end. The last picture is a pic of my stock steel driveshaft connected to my 4th gen rear end. I haven't installed the aluminum one yet. Sorry if I confused you

 

Back in "the day" Lakewood made a u-joint that adapted my Pontiac drive shaft to a 12 bolt Chevy rear-end/yoke... maybe they offer a Chevy Fbody-to-Ford 9 inch.....just takin' a stab on this one.
Bill

 

Neapco, Spicer, Precision, and others make U-joints that'll fit anything to anything.

 

If in doubt, take a u-joint you know fits into the yoke and the driveshaft to your local auto parts store and have them match up a proper u-joint that fits both. As I already mentioned, the aluminum driveshaft is probably a 1350 while the 10 bolt yoke is probably a 3G.

 

A stock GM aluminum driveshaft is not going to take a 1350 u-joint.

Just my

 

Do you think the current u-joint I have on the aluminum driveshaft in the top 2 pics will work or is it too short?

 

NO! That u-joint is designed for tabs to hold on the end caps. The yoke that you have is designed for the internal clips to hold the u-joint cap on. You need an adapter u-joing like stephen said.

 

They're 1310, IIRC.

 

That u-joint will work in the driveshaft because it uses external clips. It won't work in that yoke because nothing holds the caps from sliding off. The straps alone won't do it..

If the aluminum driveshaft uses 1310 u-joints then you need a 1310 to 3R conversion u-joint. Spicer number 5-3022X should do it.

 

Our local NAPA has this really cool slide-rule looking thing that they put in a couple of measurements and what type of retaining clips and it gives a part #. I'll bet if you took the shaft and the yoke both in they could fix you up.