I'm trying to get an idea on how to make a rear driveshaft loop. Does anybody have some good pictures of one installed? I was thinking of possibly making it use the bolts on the pinion snubber, but I wasn't sure if they are stout enough to hold a violent driveshaft on the loose. Thanks guys!

You would need one helleva' big loop ! ... think about all that normal rear axle up-and-down movement !! ...

why not just go with the common loop location near the front of the shaft?

id go in the typical spot in the front becuas thats where you the driver is, and if by some chance it goes threw the floor, it wont take your leg off either

Going-through-the-floor is not the major concern ... it is the front of the drive-shaft digging-in and pole-vaulting the whole car.

Why do you need a rear driveshaft loop?

The forward loop prevents a moving vehicle from impaling itself on the driveshaft when the front of the driveshaft drops and catches on the pavement but that isn't a problem with the rear.

Ya I am going with a front one that I'm making out of 1/4" x 2" 304 Stainless steel. I'm trying to make it similar to the US car tool one that Mancini carries. I have all the tools necessary at work to bend, punch, cope, pretty much anything I want to make it work and I weld stainless steel all day long so it won't be anything new for me. So maybe a rear loop isn't necessary/possible? What happens if the rear u joint breaks and sends the driveshaft flailing like crazy? I'm learning as I go so I appreciate the responses.

If the rear u-joint breaks it usually makes a lot of noise and pukes the driveshaft out from under the car. It rarely causes damage to anything important.

Ah ok that makes sense. I'll just go with the usual front one then. I doubt I'll even have issues with breaking u joints. My motor is just in the machine shop so I need a project to keep me busy. I figure a driveshaft loop is cheap insurance anyway.

Front loop is to protect driver. I doubt a driveshaft is strong enough to catapult a vehicle. It would bend like a pretzel first.

codfish

Myth Busters did a show with the pole vaulting drive shaft.They used a Fury.It didnt happen no matter what they tried.Not saying it cant happen but they tried a lot of different scenarios.My front is bolted to the trans.Yeah the shaft makes a ton of noise when the rear breaks.My loop helps hold the shaft up if the rear brakes.Rocky

Pole vaulting ? ... I was at Detroit Dragway when it happened ! Didn't actually see it ..... but the car landed on its roof at about 1/2 track.

Heck ... even if the DS did not dig-in .. the DS could go way off to the side and you could run-it-over with a rear tire ... and then what would/could happen ?

This Myth-Busters test ? ... just how did they "blow" the U-joint on-call and at speed?

Forward located loops are the most important ones, but a guy wouldn't have to place a second loop very far back from the mid-point of the shaft to restrain the rear end of the driveshaft should a rear joint let go. If you mount anything on the rear end, it is going to move up and down when you accelerate and decelerate, so be sure you have clearance. It's also going to add to the unsprung weight.

Sometimes all kinds of nasty things can and do happen when u-joints let go, including the mythically rare instance of pole vaulting the car/truck, breaking the output shaft of the trans/transfer case, and beating the hell out of anything in the way on the bottom of the vehicle. Driveshafts are strong enough to partially lift and redirect the rear of the car suddenly potentially causing a loss of control or worse, rip through the floor and cause general mayhem.

Loops are good insurance, but so is using appropriately rated driveshafts, u-joints and properly set-up driveline angles.

it will very rarely launch your car in the air but the rear end and the frame will be ruined

This may sound stupid but when I set up my exhaust
with an H pipe it falls almost perfectly under the
drive shaft about a foot or so behind the front
yoke. I figure that's a pretty nice trap to keep
it from hitting the ground but it wont do much
for side to side damage on the body. Better than
going upside down though I think.

As far as myth busters goes... yea a can can pole
vault. Drive shafts are incredibly strong
along their length. Anyone ever seen the photos of
a piece of straw put through a telephone pole
during a tornado? I don't think they can replicate
that very easy but it did happen.

MythBusters DID get the driveshaft to catch in a pothole. The back of the car jumped 5 or 6 feet in the air and the driveshaft ended up in the trunk.

Thats cool, I guess you could take the gas tank
out with that also!

or you could put your engine in the rear of the car and run it like a front wheel drive with no driveshafts sticking out. probably would wheelie like hell and get some pretty good grip

It would wheelie like the Lil Red Express!

ill tell you now from breaking millions of u-joints i wouldnt run one with out a strap front and back. i run a total of (3) 1/4 x 1 1/2 straps then then have each u-joint inclosed in with 5 inch tube. at high rpms a u-joint breaking can be a mess and do alot of damage in a hurry along with hurt someone in the process