i remember vagely but not 100% if its completely right. If you are ordering from tom woods, they have their method of how they want you to do it on their site. That way you do it how they want since they are making it.

 

I believe you are correct. I know Adam's had me do a specific measurement when I ordered mine. It turned out perfect so I cant complain. Personally, I would go with an Adams shaft over a Tom Woods. You really cant beat their customer service and that goes a long way with me.

 

Do you really need an aftermarket driveshaft? I'm on 5" of lift with a stock shaft up front. I've had no issues with it. If you do need a longer shaft, there is a chart floating around somewhere on the forum with lengths of stock shafts. I was able to pull one from a specific ZJ that was an inch or two longer than a stock XJ shaft for my rear axle. Sorry, but I don't remember the specifics. At my local Pick n Pull driveshafts cost ~$40.

If you do go the junkyard shaft route, I would suggest you pull a measurement from center of u joint on axle to center of u joint on transfer case. Then measure the compressed length and fully extended length of the junkyard shaft, then aim for the shaft to be in the middle of that travel when the jeep is sitting on it's tires. Should give you enough travel for full suspension travel.

Not a bad idea to verify the travel of the shaft after you install it. Put the jeep on jack stands, pull the front springs, and cycle the suspension from full droop to full compression. Verify driveshaft doesn't overextend or (more concerning) over compress. Good time to verify your bump stops too. Make sure tire doesn't contact fender before bumpstop hits.