Putting an AX-15 behind my v6, and I bought this driveshaft through car-part.com . I have the ext cab, so my wheelbase is 131", and I'm looking for a manual driveshaft that uses the AX-15 spline count. Anyway, I got one I found home, and it's the same length as my automatic driveshaft. It supposedly came out of a manual the day before. Aren't the ax15 and nv2500 the same length? I did some measurments and found the 'new' driveshaft to be about 7 inches too short. Any help?


Darker one was the automatic. The lighter one was out of a manual.

 

To me, the look identical except for the end piece. Why not just swap it out to the one you need? The difference may be between a 2wd and 4wd rear end. I'm not sure though, but I'd say you still have a usuavle drive shaft between the two.

 

Can you mock it up to be sure it is short? I have heard that people weld in sections to extend them or weld them after shortening them. I found this in a search. http://driveshaftsunlimited.com/ They might be willing to answer questions for you. I forget what trans & what motor you were changing to. Anyway they say the do OEM so??? Good Luck.

 

I wouldn't try lengthening/shortening the shaft yourself unless you can do it just by mixing parts between the two. If it's going to have to be cut/welded, take it to a truck shop (like box trucks/tractor trailer), most of them are set up to make/modify driveshafts, and are usually pretty cheap. I think the last one I had shortened cost me like $60 or less.

 

Are the AX15 and the nv3500 the same length 2wd?

 

Lots of good info in here

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen-dakota/382160-87-91-nv3500-ax-15-a-2.html