Custom cv axles?

Thinking about a bigger motor for my Mr2 spyder and was wondering about a grm solution to custom axles. I think I have heard of a two axles halves connected with a sleeve, but I have no evidence to back that up. Thoughts? Other ideas?

Sleeved half-shafts never last. Shafts can be resplined though.

Edit: They don't last from what I've seen. I suppose it may be possible to have success with them though.

Agree with Bryan. Usually, axles are heat treated and when you weld up the sleeves you loose the heat treated strength and the axles become much weaker than the original axle. It's usually not very expensive to have axles resplined.

Also, you could use the axles and CV cups that came with the engine/trans combo you're planning to swap in, AND use the hub that goes with those axles. You can take the hub to a machine shop and have them turn it down to fit in the MR2 wheel bearings/carrier. We did this with the Wreck Racing miata so we could fit Ford 8.8 IRS axles/hubs in the miata carrier. You'll have to check that all the dimensions work out though (axle length, wheel bearing/hub diameters, etc...).

Go to a1cvtech.com . They made me a custom length set with extra articulation to solve a problem in my rallycar. They haven't been tested in an event yet, but if I break em they replace em. They look like they'll be up to the task. You won't get em for Challenge money but they really aren't that spendy for a race part with a warranty... Unless you can find a junkyard mixnmatch solution to your specific problem, I'd say that this is one of those areas worth spending some dough on. The idea of having half a halfshaft flailing about in my engine bay doesn't really give me the warmnfuzzies.

For what it's worth, I shortened the axles on the $2011 N600 because the Civic donor was about a foot wider than the N600. The longer axle was a large diameter hollow axle that I welded a sleeve on the inside AND the outside. The shorter axle was a small diameter solid axle, so it only got a sleeve on the outside. The axles and sleeves were machined in a lathe to be a very snug, straight fit. We welded it with my buddy's 220V MIG welder that can pump out a LOT of heat and the parts were also preheated. I bought a stick at the local welding shop that melts at a certain temperature, want to say it was 600F but that may be wrong (going by memory); we heated the parts until the stick melted when you touched it to them, then blasted it with the welder. Afterwards we used a couple of V-blocks, a dial indicator, and a BFH to get the axle as straight as possible.

I haven't broke any axles yet, and I know of other guys who have been running this type of setup successfully for years. It's definitely not elegant or easy, but it's cheap and if you're not running a ton of power or a critical application, it works.

Bryce

Great ideas guys. I am not building a challenge car but would like to do a relatively low budget swap in my toyota. There are toyota v6 options but they have little to no support and are fairly expensive for what you get. There is a pretty loyal GM 60 degree v6 crowd that should offer a fairly light weight, cheap option with a fair amount of support.

I built my own for my triumph gt6. It was a royal pain in the ass. Having said that, I do now have a very solid rotoflex conversion that was a lot cheaper than any alternative I could buy. I would suggest bribing your local napa counter guy a case of beer and spending some time in the cv axle isle. Keep opening boxes until you find a set or a combination that looks close, and then buy them used at the wrecker for experimenting with. After 40 trips and a bunch of machining/welding, you should have something.

I was thinking about seeing if there were any GM axles that would give me the correct length and having them turned down and resplined and hardened to fit the Toyota hubs. Do you think that this is possible or will all of the GM stuff be too long and end up not fitting in the stock width?

If you want to frankenstein instead of starting from raw materials, I've found this to be extremely helpful:

http://interparts.com/download.htm

Bryce

that is great! Thanks Bryce

In reply to Nashco:

Wow, that's a sweet database - very useful.

I wish their download all was a Zip file instead of an install only executeable. But you can download it (130MB), install it, copy the directory from Program Files to wherever you want (the directory in Program Files has all the PDF's), then Uninstall the ap. I have got to where I hate extra crap loaded on my box.

yeah, I agree. Did this on my tablet tonight though so I just did one here and there. I will be looking through the entire thing but if anyone is bored and wants to help I am looking for axles that fit a 2001 mr2 spyder (Toyota Celica, matrix, corolla) and a g6 inner shaft. However, I noticed the g6 isn't listed. I am sure some other gm stuff works but will have to verify what else. Fyi the trans that I am considering also came in some Saabs with 6 speeds starting 2003 I think.

Google Fiero and F40 to start down the rabbit hole of G6/Saab 6 speed axle interchange info. The Fiero guys have done a lot of work trying to figure out a "good" way to use that trans on a car that came with smaller axles originally.

Bryce

From what I've read (was initially considering an L67 swap for the MR2) is that there are a bunch of the F40's available.

Hit MR2oc.com, and take a look at the Spyder section...I'm sure someone has swapped a Toyata V6 into a Spyder by now.

there are a few 2gr spyders around. However, dohc motors are a bit wide for the engine bay. I think the gm motors will be cheaper and easier to install with a better following. The axles are the limiting factor and the only benefit to the Toyota motor.