I've sold many adapters, and I think most customers are getting their shafts from Tatton Driveline....I've not heard any bad reports whatsoever. One thing I can say is that Tatton seems to make great shafts, and his prices are very fair. They are spun-balanced and that is very important on the H3 because they are full-time 4WD. On other vehicles that have a 2WD mode...the front shaft can be shut-off, so highway vibes are not as critical. But on the H3...it spins all the time. That includes 75mph interstate travel where the shaft is spinning at ridiculously high rpms.
SOME HISTORY ON THE DRIVESHAFT ISSUE:
I made a dozen or so THORparts shafts a couple years ago. Squeaky, Geno, and myself (along with a few others) ran these for a year or two. These shafts used an aftermarket casting that mated a Spicer 3R cardan joint to the H3's t-case (no adapter needed). To be completely honest...I had so many complaints that it scared me away from the driveshaft business entirely. The 3R joints constantly burned up and the vibrations were never truly gone. The 3R joint is a big, clunky, mechanism from the 70s...and something else was clearly needed. That's when I started working with the 1310 CV. Its smoother and smaller than the 3R. It also has less spring tension inside the cardan. The only issue is...it doesn't bolt up to the H3 without the adapter. If you have a machine shop...you don't technically need the adapter. You can remove the output flange from your t-case...chuck it in a lathe...and make the necessary mods to bolt the 1310 (Hack & Tap) CV directly to it. You will need to turn the center pin down to fit the 1310 flange, and also re-drill the four mounting holes, (I believe Recon has something like this). Once you do this, it is permanently cut to fit the 1310. The nice thing about the adapter is you don't need to disassemble the t-case, go to a machine shop, or make permanent mods. If you ever want to return to a stock driveshaft, simply loose the adapter and bolt it back in.
I am not affiliated with Tatton but, I have spoke to CJ (the owner) one time on the phone about a year ago. By now he's probably wandering...Why are all these Hummer guys suddenly buying 30" Hack & Tap shafts? -Haha. THORparts and Tatton Driveline have a perfect symbiotic relationship: I make adapters. He makes shafts. He doesn't mess with adapters. I don't mess with shafts. Now all you guys can finally get a real shaft for a Jeep price. Its a win-win-win for all parties involved!
BTW...gfbH3T still runs the THORparts 3R shaft on Big Red, and his seems to be very smooth. I ran several of them, and wasn't impressed...and I don't know enough about driveshafts to understand why his works so well. So I'm not poo-poo'ing the 3R unit entirely, I just think the 1310 with the adapter is a better rig.
. The only reason you need the slip collar is to get the shaft installed. Once installed, it remains pretty much the same length as you are driving around. Without the slip collar...it would be impossible to get it installed between the t-case and the axle yoke. So even though, the front axle is bolted rigid to the frame...you still need the slip collar to collapse the length, and get the shaft bolted in place.
