One Piece Driveshaft for DCSB 4x4

I have been driving on a 5 year old carrier bearing and u-joints, and lifted my truck in June (2 inch lift). The slight vibrations at takeoff have worsened considerably over the last two months, and I'm looking for long-term solutions.

Obviously I can just replace the CB and u-joints, and go down the road for another few years, but I'm wondering about going with a 1-piece driveshaft.

Just called a couple local shops for estimates. The first one said they would do it, and it would have to be made from aluminum, and estimated $575 fully built with u-joints. The second shop said they wouldn't build a 1-piece shaft for a vehicle with a factory 2-piece without charging a ton of money for a custom build.

So...is $575 about right for a 1-piece aluminum shaft? Do these shafts have to be aluminum for the length?

 

2 piece, with double cardan joint at the center. A shop should be able to use the stock shaft, flip the rear section so the slip joint is at the pinion, shorten the stock tube and put a DC join in quite easily.

 

Ok, yeah. The first shop mentioned a slip joint of some type, but honestly the guy was difficult to understand on the phone. Would that still require a new carrier bearing?

 

New carrier bearing and 3x new U-joints for ~$170 and a days worth of work.

 

FWIW, a CB alone fixed my vibes a few months ago

 

This ^ show the shop the above instructions,and have them rebuild your driveshaft that way.

 

yup, may as well put new u joints in too front n rear.

 

Pretty much what I'm planning to do this Saturday. I just don't have $500+ laying around to go 1-piece aluminum right now. Maybe in 4-5 years when this CB wears out, I'll have the $$$ to go that route.

 

Guy at the first shop told me that doing double cardan would cost me way more than a 1-piece shaft. Does that seem right?

 

I lived with take-off vibes for years. Hated it.

I did multiple new CB's and they lasted a couple months at most.

I talked with a local, reputable driveline shop about rebuilding my two-piece with a double-cardan. They could have done it, but it would have made the driveshaft weaker overall (something about having to use a smaller spline). Plus it was kind of expensive.

About a month ago I finally put on a Tom Woods single-piece drive shaft. Absolute perfection, and still cheaper than a custom rebuild. I should have done it years ago.

 

Interesting. From my little bit of research and talking with the local driveline shops, it looks like a steel single-piece shaft will very likely give some vibes at higher RPM, so most are saying to go with aluminum.

 

Yeah, YMMV I guess....

I've never heard of using aluminum for a driveshaft. Considering I go offroad quite a bit that would probably be a Bad Idea.

 

Naw no way, there is a parts list of spicer part numbers on here somewhere for just this. You are reusing pretty much the entire driveshaft outside of the center U joint, hell even the yoke thats welded onto the rear tube can get reused if they cut it off right.

 

Used aluminum and carbon fiber YEARS ago on sports cars. Obviously a much different application, but going from a steel 2pc shaft to an alum 1pc shaft, you gained a lot of response due to the drop in rotating weight and lack of cb. For a street truck that doesn't see off road use, doesn't launch (drag race), I would recommend an aluminum for the same reasons.

 

My TW single piece will be here Tuesday. I’ve been putting it off for too long.

 

Just go to the TW site and all the info on all types is there and how to measure etc and if still confused call him.

 

Please post up your thoughts after install so we have more info on 1pc driveshafts and feedback.

 

I'm Prerunner, not 4WD, but after going from 3" to 7" lift nothing stopped the vibrations It was bad!!!! Rene at USADriveline did mine, he does a lot of Tacoma's. It's a 4" aluminum, been about a year and a half, not a single vibration. Save yourself some time, money and headache and just bite the bullet and fix it right and be done with it. I wish I would have done it years ago.

 

Are you serious?
There's a thread on here w/at least 30 pages of this exact thing. You've been a member her going on 10 years so I' going to assume you're not serious.

Found it for you:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/single-and-two-piece-driveshaft-vibes-be-gone.475797/

 

Noob question perhaps, but why would steel vibrate more than aluminum at high rpms? What about at high speed? I guess steel is heavier, but I can't imagine what the vibrations would be like if a single piece aluminum shaft were to bend or warp.

Also, pardon my inner conspiracy theorist, but if single piece shafts are this feasible and helpful, why tf don't they come stock? Is Big Truck in bed with Big Bearing?

Fwiw, I would gladly pay $500+ for a one-piece shaft if it indeed mitigated vibration and simplified the long-term blend of parts and repairs.