Hi Again,

I hope I'm not trying the patience of you'all. I am planning on order a 3" lift kit tomorrow, and I'm considering replacing the driveshafts at the same time.

I have a 2008 JK 2-door with an automatic transmission.

Based upon what I have read in this forum, the front driveshaft on 3"+ lifts tends to get damaged during flexing. I haven't really picked up on problems with the rear.

Should I consider replacing just the front driveshaft at this time, and wait until the rear needs replacing sometime in the future? (Or, is there a critical issue with the rears, that is caused by flexing?)

Thanks again for all the great input.

Jeff

 

I had a 3.5" kit with 35's. I wheeled it hard for 10k miles and never had any issues with my stock driveshafts.

 

if you can afford to swap in new shafts, I would go ahead and get them now.

The steep driveline angle causes the driveshafts to go out. You dont want to be 1,000 miles from home and burn one up..

 

What Piginajeep said - the rear will eventually go, it's just a matter of when. Mine lasted just about 8,000 miles and I was only 40 miles from home when it went.

ETA - I tore the boot on my front less than 24 hours after I had it lifted.

 

If I decide to do the driveshafts now, what kind of life should I expect from them?

I realize that question depends a lot on how hard the Jeep is driven on and off-road; but, I'm trying to get some idea how the new shafts will compare with the stock shafts in terms of long term reliability. Are the balancing specs similar to factory shafts? I've read a lot of references to Tom Wood and a few other fabricators/manufacturers... Any thoughts/experiences?

Thanks again for the info.

Jeff