Well it has been nearly 2 years since I had the front d/s in my 2008 JKU replaced. I have 4.5" lift and 35's. The front d/s CV joint is bad...again...and making a helluva lot of noise. I got the "lifetime powertrain" warranty from D-C when I bought the Jeep but I seriously doubt the stealership is gonna replace the thing under warranty again.
Sooooooo...I am looking for suggestions here. I know about Tom Wood stuff but I know that is probably the most expensive and time consuming route to take. Anyone else out there dealt with this? Could I take the OEM front d/s to a local shop and have them make me a better one?

 

seriously? you have 4.5" of lift and that is A LOT of lift for a factory drive shaft and i'm surprised that your dealership covered your first under warranty. your cv joint at the output shaft is sitting at a steep angle and honestly, i'm surprised that it's lasted as long as it has. if you did any real wheeling and on a regular basis, i can assure you that it would have gone a lot sooner.

the factory shaft is not serviceable and even if you could find a shop that works with rzeppa joints, it would cost you a small fortune to have repaired. your best bet is to get a basic 1310 aftermarket shaft. i would not recommend tom wood but only because his shafts do not come with high quality spicer or neapco u-joints unless you pay to have them upgraded. i would recommend that you get a coast or JE Reel instead as they are offered for about the same price and DO come with spicer and made in the usa neapco joints.

 

Yeah I know it is a lot of lift. The wheeling I do is mainly on ranches and back roads/trails. We don't have rocks here in Louisiana. That's why it has lasted this long. Thanks for the reminder about the 1310 shafts. That's exactly what I was looking for. Now I gotta run it by the wife...crap. She isn't happy about anything that has to do with the Jeep...especially if it costs money.

 

being that it's the front shaft, i would just pull it for now and run your jeep in 2wd until you can afford to get a replacement.

 

are the teraflex driveshafts comparable to coast or reel?

 

they are made by tatton and for the most part, so long as it's balanced well, a drive shaft is a drive shaft with the only real difference being in the u-joints used.

 

I have Tattons front and rear and am very happy with them. 37's and 5.38's with no vibes.

 

Little info about Tatton. The tatton driveshaft uses part number 2-28-2887X
and Slinger/Seal (for non-greasable yoke) Spicer # 2-86-418 which is
a ball stud yoke for a non greasable ball centering yoke, part
211544x. The shafts come with part number 211355x which is the
greasable ball stud yoke. The two pieces are non compatable and limit
the level of operating angle, which can induce vibration. I informed him and the dealer of this and was denied warranty.

 

Thanks for the input gents. I think the JK is going to a local driveshaft shop for a look-see. We have a guy here north of where I work who is supposed to be really good at making custom driveshafts. I'll get his take on it and if it works out well, I will let you guys know. Either way, I am going to have a new front d/s in the JK in a few weeks' time.
Thanks again!