I’ve had my JK for about 3 1/2 weeks now and suddenly while I was starting to drive from a red light, I put it in 1st gear, let out the clutch, and.... BANG... there goes my rear drive shaft. The bolts sheared off the yoke on the trans side. I have a 2.5 inch lift with 33 inch tires, so I’m thinking that since I bought the Jeep with the stock drive shafts still on it, they may have worn out throughout the years and that’s what caused the rear to break off. My question is: What aftermarket drive shaft should I buy to solve this issue and assure this won’t happen again any time soon. Any suggestions would be great!

 

Craigslist? You should be able to find one cheap from someone who has gone aftermarket. (from a strength and longevity standpoint, the stock shafts aren't that bad. The issue is the angles when you get into taller lifts.)

Or, you could look at one of the joint replacements (like the high-angle rzeppa from Teraflex) and keep that shaft.

Or, check with a few of your local driveline shops to see what they can hook you up with (edit for clarification - I meant a builder here, not just a reseller...). Sometimes that is cheaper than going for a bigger name aftermarket double-cardan. (my experience, local built was quite a bit more expensive than aftermarket. But others report better pricing)

And if you choose aftermarket, Tom Woods is well known (got a Woods on mine), and Adams is also very popular. There are many others to check out as well. Regardless of who you choose,m check out the Tom Woods driveshaft website, lots of info to read through for background! Most of these are made the same basic way - narrower than stock shafts, and using double-cardan joints that handle steeper angles, instead of rzeppas like the stock joints. Compare price and which specific joints are being used - not just rzeppa vs cardan, but greasable vs sealed. (serviceable means you will likely need to remove the shaft every time you want to grease the center ball on the joints!)

 

That helps a lot thank you very much. One more question though... do driveshafts come in different lengths depending on the size lift you have? Or are they all the same length?

 

It varies. A local driveline shop should measure it for you. Many aftermarket mfg's market them using designated lift ranges (0-3" lift, or whatever), and others will ask you to measure from a few locations and send them the numbers to verify.

 

The rear in stock form is a pretty stout driveshaft... it must have had a torn boot and no grease… that can happen! There are a lot of aftermarket ones... stick with a good brand (Adams, Je-reel, Spicer makes one...etc...) Local is great too... be sure they are using spicer or equivalent u-joints since that will be where most future problems will be on the drive shaft.