Is there any harm installing a rear JKU factory drive shaft backwards?

I ripped the boot on my original factory rear drive shaft on the first wheelin’ trip out 3.5 years ago as one would expect. I’ve been waiting for the rear DS to fail since then so I could replace it with an aftermarket shaft. Well, I regeared this weekend and had a slight issue. The rear DS obviously had to compress a bit at the splines to get it off the rear pinion yoke. Upon re-installation, it was a little tough getting it extended again. It appeared to install, but once we went to move the jeep, thing didn’t move an inch before there was a split second of grinding and a thud…..followed by laughter as the rear DS broke and dropped to the ground. It had been a long day, so it was quite comical and depressing at the same time -



Well, I wasn’t quite expecting that upgrade at the moment, and as it was almost midnight on Saturday, the odds of getting an aftermarket shaft the next day were nill. I found a new take off factory shaft on the other side of town for $50, so that was the quick fix. On the way back with the new DS, I pondered installing that backwards. I figured the joints were the same on both ends, and if I installed it backwards, it would move that protective boot up and away from the evap skid. On the pavement there doesn’t seem to be any adverse effects from doing so. Is there any reason that I should expect to have an issue running it this orientation off road? I figured if I can save that boot from being torn again, this DS could just be a rental unit until I can afford an upgraded aftermarket rear shaft.

(wasn’t sure if this should be in the modified or stock tech forum since it’s a little of both. Feel free to move it if need be)

 

One end of the shaft should have a large weight on it and it would seem that the mass would be critical as to where it is placed.


Off-road probably won't make any difference.

 

I didn't get everything buttoned back up until yesterday afternoon, so I've still been in granny driving mode breaking these gears in. So far I haven't noticed any weird effects on the road, but haven't been faster than 55mph yet. I presume if I start to notice anything at faster speeds, it's going to be a rear end vibration.....and that if I don't notice any vibration start to pop up, I'm fine to continue with it in that orientation.

 

I can't think of any reason why it would matter which way the shaft was oriented. The driveshafts are balanced and have the same joints on each end like you say.

 

A little trick that I did when I ripped mine on the evap canister was to remove about a inch of the skid plate with a cutting wheel.
Never ripped it again even when climbing the obstacle in Moab that tore it in the first place

 

so it actually catches on the Evap and not necessarily on a rock?

 

yes common problem.

 

Yup, Teraflex has a mod for it......

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/youtu.be/jkfLGjzH7Z4 https://youtu.be/jkfLGjzH7Z4