Baystate Jeepers

Soooo Kermit needs a new front driveshaft. Lately I've been getting some pretty bad, dash shaking vibration at 45 mph+. It felt like the front DS, so i went underneath to inspect it. All the u-joints are good, but the spline joint can wiggle back and forth a few MM or so. I removed it, and bingo! No more vibrations.

Upon closer inspection, the splines look pretty beat up, and one end of the boot unclamped and ripped apart and the splines were completely dry (i'm thinking that's likely the cause).

Any recommendations? I'm on a budget, so keep that in mind. Best case scenario would be to find a junkyard with a Rubicon, but that might be a little tough. I was looking into the Tom Woods Rubicon front DS.

I had a Tom Woods, until I bent it.. now, or soon, I will have another! Currently at Elias 4wd. I wheeled with mine for over 3 years.

Another vote for TW. I've been using their rear Rubicon LJ shaft for years. I hope to order a front on soon as I've had the same issue up front for a while now. Diagnosed it the same way you did.

A drive shaft shop can cut and install a new slip joint . Wasted money if you really want a T.W. Which is worth all the three hundred they want for it. FjR68

I got tom woods front and rear and they work very well...

Another vote for Tom Woods. And if the same thing should happen, their warranty and service is second to none.
I know a local shaft making/repair shop, and you pay more for less shaft and get second rate u-joints.
You can order one from me at Elias 4wd Center if we don't have it in stock. 978-597-8432, I get in at 9-ish.
$299 shipped.

Jim, head over to Montrose Machine in Wakefield Ma. I've always had great service with them. Besides, your keeping your $$ local, and no shipping to worry about. Spicer u-joints too.
They're not too far from where you work.

I personally wouldn't run another TW shaft if it was given to me for free. I've had 3, and all 3 were junk, and that was with the recommended maintenance.

Are you saying they build shafts? It would be sweet if i had some local guys to build a shaft for me instead of getting it shipped, as long as the money is right.

Jim, we're local and donate to the club every year. Tom Wood builds and ships in 24 hours, we'd have to order it for you if you chose to buy it from us. The Rubicon shaft is $349. We can cover the shipping.

Amanda's worn out shaft is actually a factory Jeep shaft, shown here:

This shaft failed due to the double cardan joint wearing out. This is rebuildable, sometimes. The problem with rebuilding them is that there can be appreciable wear on the center pin. Tolerances are to the thousandths of an inch, so any wear there can lead to a vibration and a poorly fitting center ball. The rest of the trouble is it is still a thin walled drive shaft with limited spline engagement.
Here is Amanda's old shaft, next to our Tom Wood's cut away shaft.

Even with the cut away material removed, and the length difference, the TW shaft is a few pounds heavier. Sometimes heavier is good, like a larger winch. In this case, the shaft is balanced and there's no ill effect except the lbs themselves.
This is the extra long slip shaft part of the shaft, close up.

Here is the double cardan joint, also called a CV joint and also called a centering ball. The centering ball is actually part of one of these u-joints, which is filled with needle bearings that ride on the stud. Lubrication is extremely important to a long life.


However you fix it, good luck with it. That's a cool Jeep. And this is Mike, the guy that guided you on foot in July at the Brook Ridge property. I think it was your first run with Kermit?

jsav4589 wrote:Are you saying they build shafts? It would be sweet if i had some local guys to build a shaft for me instead of getting it shipped, as long as the money is right.

Yep, that's what I'm saying...they build shafts. I've been running their driveshafts for years, never had a problem.

Give them a call, see what they can do for you.

Thanks Doug and Mike, i'll take both of your options into consideration. I don't think i'll be doing anymore wheeling for the rest of the year due to a very busy fall (retail job/ hunting season) so I wont need it until some snow starts to fall, so I hope to get the new one in the next month or so. Thanks again.

On Monday, I am going to cut up Amanda's old shaft for comparison.
It will be thicker than a stock ZJ V8 front shaft, I expect (I've broken a few, tore the welds off the end, locker + street + because racecar), but much thinner walls than a good aftermarket shaft.

For comparison purposes, a TJ Rubi OEM shaft will retail for around $550-600.

Haha i love the pictures

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Tom Wood's
2"x0.125" DOM (Drawn Over Mandrel)



Amanda's bent OEM shaft
1.76"x0.095 HREW (Hot Rolled Electrically Welded) <<See the seam?>>

No wonder Ive never (knock) had a Tom woods failure . FjR68