Help! WJ front driveshaft...

[jeepboyd]

check your front pinion angle. did your lift come with adjustable uppers? I had a 4" lift rock krawler lift with all new control arms and never that happen. i know the repezza joint doesn't have that much movement in it . are there any dents in the ring where the shaft goes into the joint? if there are then you were over flexing the shaft.

 

[Tanto]

I've got the quadra drive system & haven't had any problems like this. I'm at about 3" of lift though, the extra inch may be part of the problem. I do however have a funny rattle when at low rpm, just coming off idle and crawling speed. I haven't been able to figure out where it is coming from for the past year and a half.

 

[JChatary]

OK...the problem is the CV end of the driveshaft. It's 50/50 it will work right or not. Since the 4" of lift subtly increases the distance from the tcase to the front diff....I need a double cardon d-shaft. Stronger ends...maybe a couple centimeters longer (I'm guessing) and will prevent my problems from happening. If I don't do this, I can look forward to replacing my front d-shaft every couple thousand miles, regardless of off road or on road. I have a friend who is pointing me in the direction of getting this done right at a pretty decent cost.

 

[prepmech]

Rustys offroad sells a conversion kit using a tom woods shaft for the WJ front shaft.

http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/mercha...tys&Product_Code=RD-DS01-WJ&Category_Code=SYE

 

[wjtoy]

Ringin10 - I have the same WJ as you and I replaced my front ds with a Tom Woods shaft through Iron Rock Offroad. It looks similar to prepmech's suggestion from Rusty's Offroad. The U-Joint style has been much better, reducing some minor vibrations I had in the front.

 

[pete.wilson]

Hey

Ringin 10,

How did you make out with your drive shaft problems?


I was recently down in OK and romped on mine in some mud and now I hear kind of a maoning sound which gets louder the faster I go. The dealer said I have a bad front driveshaft (CV) and a leaking output pinion seal which I can see, gave me a quote for $2100. Rusty's has a replacement drive shaft with regular ujoints for $400 plus labor. I think this is what I'm going to do when I have the cash.

Any thoughts from anyone else.

Pete Wilson

 

[madizell]

Any thoughts from anyone else.

Considering all the problems everyone has been having, I would suggest you stay out of the mud.

 

[JChatary]

I went up to Pomona to J.E. Reel Drivelines and had them make one for me...$400 later....but at least this one will last the lifetime of my WJ! AND...it elmiinated the minor wobble I was experiencing in my steering wheel!

 

[theksmith]

I went up to Pomona to J.E. Reel Drivelines and had them make one for me...$400 later....but at least this one will last the lifetime of my WJ! AND...it elmiinated the minor wobble I was experiencing in my steering wheel!

glad to see you finally got this fixed and everything is working well!

the CV shaft not working out on lifted WJ's is a common problem and the Rusty's, IRO, or a local companies Double Cardan conversion is the correct fix. Fortunately in 2002, Jeep changed back to the Double Cardan style so it was one less thing I had to do with mine.

 

[pete.wilson]

Hey

You would think Jeep engineers would know better since they should have the most off-road experience of any major US automotive company out there. Mine is still making it's noise but is driveable until I can save up the bucks to get it replaced, with an aftermarket drivesgaft of course.

Pete Wilson

 

[theksmith]

You would think Jeep engineers would know better ...
Pete Wilson

well it must have been an experiment, becuase every XJ and ZJ before was double-cardan, then they only tried it for 3 years in the WJ before going back to double-cardan.

i hear the new JK's have true CV joints in the driveshafts too, not sure if it's a more robust design or better quality thant the WJ ones though...

 

[Root Moose]

well it must have been an experiment, becuase every XJ and ZJ before was double-cardan, then they only tried it for 3 years in the WJ before going back to double-cardan.

i hear the new JK's have true CV joints in the driveshafts too, not sure if it's a more robust design or better quality thant the WJ ones though...

Normally mfg'ers use CVs where they are concerned about noise and vibration levels. CVs are less prone to these things. In the case of WJs I guess they figured no one would wheel them and then when they did got tired of warranty replacing joints. That's pure speculation on my part.

 

[pete.wilson]

Hey

Ringin10,

About how much was it to have the driveshaft installed? I'm going to have to do the same with mine before it gets too bad. Thanks

Pete Wilson

 

[JChatary]

It was right around $75.

 

[juicexj24]

Agreed on the Tom Woods shaft through Iron Rock Offroad conversion. Comes with a u-jointed yoke for the pinion. The only option for upgrading the front axle is a custom one, TJ, XJ, ZJ don't fit because they are too narrow.