Driveshaft Question

Hi,

Curious to know how much work others have put into "rebuilding" their driveshafts. I am putting my 74 CJ5 back together and normally I would slap a new U-joint on each end of the driveshaft, hit the grease fittings and reinstall.

However, there is a shop that specializes in drivetrain and driveshafts not far from my house and I was thinking of dropping them off for balancing, etc. Does anyone here think this is worth it? It will probably be a total of around $300 to get both driveshafts gone over. Do they ever need rebalancing, seals or anything else? I just don't want to waste $300 if the shop is not going to really do anything.

Thanks

 

Not a big deal if you wait and ever needed to do it later.

 

Have your rear balanced. It is the only one you should be spinning fast enough to need balancing.

 

That’s the ballpark price of an entirely new driveshaft. I’d get a new rear and forget the front unless it has noticeable issues. The splines wear out on these things over time, and balancing a sloppy spline is like polishing a turd.

 

This.
Tattons drive line store on eBay I think is still running $150 for a standard shaft with much larger heavier tubes and spicer joints. None of my local shops can touch that for the price. In fact that’s what it cost locally to have my wife’s Falcon shortened and Input swapped. If you’re feeling frisky another $150 gets a new front shaft, again heavy duty with a much larger longer spline.

 

I think this is a question of whether you want or need to do this.
Driveshafts usually need attention if they are damaged, slip joint sloppy, the stock weight is missing (if it had one), or you are experiencing a vibration. If none of these apply, then a rebuilt/new driveline is nothing more than piece of mind.

 

Thanks for the feedback gang. Good point on the front driveshaft. It gets very little action. I think I will just put both back in as they are and if the rear is vibrating or making noise I'll replace it with one from Tattons. Appreciate the help.

 

I have replaced both shafts with ones I bought from Tattons. I have been very happy with them nice quality and much larger then the originals. Both of mine had the splines wore so much that there was a lot of play in them.