dead front drive shaft

diesel_jr · **Posted:** Sat Dec 26, 2009 9:40 pm

I was on my way home last night when my jeep starts vibrating so I pull over and then at low speed it clanked loudly. I tracked it down to the back joint on the front driveshaft. It was shot! Does anyone know where I can get one at a reasonable rate? I work at Autozone and they are $379 here. I am hoping for something either cheaper or better.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:20 pm

Thats not a bad price.... you could try and find a DS shop that might be willing to rebuild it, bit it is still going to cost you $200+

FormerlyBankNote4x4 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:20 pm

How did you confirm it was bad?

corwyyn · **Posted:** Sun Dec 27, 2009 11:34 pm

You might try calling around to local parts yards and see if they can track one down for you - when mine went out I found a unit in good shape at a local pull-a-part place that cost me $90. It's been on my KJ for the past two years with no problems.

FormerlyBankNote4x4 wrote:

How did you confirm it was bad?

When one of the CVs goes bad you can move the end quite a bit, just a matter of trying both ends to see which one does so; plus there is the old eyeball check. This is what mine looked like compared to a good one, you can see the end of the shaft thru the tear in the boot (and some of the crud that got in and mucked everything up):

diesel_jr · **Posted:** Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:27 am

I know it was bad because the boot literally burned up and I could see blackened bearing balls! The paint peeled off of the end due to the heat, so it was pretty obvious! The only sign of it going out was a intermittent vibration, usually occurring when climbing a steep incline. I had just checked all of my boots and checked the shafts for play the week before and there was nothing that I noticed, but that particular boot is hard to inspect. Are the shafts the same as the gasser ones?

corwyyn · **Posted:** Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:41 am

diesel_jr wrote:

Are the shafts the same as the gasser ones?

No they are not. The parts list shows two different part numbers for the CRD depending on whether you have a manual or auto trans.

Yeah that boot is a PITA to check since it hides up in the shadows - the front boot is a lot easier to visually inspect. But it still pays to get under there and check things on a regular basis.

diesel_jr · **Posted:** Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:43 am

Well, I dropped it off at a rebuilder this morning. They are gonna R&R it for $195. That is doable! The only catch is that they send off that style and the rebuilder is closed for a week for the holidays. Can I drive it with the shaft out or will I loose the diff oil?

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:55 pm

You will be just fine driving with out a front drive shaft :SOMBRERO:

Good price on the rebuild to!

corwyyn · **Posted:** Mon Dec 28, 2009 4:33 pm

Yeah pulling the front shaft and driving is no problem - the rear end bolts up to a companion flange that stays on the t-case, pretty much the same for the front except that one has a recess for the rounded end of the shaft (once you get it out you'll see what I'm talking about). The front diff will merrily spin the empty mount until you can get the repaired shaft back in :mrgreen:

racertracer · **Posted:** Mon Dec 28, 2009 4:41 pm

I had that happen to my other car and the mechanic repaired it by spraying the heck out of the joint with brake clean, while he spun it on the lift. He replaced the boot when it was cleaned and all was fine after that.

Cost me $50.00 plus the parts.

Should have seen all the crud that dripped out along with the brake clean. He just kept spraying it untill it didn't make anymore noise, greased it, replaced the boot and sent me on my way.

He did mention that this would be an attempt / last resort to fix it before it would have to be rebuilt or replaced with a new or used one.

onthehunt · **Posted:** Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:08 pm

RTV can fix a small tear. I have a small tear in one of my boots and it has been RTV'd for 4 years. I have to peel and reapply it about once a year.

dead front drive shaft

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