Raise your hand if you've broken or bent a rear drive shaft!

[Jetboy]

I've searched and found some older gen examples. - Has anyone bent/broken a rear shaft on a 5th gen? Trying to prep for another season of offroading that will end up in the rocks. I'm headed to the Rubicon again in a few weeks. Didn't have any issues last time, but trying to decide if a spare drive shaft is going in the spare parts set for this trip. Last year I did grind on it a fair bit and felt like it was at risk for damage even though I didn't damage it. The only spare part I carry now is an axle and a handful of assorted metric hardware.

So - who's done it? How strong are they? What did it take to bend/break it? Is it something you think is easy enough to do to be worth carrying a spare?

Thanks.

 

[gm350reratliff]

Not on a 4runner but I've broken a rear shaft on a chevy truck before. Supercharger + carbon/fiberglass shaft + rocks = most excellent destruction.

 

[md-lucky]

If I was going to carry a spare, I would probably build something that worked for both the front and the rear.

Get 3 pieces of thick walled square tubing. 2 of the pieces need to fit inside the third. 1 gets the u-join and slip that fits in the t-case and is the longest piece. 1 gets the u-joint for the axles and is short enough for both the front and the rear, and the last one gets the front assembly (potentially with CV if needed).

You you can slide whichever connector you need into the square tubing. Grease the hell out of it if you put it to use.

You would want to pull it once you got out of the really nasty stuff because it wouldn't be balanced. But it could get you out of a bad situation and back to where a tow truck or trailer can get you.

I've done this one my old bronco - it's all the same u-joints so I don't need 3 pieces like you would with a 4runner spare. Unfortunately with the slip in the t-case you couldn't just pull it and drive home in front wheel drive only... that's a downside.

Just a thought. If it's going to take up space, might as well solve for both of them.

 

[Jetboy]

If I was going to carry a spare, I would probably build something that worked for both the front and the rear.

Get 3 pieces of thick walled square tubing. 2 of the pieces need to fit inside the third. 1 gets the u-join and slip that fits in the t-case and is the longest piece. 1 gets the u-joint for the axles and is short enough for both the front and the rear, and the last one gets the front assembly (potentially with CV if needed).

You you can slide whichever connector you need into the square tubing. Grease the hell out of it if you put it to use.

You would want to pull it once you got out of the really nasty stuff because it wouldn't be balanced. But it could get you out of a bad situation and back to where a tow truck or trailer can get you.

I've done this one my old bronco - it's all the same u-joints so I don't need 3 pieces like you would with a 4runner spare. Unfortunately with the slip in the t-case you couldn't just pull it and drive home in front wheel drive only... that's a downside.

Just a thought. If it's going to take up space, might as well solve for both of them.

That's not a bad idea. I was just going to buy a junkyard rear shaft and toss it in as a backup.

The main issue in my mind is when the drive shaft becomes a rock slider. That's where I've been pretty worried - but it's held up to the 4runner weight before. Just worried I'd banana it at some point. Since the front is totally protected I wasn't worried about it. I've never broken a front shaft. I've only broken a rear one in my trail rig. Basically doing the same thing. But you make a solid argument for having a universal spare. I assume all the flanges are matching, but I'd better check. If they match older stuff I probably have some shaft ends around I could just make up a makeshift shaft.