Rebuilding oem driveshaft vs buying new a TW unit

[jmferg]

I have a decent amount of driveline vibration and I have narrowed it down to the rear driveshaft.
I have 156,000 on the original unit and probably oem u joints. I know the shaft is dry. I put a little grease in and it seemed a little better.
In my mind the driveshaft had 135,000 miles with 1 range of motion at stock height. Then it had 20,000 miles with 2.5" of lift which changed its range of extension and retraction. I can see it being out of balance from this alone. The slip joint has some play in it but the u joints have no play.

I have Been through the song and dance on my last f150 where I rebuild the old driveshaft with oem joints, polished the slip yolk and had it rebalanced ($200) and it still would address the vibes. I ended up spending a little more money to have a custom aluminum one built and that solved any issues.
With the 4Rs, is it worth spending the money and time rebuilding the original or would I be better off spending ~$450 on a new Tom Woods unit?


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[mtbtim]

I have a decent amount of driveline vibration and I have narrowed it down to the rear driveshaft.
I have 156,000 on the original unit and probably oem u joints. I know the shaft is dry. I put a little grease in and it seemed a little better.
In my mind the driveshaft had 135,000 miles with 1 range of motion at stock height. Then it had 20,000 miles with 2.5" of lift which changed its range of extension and retraction. I can see it being out of balance from this alone. The slip joint has some play in it but the u joints have no play.

I have Been through the song and dance on my last f150 where I rebuild the old driveshaft with oem joints, polished the slip yolk and had it rebalanced ($200) and it still would address the vibes. I ended up spending a little more money to have a custom aluminum one built and that solved any issues.
With the 4Rs, is it worth spending the money and time rebuilding the original or would I be better off spending ~$450 on a new Tom Woods unit?


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Rebuilding an OEM driveshaft is next to impossible because there isn't quality replacement u-joints and center joint for the double cardan joint.

Most people either pick up a used driveshaft at a wrecking yard or buy an aftermarket one like the ones you mentioned from Tom Woods.

 

[spartacus]

I have a decent amount of driveline vibration and I have narrowed it down to the rear driveshaft.
I have 156,000 on the original unit and probably oem u joints. I know the shaft is dry. I put a little grease in and it seemed a little better.
In my mind the driveshaft had 135,000 miles with 1 range of motion at stock height. Then it had 20,000 miles with 2.5" of lift which changed its range of extension and retraction. I can see it being out of balance from this alone. The slip joint has some play in it but the u joints have no play.

I have Been through the song and dance on my last f150 where I rebuild the old driveshaft with oem joints, polished the slip yolk and had it rebalanced ($200) and it still would address the vibes. I ended up spending a little more money to have a custom aluminum one built and that solved any issues.
With the 4Rs, is it worth spending the money and time rebuilding the original or would I be better off spending ~$450 on a new Tom Woods unit?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't know if you've read this thread but it's got some good info

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/227093-driveshaft-options-questions.html

 

[thezentree]

My 4Runner has a Tom Woods driveshaft. I sent them the wrong bolt pattern for the transfer case output flange for the first shaft I got from them. They fixed it for free. The second driveshaft I got from them was barely bent (0.025” runout), probably from shipping. I didn’t realize the shaft was bent for six months, thought it was something else in the front end vibrating. Tom Woods fixed it for free, six months later. They have great customer service, even when their customer is an idiot.