Tweaked Driveshaft = Vibes

Hey TW,

I have a slight tweak in my driveshaft from kissing a rock offroad. Tweak has causes a pretty noticeable rotational vibe in the truck.

My question is, should i have this driveshaft repaired, buy a new OEM driveshaft or buy a new driveshaft from Autozone/Advanced Auto/Napa?

Thanks!

 

Ask around which local Denver driveline company would be able to look at it.

 

I called one shop already and they told me I need to bring them my driveshaft, I am going to call a few more lol

 

Once the driveshaft is compromised like so, it can easily fail and become a salad shooter under your truck.

 

time for an aftermarket driveshaft

 

so your recommendation is?

 

My recommendation is stop driving it unless you want your truck totaled.. i'd remove the thing and goto a driveshaft shop where they specialize in making ones which are typically cheaper than new at the dealer and better than rock-auto/autozone crap.

If its 4wd you can drive in FWD/4WD while the drive shaft is out. just take it easy

 

Most driveline shops will only want to deal with the shaft pulled from the truck. But the plus side is resleeving and balancing is a pretty simple job for them

 

Got any pictures of the damage? Last weekend I hit mine a few times, only I don't have any vibes. Half the people on here say it's fine and to carry on, the other half say it's worth checking out. I have an appointment with a driveshaft shop on Monday for them to check it out. He said he doesn't need it removed from the truck but he's got some rig similar to a dyno where he can check for vibes while the truck is in drive. Here's what mine looks like for a comparison. Most of the damage looks like cosmetic scuffs, with only one very small dent that's hard to show in pictures:

 

Mine looks fairly similar to this.

 

I would have a 2 piece double cardan shaft built by a reputable local shop.

 

Just get the rear section retubed with thicker wall tubing. There's several places on the front range that will do it.

Bill's Englewood seems is usually the first to be recommended.

 

right next to my office, basically, ill check em out!

 

Is yours dented at all? I'm interested in how the cosmetic scuffs could cause the vibes. I'm not downplaying the severity of the consequences from an out of balance shaft, just curious how they would occur? On mine you have to feel real closely to feel the dent, and I do not have any vibes. If it isn't dented and the vibes came on suddenly and are that severe, I wonder if something else got damaged at the same time. Although I could be very wrong and the shaft could be damaged below the surface.

 

i had my truck on a lift and let the wheels roll and was able to visibly see a wobble in the driveshaft

 

They’ll have to replace that section, have seen several local guys with similar damage and the driveshaft shop wasn’t able to repair.

 

Well Toyota wants $881.85 for a new OEM driveshaft.....

 

Should about half that for a built one from a good shop.

 

Didn't read any of the comments but my take on it is get a retube. I made mine look like a candy cane and had it retubed and balanced to be good as new. When I blew a ujoint I had Colorado drive shaft add a new joint carrier and they were top notch. Even offered me tools and cardboard to put stuff back on the truck. Added the last ujoint and checked balance for free.

 

Ok then yeah I definitely think you need to retube. You might not need a new shaft but the shop should be able to tell you. I’m hopeful mine looks straight when I check in on Monday. I don’t feel like I did enough damage to justify a repair. Fingers crossed...