Replace rear driveshaft with one piece?

Has anyone had any experience with the following company? They seem to have a great reputation. I replaced the front axle bearing with ECGS bushing and they solved 99% of any vibration I had. Thinking about ordering a new rear one piece drive shaft as listed below. Any experience would be appreciated. Thank You


https://4xshaft.com/products/toyota-tacoma-rear-drive-shaft?rq=mk_toyota~md_tacoma~yr_any

 

They have a very good reputation. I seem to have got my vibrations under control but looked at those while I was working through the vibes.

 

Why bother if 99% of your vibes are gone ?

 

i’ve had a couple of them. call them and ask them to teach you about max drive shaft rpm’s and how re gearing can affect it. You can have serious speed limitations with a long one piece. IE: a second gen auto with 4:56 is limited to 70 mph

 

Thank you for the reply, that would have never crossed my mind. Would my stock geared truck with an auto have that type of limitation?

 

I thought that the one piece would be better with the double cardan and no carrier bearing.

 

Check out Tom Woods driveshafts.

 

Couple things to add in here: This is dependent on shaft material and tube diameter. The shaft can easily be built past what tolerances you would need.

Also, tire height plays a role. Remember, larger tires in your vehicle are effectively the same as gearing the driveline higher in terms of usage.

 

Have you had good luck with them?

 

The tires I have are only 32.5". I don't mind the investment if it will be an improvement and trouble free. Is this not a mod that is done much in the Tacoma world?

 

With a double cardan one-piece, the pinion working angle needs to be 0. You'll need to shim until the pinion slope matches the shaft slope.

+1 on researching critical speed

 

Sounds like maybe I am just asking for trouble?

 

Are you having trouble with your current driveshaft? If not, why are you fixing it?

 

I have installed them in everything from stock vehicles to 400 HP off-road monsters. Never had a problem that wasn't my own fault. 400 HP small block Chevy, 5.88 gears, locked, scared the shit out of anyone who rode in it. Tom Woods Shafts.

 

One concern in raising the pinion is oil starvation at the pinion bearing.
99% is good enough.

If you have to replace, I'd recommend a 2-piece w/ center double cardan. This requires setting the transfer case and pinion working angles the same; A=C, B is self cancelling. This requires adjusting the carrier bearing and pinion angle.

The way Toyota set up the 3rd Gen 2-piece(w/ standard u-joints), uses the A+B+C=0 method to cancel working angles.
It's common in this design to set the first working angle(A) at 1°; just enough to 'work' the u-joint needles. Toyota went 3.5°. When added to the "B" working angle, it means the "C" working angle has to be even greater in order to cancel them.

 

I was speaking specifically to what he is look at and specifically what Tom Woods sells. No, they can’t easily build one past what he needs due to the length and diameter restrictions. If you don’t believe me call them tomorrow and report back. They will build you a 4” vs the 3.5” but that is as big as you can go before it rubs the gas tank when the rear axle articulates. re: drive shaft max rom’s even with the 4” ie: if you have 35’s even with just 4:10’s it will reach critical around 70mph. They use Dana calcs which do err on the side of caution a bit.

 

Well it looks like this is not just as simple as replacing the axle bearing with a bushing. My vibration is very minimal and could just be tires. I had no idea there was so much to consider in replacing the drive shaft. Would it help to possibly shim the carrier bearing down to reduce the angle and make it straight? It would be far more affordable. Dumb question but when did Toyota stop using zerk fittings? Thank you all.

 

It’s honestly not complicated just ask all the right questions. Shimming the rear axle is very easy to properly set the pinion angle too. The one piece is a huge win over the oe set up, your drive line will feel so much more solid and zero vibes.

 

Tom Woods delivers an excellent product. I don't have any experience with the Toyota products, but his drive shafts are the gold standard in the Wrangler TJ world. Do your research and understand what you need, call Tom Woods if have to. I wouldn't hesitate to use any of his shafts.

 

All may be true of Tom Woods. There are plenty of shops out there that can make you a shaft from chromoly and other higher strength alloys.

Not a necessary item in my opinion either way. Stock shaft is fine.