One Piece Driveshaft for DCSB 4x4

Did you do anything to that cross member? I have a 4" driveshaft too and it seemed awfully close to it, so I took it out completely.

 

That thread while very helpful doesn’t have a ton of information about actual experience with single piece driveshafts. Trust me I’ve read the entire thread at least 5 times. Some say they have to trim the crossmember some day they didn’t. A lot of the thread is about making a two piece driveshaft work. Once I get mine installed I plan I’m starting a thread dedicated to single piece driveshafts.

 

I paid $230 to convert my 2 piece drive shaft to a single piece .120 wall dom with new spice u joints. OP shop around and ask locals

 

You do not need the one piece DS to be made from aluminum. I’ve been running 1/8 wall steel one piece DSs for years now. No vibes. No headache. No interference with the crossmember.

I say DSs because I ran one successfully with the factory rear, and am running a different one with a Dana 60 rear.

I drive the truck every day, and made two trips to Moab UT from NJ with this setup.

 

Thanks, man, appreciate the info

 

Exactly. No way I'd pay what these other guys paid for a one piece driveshaft. There's a big price to be paid for some manufactuer's names.

 

http://www.driveshaftsuperstore.com/

 

To this day I can't find a mechanical reason why they would have to use a 2 piece design. My guess is just to be a buffer between the trans/tcase and rear diff as it rocks up and down under acceleration. As far as 'needing' to go to a one piece driveshaft, it's not really a necessity unless you start to modify the suspension pretty significantly. With a 3" lift, over the period of 10 years or so, i fought the vibrations with all the usual crap fixes and swapped the center bearing ever few years. In retrospect, if I would have paid the $850 12 years ago for the aluminum driveshaft it would have saved me money, TONS of time and TONS of headaches!!!

That being said... Immediately after going from 3" lift to 7" lift the vibrations got so bad within a couple weeks, I literally parked it until I got the driveshaft made.

Its not 'necessary' unless your going to go 6"+, then it's pretty much a must do. Under 6 inches of lift, I would call it a highly recommended upgrade to save you some time and money and headache in the end.

That's my experience with this issue.

 

I just removed the center bearing. I have 6" lift in the back, the angle of the driveshaft gives plenty space between the driveshaft and the cross member. I was worried about that to so I put a GoPro underneath and got some air a couple times to see if it would rub. It didn't, lol

 

Another 2 cents:
Lots of posts and old pages on 1 piece on the forum to read and many of us have one.
Your Prerunner 1 piece has the splines in the trans unlike the 4wds that are flanges both ends and probably those heavier springs helped your vibrations too.

As for aluminum vs steel and 3.5" vs 4" diameter its lift, horsepower, and speed related plus the critical speed harmonics of each.
Drag racers use aluminum for lighter rotational weight and a thicker tube for high HP.
Both will dent and bend with high impacts such as sitting on a boulder high centered.
As for higher rotational speed equating to higher highway speed, calculations say its true but who really cruises over 80 in a 4wd Tacoma.

After all the posts I've read you all are over thinking this mess as I'd have to guess Toyota legacy old vehicles had a 2 piece and it worked in the past before performance increased and their springs got too weak to stop wrapping and it caught them by surprise and they dropped the ball. Really showed up in 2005 when the new model Tacoma came out of the 04 Tundra, also redesigned. For the average buyer the 2 piece works OK as they do not use it for anything but commuting and most do not even feel or think about the vibration as its a tough pretty truck to them. Factory never had to retool either. Plus most function past the warranty so they make money repairing/replacing the mess so a win win for them.

I'm happy with my 3.5" steel 1 piece with 1310 spicer u-joints for 6 years on a Dakar 3" lift.
Others with 6" lift use the double carden as TW site suggests.
1350 u-joints are for heavier loading/use as some of the bigger tire and lower geared guys need.

 

Yes, I was and am serious. That thread is not a "post your 1 piece driveshaft results" thread. Far from it, just b/c the OP and a couple others chimed in as it fixing their problems. Since this topic is popular lately, its an opportunity to have others give their experience and build a larger group of people who have actually done this. Would be nice to see who built their driveshafts too so people have other options aside from Tom Woods. NOthing against him, but local shops are nice to work with.
Other than that, I have no idea what you were trying to contribute by your post aside from being sarcastic.

 

Who did yours? Here in Jersey?

 

Just finished installing a new carrier bearing and added a drop kit (OME 8mm shims) yesterday. My previous CB was shredded, so that was definitely my problem. 5-yr old u-joints were in pristine shape (Duralast greasable), so I just replaced the CB.

Vibes just shifted from 5-7 mph to 10-15 mph. I'll do some flipping of the CB, removing shims, etc...and see if it does anything. If none of this helps, I'll save up and go 1-piece ASAP.

 

The axle exchange in Fairfield NJ. Not cheap, but it’s good to have a relationship with a local place when you twist the DS... lol

 

So I received my Tom Woods single piece driveshaft today. I work 6-6 so I didn’t have a ton of time to test it out. The install went very smoothly and the fit and finish of the driveshaft is top notch. The driveshaft looks like it could possibly hit the crossmember, but only where the CB would mount to. Going over curbs pretty hard didn’t cause contact so I’m not going to cut anything out until I’m satisfied with the DS.
Actual results. Take off vibes are completely gone. The vibes I had at 40-60 mph are gone as well. So far I’m completely happy. I have Friday off so I should be able to get a better feel and take it up to 80mph. I’ll have pictures of the clearance tomorrow as well.

 

Sub

 

Yes - let us know how it turns out! Mine is still vibrating between 10-15 and 60-65. I reeeeally wanna find a way to eliminate this nonsense.

 

Had my 1 piece TW in for almost 6 years never hit that remaining top section of the old center bearing mount. Mine is a 3.5" shaft with 1310 u-joints on 3" Dakar lift. I mounted the slip portion to the xfer case direction for better protection off road as others put it to the rear and more exposed to being bashed in my opinion. Never a problem from the 1 piece. The Dakars stopped any spring wrap changing the angle also. 5100s all around with front up about 2" set on second notch from top with stock springs so a-arms stock and steering and alignment perfect.
Enjoy.

 

Here are some pictures that show the clearance to the cross member. Like i said it’s close on the sides but looks like there is plenty of room if I got rid of the brackets that hold the CB.

 

Awesome! Keep us updated.

What diameter is that one?