Replacing Half Of A Factory Driveshaft

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GP Noir

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Wolf Hollow
Question Of The Day- Can Half The Driveshaft Be Replaced- Safely?

I recently bought a 2012 Wrangler Rubicon from a dealer. During the pre purchase inspection, I found the U joints of the front driveshaft were toast. The dealer promised they'd take care of it. It's just a simple U joint replacement, right?

This is my first JK. Prior to this, I've owned several Cherokees, XJs and FSJs (Full Sized Jeeps). I'd never even heard of Rzeppa joints until a few days ago- that's how little I know about JKs.

The upshot is, the dealer tells me the U-joints are not rebuildable. (Just to be clear, I'm talking about the forward end of the driveshaft that connects to the axle. Not the aft that connects to the T case.) Dealer says he'll either pay for the installation of a factory shaft, or will put the money towards an aftermarket shaft. Online, factory shafts cost about the same as an Adams shaft. I ordered an Adams 1350 double cardan DS.

The dealer tells me they can just replace the front half of the shaft, the back half of the shaft is still good and will cut me a check for about half of the cost of a full shaft. For a variety of reasons, I'm thinking this is hokey and the whole shaft should be replaced. My thoughts are, the only way they can get half a driveshaft is to cannibalize one from a junkyard and that's not acceptable.

Am I off my rocker here? Does someplace sell a new half that can be used to return the front drive shaft to service?

Thanks
 
To be clear. Are you talking about half of the FRONT drive shaft? and not just the front drive shaft to not include the rear drive shaft. (making it half of the drive shafts... I guess)

So U-joins aren't rebuildable... I'm pretty sure drive shafts aren't either. If part of one fails, I don't think you can just cobble one together. They are balanced etc. That being said, I just learned what a rzeppa joint is.

Hold off for others to chime in, but sounds like a dealer trying to spend less than they should.
 
The u joints are replaceable at the axle end of the shaft, I just checked. Just another example of a Dealer not knowing how to repair a vehicle.

The Dealer is right that the U joint isn't rebuildable but they are replaceable with a new one.
 
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My bad- I meant to say I was told the U joints couldn't be replaced.

Update- I called the dealer and expressed my concerns. I am pleased to say, the dealer resolved the situation more than to my satisfaction.

Thanks to all!
 
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GP Noir said:
My bad- I meant to say I was told the U joints couldn't be replaced.

Update- I called the dealer and expressed my concerns. I am pleased to say, the dealer resolved the situation more than to my satisfaction.

Thanks to all!
Click to expand...


But they can be replaced I just looked when I made my last post and the U joints are available for the front shaft.

How and what did the Dealer do to resolve the situation?
 
GP Noir said:
He's covering his cost for a factory drive shaft. I couldn't ask for more than that.

I have the Adams driveshaft in hand and just need to get it installed.
Click to expand...

Not a very smart Dealer saying it can't be replaced but you win, just sell the new stock driveshaft to help pay for the Adams.
 
He's very smart. I'm a satisfied customer and would do business with him again. Buying from him has been one of the best car buying experiences I've had.

A factory driveshaft was never ordered. He's cutting me a check which will be used to pay the credit card I bought the Adams driveshaft with.

I couldn't be happier with how things turned out.
 
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If you are willing to learn and have the tools, I highly suggest checking out youtube on installing the driveshaft, should be super easy. I get a bunch more satisfaction in my jeep by doing a ton of the work myself. It really adds to the personal connection to the vehicle and can save you a ton of money. Leaving more for upgrades.
 
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I figure if I can build this-
i-V8f5Wzw-M.jpg

NV4500 5 speed, Currie Built 9 inch w/reverse rotation 8.8 center & Detroit locker, D30 w/ARB, 4.56 gears, 35 inch tires, 5 inch lift, home fabricated bumpers, steel tubes welded in place of the sheetmetal rockers

installing a driveshaft won't be hard :cool:

I need to dig around to see if I've still got an impact gun and the socket for the axle pinion nut or if they were lost in the last move. Only trouble is, I don't have a paved driveway to work on, or a garage and the weather is still cold. 32 degrees when I got up this morning.

Best case, I coordinate with a friend who has a good place to work and all the tools needed for the job. He has more experience with setting up gears than I do and knows what the lash should feel like after the pinion nut is torqued. Worst case, I do it myself laying in the dirt in the yard with tools borrowed from O'Reilly's.
 
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