I received the new drive shaft from Tom Wood on Thurs. 7/17. I placed the order on Monday, 7/14. It is made of steel and had a shipping weight of 37 pounds (UPS). The cost was a total of $304.00 including shipping. It went right in after I modified (cutting torch) the cross member that use to support the old center carrier bearing. After cutting, I reinforced this cross member with a C channel for stiffness. The skid plate attaches to the frame at the same point and should provide some stiffness also. I have only test driven the truck a couple of miles, but all seems to be OK. I'll provide updates as I get some additional miles on. The only other item that required some modification was the emergency brake cable. It now runs under the drive shaft where it used to be above. It actualy crosses under the rear output shaft housing of the NP205. By the way the slope on the new drive shaft is 4 degrees. Check out Tom Wood's site at
www.4xshaft.com. Also, my truck is a long bed fleetside, with stock suspension.