Bent Rear Driveshaft

[Benjamin]

Just picked up this truck, but the rear driveshaft (2-piece with a carrier bearing) is slightly bent, causing a significant driveline vibration. Any tips on where to buy a replacement?

[mongocanfly]

Best thing would be to have a new section made ...any driveshaft shop can handle this..Itll need rebalancend as well and they need both pieces to do that

[sweetk30]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Best thing would be to have a new section made ...any driveshaft shop can handle this..Itll need rebalancend as well and they need both pieces to do that

x2 on this , look up drive shaft shops or call local BIG truck parts stores or repair places and ask who is doing drive shafts in your area .

i am lucky and have a good place here in town . same guy behind the counter or over 10 years .

[Benjamin]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I guess I was looking more for "mail-order." I have had trouble in the past finding help on stuff like this in the New Orleans area (i.e. "reliable ____ shop")
I found a shop yesterday afternoon that can re-tube and balance so I'm going to give them a shot.

Tom Wood website says they DO NOT build and balance carrier bearing 2-piece shafts.

High Angle Driveline gave me a ballpark number that is significantly more than the rebuild estimate I got at the local shop, not surprised, but it is a good sanity check.

[buffydores]

I was gonna recommend Tom Wood's, but it sounds like you tried that.

[sweetk30]

https://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/

another mail order place been in the biss for YEARS .

[Benjamin]

emailed Denny's, this was their response:

We no longer build complete 2-piece assemblies.
We are limited to 1-piece driveshafts up to a maximum length of around 65".
Try Sindall Truck Service @ 717-354-3288, ask for Bob.
Here is a link to their website as well:
https://www.sindalltruckservice.com/driveshafts

From Sindall's website:

Driveshaft Repair and Replacement Services
Sindall Truck Service can repair and balance your existing steel or aluminum driveshaft, or build you a complete new assembly. We are able to balance multiple shafts with multiple carrier bearings up to 13' long Driveshaft parts, axles, differential gears, bearing kits and customized driveshafts are also available.

[sweetk30]

thats why i like dennys ....... they help even if its not there product .

i would still see if local can help first . as shipping is CRAZY money these days . i shipped a small box for 2hr north of the pa shop they sent you a link to all the way down to la and it was almost 60 bucks . i cant imagin the cost of the shaft to you .

[davischevy]

Ben, did you get the driveshaft made?

[Palf70Step]

There is a good place in Baton Rouge that several friends/board members have used. Jeremy (62 short step) can give you his info as I forgot their name.

[Benjamin]

I ended up going to Northlake Driveline in Slidell, LA
The guy said a new carrier bearing was not a snug fit on the stub shaft (slid on by hand without needing to be pressed) so they replaced the stub shaft, carrier bearing, all 3 u-joints, and the rear tube.

That took care of the 35-45 vibration but now I am chasing a slight, but significant vibration around 60-65 mph.

Replaced the front wheel bearings. Did not help.

Next idea is to get my tires balanced, which I probably should have done to start with.

[sweetk30]

vibration feeling

if its more in the steering wheel its the front end

if its in the floor or up in your butt its in the rear

this is true 98% of the time so use this to help diagnose .

and yes you should have balanced tires first as its the cheapest thing to do . and carrier bearings are pressed on drive shafts for anyone else searching and find this .

[Benjamin]

sweetk30 it is definitely in the "core"
Sounds fast (high frequency)
The guy who diagnosed the bent shaft suggested it could be some bearings in the rear axle.
I have a nagging feeling that something is not 100% right with the driveshaft.

[cadillac_al]

I wonder how it got bent in the first place. It just have had a rough adventure at some time.

[davischevy]

If it's high frequency, with new u joints, it's probably the u joint caused by improper pinion alignment. If your truck is lifted, it changed the pinion alignment.

My Longhorn had a vibration, especially in a right hand corner. I installed shims between the rear axle and spring and fixed that problem.

Do a search for pinion alignment. There is a ton of info out there on the subject. It's one of the most common and most overlooked sources of vibration in a vehicle.

[davischevy]

Did the driveline shop confirm it was bent?

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by davischevy

Did the driveline shop confirm it was bent?

yeah, he did say it had some runout

not lifted, but I'll consider the pinion angle "angle"

[davischevy]

That's a neat old truck BTW. It would have been "in vogue" in Waxahachie.

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by davischevy

That's a neat old truck BTW. It would have been "in vogue" in Waxahachie.

Thanks!
I had just gotten it about 3 weeks prior and it wasn't quite ready for a 500 mile haul, maybe next year...