After doing this job for the 3rd time ... I'm NOT inclined to agree:)
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After doing this job for the 3rd time ... I'm NOT inclined to agree:)
Well maybe I just haven't owned mine long enough to plow through that many joints. My rt joint is on my garage floor right now. I will replace the whole rt shaft with cup and drop the diff next week.Quote:
Originally Posted by tom4bren
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ebenezr
I'm not sure I like replacing and buying shafts every other weekend!:bwgy: Especially in the middle of a trail.
x3, now that I have done both sides 4 times, and the drivers side one extra with another one on the way in the next few weeks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Triathlete
The consensus is then:
Light a fire under T4B to light a fire under RCV!!!
GAME ON!!!
I've owned mine four about 5 months. Have not been on any trails yet - but soon. I have replaced the ball loints, tie rod ends, steering gear, left front cv half shaft, shocks and tires and wow what a difference this maintenance has made. I am replacing the passenger side shaft with green cup this week cause some dum dum put a tripod style cv joint/cup on BUT do you all really go through joints this often? No exaggerations? Where are they breaking? If its at the inner cup maybe that is worn such that your replacements don't last.
I have only broke 2 joints, and a third on the way. I went through multiple boots, now I dropped the diff, so hopefully won't have to do that anymore. The aftermarket CVs are junk. Broke two on one wheeling trip. The OEM CVs are crazy expensive, hence the anticipation of getting the RCV joints.
(Oh, the shafts broke on the two I snapped, so not a tulip fitting issue)
Mine was a reworked CV joint. I noticed that the balls were binding slightly in the cage after it was reworked. It was just a matter of time.
RCV has my spare set (to reverse engineer them). Even if RCV takes a while to build ours, if I can get mine back soon ...
I have the diff drops on mine as well so once I've got a good set in place, I don't expect further problems ... of course that's what I thought when I had the originals rebuilt:)
Recognize that these two are among the most aggressive wheelers on the board...worst case scenario.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ebenezr
Aggressive? Me?:winky:
Not sayin' you are a throttle jockey, just that you try out the tougher trails than most VXers, and do it more often...
I called RCV again (never did hear back from Sean last week even though I talked to Craig).
They have a new phone system so it makes me wonder if there are major changes going on at RCV/Rockford Acromatic.
I also sent them another online message from their website.
And another week bites the dust:bump:Quote:
I called RCV again (never did hear back from Sean last week even though I talked to Craig).
They have a new phone system so it makes me wonder if there are major changes going on at RCV/Rockford Acromatic.
I also sent them another online message from their website.
Yup. I left another voicemail with Craig. Can't even transfer to Sean with their new phone system. I never got a response from their online messaging either.
If I can ever get ahold of a live person, I'll let them know that I need my half shafts back ASAP since I lost a CV joint recently. Mebbe that'll get them moving.
WooHoo
Sean made the mistake of answering the phone ... so I picked his brain for about 20 minutes (poor guy).
They are still going to offer replacement half shafts for us ... but it's still several months out. Probably won't be till late spring. They've taken all of the measurements from my set of shafts that they'll be needing so they are going to return mine soon.
The half shaft that they will be offering are a complete redesign so will look nothing like the OEM. They'll look something like this (click the pic to zoom):
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...timate-IFS.gif
As you can see in the pic, the boots are entirely different. They will not be offering replacement OEM boots to those that just want to upgrade the boots without the half shafts.
They are anticipating that these half shafts will be in the ball park of $1800 for the set. That's not suprising since that is the price of the others they offer.
The entire geometry of the CVs will be different so I'm really looking forward to checking out a set of these to see just what the improvements are. Despite the cost, I'll probably be one of the first to order a set.
For those that are lifting more than 3", you'll be able to order longer shafts.
For those that are lifting and adding the Super Flexy IFS mod, you'll also be able to special order the shaft with the slip joint added.
Couple ?????? that maybe you asked...
"a set"...is that left AND right? If so that is the same as a new oem set. So that is good!
will the cv joints have a higher degree of flex than the stock?
and lastly a huge thanks for keeping the ball rolling on this and following up!
:eek:whoa, how much is that SAS costing you again Ascinder? :laughb:Quote:
Originally Posted by tom4bren
I knew they would be expensive but closer to $1K rather than $2K. At least they look impressive
:dance:Quote:
Originally Posted by Triathlete
That's basically the price for all of their half shafts. Remember these are completely re-engineered to be bullet proof & high performance.Quote:
Originally Posted by VXorado
If that price is for both then its not a bad deal at all! ! Give your local stealership a call and price oem shafts.:yesy:Quote:
Originally Posted by VXorado
Sean is supposed to have a driver side half shaft ready for me in 4-6 weeks. Price is $900 plus shipping. Only ordering the one side for now since insurance is paying.:dance:
I'll keep you posted.
I finally got ahold of Sean again. He's supposed to call me back tomorrow with an estimate on the completion date. Keep fingers crossed.
I give up.
We've been working with them for 7 months now & have nothing to show for it.
I just left Craig another voicemail. Told him that they've just lost a $900 sale.
I've left 6 voicemails in the past 2 weeks with NO returned phone calls. I did manage to talk to Sean & he was supposed to call me back the next day ... he didn't.
Not sure what kind of business practice this is supposed to be but it ain't working.
I'll wait a couple of days & try to contact them again asking for the return of my OEM half shafts. I guess I'll get them rebuilt for the insurance claim.
BTW, if anyone wants to start calling to see if they have any better luck: 815-877-7473 option 1 for Craig. Option 3 & then 7326 for Sean.
I haven't posted but I've been calling them too up until a few weeks ago I gave up.
The repair shop tried calling and online messaging them for a month & then gave up.
Well, I finally got my OEM half shafts back from RCV on Friday except that one inner race and one shaft (between the inner & outer CV) was missing. Rekin I'll start calling them again today.
Need to start calling a few bone yards too & see if I can get the missing pieces there as well. Now that I know that Troops & Passports probably share the same shaft, I'm hoping I'll have some luck.
The only problem with all that, the trooper/slx shaft, although the same length, has a different spline count when it comes to swapping the ball and cages between cvs. Huge PITA. It is doable though, I still use my frankenstein CV. Not sure what parts came from where, we had an airbag full of cv joints that we went through to make it work.
I have some miscellaneous CV parts from my old set that I was gonna toss in the trash. What parts are you missing, the cage & knuckle on the rzeppa joint?
That would be great VXorado.
I need the inner race & the half shaft pictured below The inner race is what some have called "the Star" in the past & the half shaft is the short axle between the inner & outer CVs.
If ya got'm, I'll gladly pay shipping & make an extra site donation in your honor.
Pretty sure I have those. I'll check for ya after work today
Pretty sure I have an extra inner race. Not sure on the half shaft I can't remember. Maybe when I am done with my interior overhaul I will get all this out if you need it.
On second thought, lets just go with the inner race. I can K-ball the half shaft from the passenger side. Don't want to re-use the race though since it's been machined once already.Quote:
Originally Posted by VXorado
Looks like I have what you need Tom. Give me a couple days to clean everything up and I'll let you know shipping details.
U Da Man!!
uh. Not to pick scabs, but did this ever get worked out? I think I'm headed for new CVs...again...and would like them to be my last. Doesn't bother me 99% of the year, as it only makes noises in 4lo, but the last week started nudging me.
LOL, just wait till you blow your front drive shaft. Zu wants 500-600 for em. I took my spare to a driveshaft shop to have em rebuilt. No go. They said the boots are flanged on and there is no way to repair them. Dunno if I believe that, but I know my currently installed one is clattering. My spare has a torn boot, and apparently my original has had torn boots for quite some time. I mention it in this thread only because it has CVs at each end of the shaft, the drive shaft guy said it was a weird design, and not very strong. I agree, considering our rear Dana44 has axles the size of our wrists, yet our puny front drive train is lacking.
Long story short, there are a few routes::
One-Get em from the yards, I believe any TOD zu will do. Will find out this weekend when I go yard scouting.
Two-Fork over the 600 bones for a new one
Three-Install non-TOD transfer case and swap to the Zu front driveshaft with universals vice CVs.
Perhaps I should start a new thread...........:bgwb:
Marlin, mine is shot also. My plan is to have a shaft custom built to fit using ujoints. I'll let you know what I find out.
Hmm, not a horrible idea, I have some jeep friends that use square tubing for driveshafts, they just weld U-joints to the ends, if you tear one up, no worries...its easy to make a new one and they actually balance out just fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by Triathlete
Square shafts don't balance well at all. Those that have them generally only use them for off road. Mine will use round tube for tod use on the highway when needed.
I don't know if it was on here or Planet but I had discussed building the same thing Billy. Use yokes at each end for ujoints, weld a yoke in place of our cups and a yoke to the end of the splined part of the CV shaft. The main issue would be binding when turning while flexing since the u-joint would be trying to go 2 directions I think but in theory it should work. Be real easy to replace ujoints too.