hilux one piece tailshaft

[4x4ewok]

The center bearing in my 106 is shagged and I am trying to decide which path to go down. Replace the bearing or replace the tailshaft with a one piece.
I have done quite a bit of searching on the subject, and there seems to be a fairly even spread fore and against. However most of these posts are a few years old so I am looking for peoples more recent opinions.

Just for a bit info it is standard height at the moment but I am going to being putting a 2in. lift in her in the not to far distant future. I am also tossing up the idear of a body lift as well but haven't decided on that one yet.

At the momentI am leaning towards going the one piece.

For those of you who have gone down the one piece option, have you just had a whole new shaft made, modified the existing one or modifed a tailshaft out of another vehicle.

cheers

[Nuckingfuts]

from what i found a single piece seems to be the way to go, i was destroying centre bearings all the time too.I cut up my old 2 piece shaft and made a single piece one out of it. mine only has the standard slip yoke in it but a long travel yoke one would be the go depending on how far you are goin to with the rest of the car. Got quoted a small fortune to have one made.

[hilux79]

For what you are planing you don't have to mod the shaft.
A body lift won't change anything with the shaft.
But you have to way up the cost of center bearings compared to getting a new shaft made up. Mine only lasted 8 months.

[sloshy]

Single piece shaft is a standard mod on a hilux these days, don't waste your time and money on centre bearings.

[pom]

if your planning on putting lift in go the single one peice because when the car gets lifted the angle from your centre bearing down to your diff obviously gets steeper and the bearings flog out quicker. single shaft is def the way to go mate

[thrashlux]

be very very carful when you get your single peice shaft made

i have learnt the hard way about "critical frequency"

the longer the shaft the lower the critical freqency

i had 2 brand new drive shafts literally blow up at 130 kph one after the other both on the hiway on a smooth flat road neither shaft was damaged at all never been off road.

if you have low diff gears and power watch out

the last one near tore the rear diff from the truck destroyed both fuel tanks then punched a hole through the floor ander the drivers seat.

also locking both back tyres

this was due to the drive shaft manufacture using a smaller diameter tube than was used on the normal 1 piece shafts

then i put in a std toyota 1 peice shaft it goes out to alarger diameter for the center section it has been tested no problem to 180kph

I had 488 and 31's so drive shaft was spining quite fast














thrashlux

[RED60]

Thrash, I don't know if your car is pet or diesel, but if u ruptured a tank and was petrol, I recon you would have had a BIG fire.

[thrashlux]

Thrash, I don't know if your car is pet or diesel, but if u ruptured a tank and was petrol, I recon you would have had a BIG fire.

well as you can see there are 2 tanks both beaten to a pulp but neither of them ruptured one was weeping fuel from a seam but it was near turned inside out

if there had of been a fire i probaly would have not been too much more scared because i was on the verge of shitting myself any way (big bangs, back of the car lifting up then a big piece of metal chewing its way through the floor under my arse plus going sideways at 110kph at this stage)

the car ia petrol and it had about 50ltrs of pulp in it

very lucky no fire

guess what the drive shaft people would not even give a refund after 2 did the same thing in 500km

i had always run STD shaft before that been to cape york 2 times with the std one with rooted uni's

the shaft cost $500

went to the wreckers bought one for $125 went up to 180 kph no worries since

[4x4ewok]

thanks for the info guys, sound like a one piece will be the road to head down.

Thrash thanks for you input definatly some food for thought. What model lux do you have? mine is a diesel so I'm thinking those kind of speeds won't be much of an issue for me. definatly a scarry thought though. what diameters where your old and new shafts?

[thrashlux]

it happend to my old truck it was 1980 model petrol with a 3sge fitted (98 model MR2 engine)

aftermarket shafts were 2.5 inch
factory are 3 inch

and the aftermarket was made from thicker steel

[Shadow]

guess what the drive shaft people would not even give a refund after 2 did the same thing in 500km

No way would i have accepted thios

i would have taken him for all damages and sewed his ass for stress aswell.

He is the expert on driveshafts, he sold you one that could have caused a fatal accident. Any court in australia would have awarded all damages to you.

Thier is a chain of responsibility that is investigated in any fatal accident. This driveshaft maker would have been taken to the cleaners if someone died or was seriously injured.

Who made the driveshaft? Just so everyone knows who NOT to buy driveshafts from.

[coopster]

if you are doing 180 kms on the highway i would put a tailshaft loop on it so it dozen happen again

[sloshy]

if you are doing 180 kms on the highway i would put a tailshaft loop on it so it dozen happen again

In a 4wd hilux

[RUFF]

guess what the drive shaft people would not even give a refund after 2 did the same thing in 500km

No way would i have accepted thios

i would have taken him for all damages and sewed his ass for stress aswell.

He is the expert on driveshafts, he sold you one that could have caused a fatal accident. Any court in australia would have awarded all damages to you.

Thier is a chain of responsibility that is investigated in any fatal accident. This driveshaft maker would have been taken to the cleaners if someone died or was seriously injured.

Who made the driveshaft? Just so everyone knows who NOT to buy driveshafts from.

The size of those shafts is commonly accepted in the industry in this application. Ive used one piece shafts of the same size and ran them at similar speeds with no issues at all for thousands and thousands of ks. And have fitted many of the same size shafts to Hilux's with more power and tourque than a 3sge could ever hope to put out. There has to be more to it to have caused these failures other than the size of the tube.

Looking at the picture of the damaged shaft and the area it failed in i would expect it either rubbed one of the fuel tanks or the horseshoe crossmember above which is a very common problem. Actually on a second look i would imagine there was very little clearance between the exhast and the shaft with the exhast being run along side the tank.

[Shadow]

guess what the drive shaft people would not even give a refund after 2 did the same thing in 500km

No way would i have accepted thios

i would have taken him for all damages and sewed his ass for stress aswell.

He is the expert on driveshafts, he sold you one that could have caused a fatal accident. Any court in australia would have awarded all damages to you.

Thier is a chain of responsibility that is investigated in any fatal accident. This driveshaft maker would have been taken to the cleaners if someone died or was seriously injured.

Who made the driveshaft? Just so everyone knows who NOT to buy driveshafts from.

The size of those shafts is commonly accepted in the industry in this application. Ive used one piece shafts of the same size and ran them at similar speeds with no issues at all for thousands and thousands of ks. And have fitted many of the same size shafts to Hilux's with more power and tourque than a 3sge could ever hope to put out. There has to be more to it to have caused these failures other than the size of the tube.

Looking at the picture of the damaged shaft and the area it failed in i would expect it either rubbed one of the fuel tanks or the horseshoe crossmember above which is a very common problem. Actually on a second look i would imagine there was very little clearance between the exhast and the shaft with the exhast being run along side the tank.

yet a larger shaft fits down said tunnel?

[jlux3012]

it happend to my old truck it was 1980 model petrol with a 3sge fitted (98 model MR2 engine)

aftermarket shafts were 2.5 inch
factory are 3 inch

and the aftermarket was made from thicker steel

what factory tailshafts are we talking about here, do a particular model hilux come with a factory one piece tailshaft?

[thrashlux]

guess what the drive shaft people would not even give a refund after 2 did the same thing in 500km

No way would i have accepted thios

i would have taken him for all damages and sewed his ass for stress aswell.

He is the expert on driveshafts, he sold you one that could have caused a fatal accident. Any court in australia would have awarded all damages to you.

Thier is a chain of responsibility that is investigated in any fatal accident. This driveshaft maker would have been taken to the cleaners if someone died or was seriously injured.

Who made the driveshaft? Just so everyone knows who NOT to buy driveshafts from.

The size of those shafts is commonly accepted in the industry in this application. Ive used one piece shafts of the same size and ran them at similar speeds with no issues at all for thousands and thousands of ks. And have fitted many of the same size shafts to Hilux's with more power and tourque than a 3sge could ever hope to put out. There has to be more to it to have caused these failures other than the size of the tube.

Looking at the picture of the damaged shaft and the area it failed in i would expect it either rubbed one of the fuel tanks or the horseshoe crossmember above which is a very common problem. Actually on a second look i would imagine there was very little clearance between the exhast and the shaft with the exhast being run along side the tank.

there is no way in hell that the drive shaft could have hit the horse shoe or tanks before it had a total failure there was six inches of clearance in all directions with the car sitting on the bump stops as said before the truck had traveled 30000km with a std shaft fitted with the same engine gearbox everytrhing been to cape york twice and up to 180kph
then because the unis were worn the tail shaft shop also decided the spline was no good so a new shaft was made



this shaft failed within 300 km of hiway use during over taking at 130kph
the second did the same
the problem is called critical frequency this drive shaft was doing aprox 7000 rpm which it cannot withstand
the factory shaft due to its extra diameter is more rigid and lighter due to its design

IT IS BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THE TUBE!!!!!

i contracted an auto motive engineer
the report is being written

if you have any questions google critical drive shaft frequency it is a function of length verses diameter and rpm a drives shaft will explode at a harmonic frequency

all the damage visable was from the drive shaft failure
the shaft failed at exactly the center point between the unis consistant with a harmonic failure

it is not about power and torque it is about drive shaft rpm this engine does 7500 rpm in 4th which is 1to 1 ratio with 488 and 31 inch tyres

i bet all the other hiluxes that u mention were not doing those shaft speeds due to more torque and different diff gears being used or with bigger tyres fitted


since the double failure a factory shaft has been fitted treated the same as the after market shafts and done 6000 km no problems.

[thrashlux]

if you are doing 180 kms on the highway i would put a tailshaft loop on it so it dozen happen again

In a 4wd hilux

yeh its an absolute laugh should see the look on peoples faces when you are doing anything over 150

the truck weighs 1380 kgs and looks like crap dents every where

not even very high looks like a stocker!!!!!

[thrashlux]

it happend to my old truck it was 1980 model petrol with a 3sge fitted (98 model MR2 engine)

aftermarket shafts were 2.5 inch
factory are 3 inch

and the aftermarket was made from thicker steel

what factory tailshafts are we talking about here, do a particular model hilux come with a factory one piece tailshaft?

factory one piece shafts were fitted to LN46/rn 46 but they are longer than later ones due to the 4 speed

thats why they are fatter as well "longer" lowers critical frequency fatter increases it back to a safe level

[Shadow]

if you are doing 180 kms on the highway i would put a tailshaft loop on it so it dozen happen again

In a 4wd hilux

yeh its an absolute laugh should see the look on peoples faces when you are doing anything over 150

the truck weighs 1380 kgs and looks like crap dents every where

not even very high looks like a stocker!!!!!

150 km/hr in a 4x4 hilux is totally stupid. Higher than that youd have to be a moron.

If you are seriously proud that you can do 150km/hr in a hilux, on a public road, with other road users in close proximity, your an idiot.

Tailshaft sounds like it was made incorrectly. You did yourself no favours doing 130+ ina 4wd ffs.

[thrashlux]

its mainly when there are tools in R32 skylines and stuff going past
i like to sit behind them on deserted roads late at night

no danger exept their ego


the car handles fine and has adjustable shocks etc not bouncy like a hilux

[bracar80]

hi I drive an ln65 with a v6 six in it and was shaging center bearings every six months or so, since then have changed to a one piece wich i am pretty sure came out of a mid 90's hilux (ifs front). These tailshafts are longer so you can cut it down or do what i did and move the rear diff back an inch, (to clear body with bigger tyres)have been running it for well over 12 month's now and havn't had a problem.
Cheers Brad

[roadrunner]

After chewing centre bearings every six months, I finally went to a one piece. I also moved my rear axle back 50 mm so the one piece was pretty long.

The driveshaft was made with thicker sidewall and a larger diameter as the shop who made it told me about the frequency vibration issue.

Would recommend any hilux owner to do this mod.... say no to centre bearings

[4x4ewok]

bracar80, are there any special considerations with moving the diff back? I run a cut down tray on mine as it is so I'm not real keen to move it back to far. what kind of prices would I be looking at to get a second hand shaft as opposed to getting one made?
Will the Tail shaft from an eailer lux match up with bolt sizes/patern or does this need to be modifed as well?
Does anyone know if there are other vehicles out there with the same or similar length tail shaft?
I am one a fairly tight budget when it comes to the toy so I am always on the look out for a cheaper ways of doing things, and I can do a fair bit of modification myself. But I don't want to coprimise safety either.

[thrashlux]

After chewing centre bearings every six months, I finally went to a one piece. I also moved my rear axle back 50 mm so the one piece was pretty long.

The driveshaft was made with thicker sidewall and a larger diameter as the shop who made it told me about the frequency vibration issue.

Would recommend any hilux owner to do this mod.... say no to centre bearings

the shop i got mine from were not aware or pretended they had never heard of such a thing as critical frequency

after i confronted them with the engineers findings

still no refund or replacement of parts damaged

the shafts that blew were never subjected to speeds greater than 130 kph and this was for a few seconds while over taking in a 110 zone

it is the std shafts that i have run to that high speed on the odd occasion with out dramas

[Weiner]

After chewing centre bearings every six months, I finally went to a one piece. I also moved my rear axle back 50 mm so the one piece was pretty long.

The driveshaft was made with thicker sidewall and a larger diameter as the shop who made it told me about the frequency vibration issue.

Would recommend any hilux owner to do this mod.... say no to centre bearings

the shop i got mine from were not aware or pretended they had never heard of such a thing as critical frequency

after i confronted them with the engineers findings

still no refund or replacement of parts damaged

the shafts that blew were never subjected to speeds greater than 130 kph and this was for a few seconds while over taking in a 110 zone

it is the std shafts that i have run to that high speed on the odd occasion with out dramas

Were the speeds quoted from GPS or Speedo, cause i'd guess the speedo would not be accurate with 31's and 4.88s in it, as mine is when I have 31's on...?

[bracar80]

hey ewok i also have cut about half a foot of the back of my chassis and the tray is flush with that, and in regards to moving it, i brought a set of diff locating plates from snake racing($77) wich moved the diff back 1 inch and yes i have botomed the rear out and not had any length issues, also i had to modify the bump stops with an angle grinder (you'll see what i mean when you get them out). In regards to price i think i paid around $120 for the shaft and i had no problems bolting it up as the diffs are pretty much all the same and the flange on the back of the transfer case's if you had to you can change.

[thrashlux]

After chewing centre bearings every six months, I finally went to a one piece. I also moved my rear axle back 50 mm so the one piece was pretty long.

The driveshaft was made with thicker sidewall and a larger diameter as the shop who made it told me about the frequency vibration issue.

Would recommend any hilux owner to do this mod.... say no to centre bearings

the shop i got mine from were not aware or pretended they had never heard of such a thing as critical frequency

after i confronted them with the engineers findings

still no refund or replacement of parts damaged

the shafts that blew were never subjected to speeds greater than 130 kph and this was for a few seconds while over taking in a 110 zone

it is the std shafts that i have run to that high speed on the odd occasion with out dramas

Were the speeds quoted from GPS or Speedo, cause i'd guess the speedo would not be accurate with 31's and 4.88s in it, as mine is when I have 31's on...?

dont even bother with the speedo there are many diferent tyres that go on this truck

GPS is the only way to fly
it is pretty accurate on the guage with 33s but with 31s it overreads by about 18kph it is a 1980 model the speedo stops at 150

[toddo]

Another thing to consider, I have a one piece shaft in a LN106 with a long ranger tank. At full flex with 2" OME suspension the shaft rubs slightly on the side of the tank, whereas with the 2 piece it pivots from halfway along and clears the tank.
The other problem is that the shaft has developed some play in the slip joint, which causes a vibration in the drive train when just coasting - neither on or off the throttle. Don't thnk the rubbing has caused the play, as it only rubs for short periods, but may have contributed?
Not sure whether to go back to a 2 piece and clear the tank but change centre bearings before every trip.

[HTH]

wouldnt mind seeing the 2 different shafts (1 piece, 2 piece) next to each other as i dont no what the difference is..
i blew my front tailshaft because i lifted my luxy without extending the shaft.
Do most ppl extend the shaft or just space it out? (sorry its a little off topic).
HTH