Is there a way to tell if my front driveshaft has been replaced? It has grease fittings on it... I was told they don’t have those... I get a wierd vibration at highway speeds and suspected the shaft... climbing under the vehicle there’s doesn’t seem to be any play in the joints but, I still don’t trust it after hearing all the horror stories

 

vibrations at speed can be unbalanced tires.

but always a good idea to check the front driveshaft.

 

The front shaft seems to be tight... from playing around with it I don’t see any movement whatsoever in the joints or yoked... the vibrations seem to be consistent weather my winter set or summer set of tires is on... everything seems to be tight in the front end

on a side note I get random death wobble... I’m not sure if it’s the correct term with land rovers but coming from the Jeep community we have always called it that lol

 

My experience is that replacement drive shafts are prone to this kind of vibration. Bought my first replacement from British Parts of Utah. Horrible vibration at all speeds. Sent it back, they confirmed it was "out of round" and replaced it. That replacement had vibrations at 37-40 mph and at 75-80 mph. Last year I bought another replacement from Lucky 8. That got rid of the lower speed vibration, but not the one at 75-80. Mechanic did a test drive with me recently and had no hesitation saying it was a problem with the drive shaft. I'd be curious to know if others have had similar experience.

 

A manufacturer should properly balance their drive shafts at high and low speeds to correct any vibration.

 

This 04 I got in January had the drive shaft come apart on the previous owner. I installed a lucky 8 shaft and it would shake your teeth out. Checked the run out on the transfer case flange and it was about 12 thousandths out. Swapped it out and now its smooth. Everything has to be perfect up there are you will get vibration.

 

So it sounds like no one has had good results with any of the aftermarket front driveshaft manufacturers? Any suggestions on who to go with to guarantee a tried and true driveshaft?

 

I've been pleased with my Tom Woods double cardon front drive shaft. Not the cheapest option but I have zero issues and i'm running a 3" lift.

 

Lucky8's shaft has been good to me. Had it a few years, no problems at all.

 

Same here about the Lucky 8 shaft. No issues at all, free shipping, forum discount, no sales tax....