So I sent off my failed Tom woods driveshaft to see about getting it rebuilt. I have a lucky 8 shaft in now. The quoted me $260 to do the job. Seems steep. I don't really do much off road ( I know ).

So question is would you spend the $$$ to have a spare?

 

I wouldn't. I have the GBR shaft and love it, but I also keep up on the greasing (including the centering ball).

I also installed the CDL from a D1, so in the event it goes bad, I can still get home via RWD, so a rebuilt shaft would do nothing for me but sit in the garage or the back of the rig and take up space/weight.

The biggest issue with the OEM shaft is the sealed grease heats up and loses effectiveness, then the shaft siezes, breaks, and destroys the tranny along with it. With a serviceable shaft, as long as you keep up with the PMs, I would imagine it would fail in the way most U-joint shafts fail: Loud clicking, thumping, etc. It shouldn't explode. *knock on wood*.

I fail to see the risk/reward associated with a spare drive shaft.

That's just me though.

 

I ended up with a spare front shaft while trying to diagnose a front end vibration. As a result, if I'm going on a serious road trip I take the spare just in case the front fails and doesn't lunch the tranny.

But I wouldn't pay $260 for it. If memory serves, I paid $80 plus the cost to rebuild it.