Tips for removing driveshafts

[BNH4221]

Greetings all -



I have recently taken delivery of two Balance Masters drive shaft balancers. To install them one needs to remove the driveshafts. Having never done this before, are there any tips to make the process easier/simpler/faster? Any special tools needed?



I am not afraid to try it, and I think it should be fairly easy, even for this decidedly shade tree mechanic. All the work will be done in my garage, with no lift. I have jacks and stands and an awesome array of hand tools.



Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.



Its for my 04. 5 2500 4x4



Thanks -



Steve

 

[jelag]

Steve..... the drive shaft was factory balanced before it was installed in the truck... I don't have a clue what you need to add something to the drive shaft for... . to make it more in balance.....



If you look at the back of the drive line where it connects to the rear axle... there are 2 clips, each of those clips have 2 bolts that hold them..... On my truck they are a torx head bolt... (speical wrench) remove those 4 bolts and the clips and the rear section of the drive shaft is loose... . now remove the 2 bolts in the carrier bearing... ths is in the center of the drive shaft... . and pull the drive shaft to the rear of the truck. . and it will slide out of the tail shaft of the transmission..... have a pan ready because sometimes it will drip oil... . at the tailshaft... .



Hope this helps...

 

[steved]

Steve..... the drive shaft was factory balanced before it was installed in the truck... I don't have a clue what you need to add something to the drive shaft for... . to make it more in balance.....



If you look at the back of the drive line where it connects to the rear axle... there are 2 clips, each of those clips have 2 bolts that hold them..... On my truck they are a torx head bolt... (speical wrench) remove those 4 bolts and the clips and the rear section of the drive shaft is loose... . now remove the 2 bolts in the carrier bearing... ths is in the center of the drive shaft... . and pull the drive shaft to the rear of the truck. . and it will slide out of the tail shaft of the transmission..... have a pan ready because sometimes it will drip oil... . at the tailshaft... .



Hope this helps...

My 04. 5's rear shaft was out of balance... so it was sent from the factory that way... don't assume that the factory does everything as good as you would...



I guess I'm at a loss here because I don't know if the 3rd gens QCs with the short box have a single or two piece shaft...



If it is a single, mark across the flange on the axle to make sure you put the shaft back in the same position... remove the four torx head screws, the shaft will need bumped to separate it. Then you can drop it and slide it out of the tcase/trans... I have never lost any oil when pulling the shaft...



The front is as simple as backing out four bolts on the tcase end and four torxs on the axle end... again, make sure you mark both so you can put it back in the same as it came out...



steved

 

[rbattelle]

I'll just add a little to the already good advice. Short wheelbase trucks have 1-piece driveshafts, so there won't be any carrier bearing on the rear driveshaft.



Here are some pictures to help you out. The picture with the extended Torx bit installed shows the front driveshaft companion flange screws. These are Torx T-40 size, and I recommend getting an extended length bit as I have shown. I got that one from McMaster for only $14. 53 plus shipping. It's an SK brand (which I think is excellent). The reason for the long-length is to give you room to clear the front shaft itself. I credit HOBrian with pointing out to me that an extended length T40 would be most convenient here.



The remaining screws are all run-of-the-mill hex-head cap screws. The rear shaft simply pulls out of the extension housing (no need for screws).



Piece of cake... don't sweat it. Remember to apply plenty of anti-seize compound on reassembly, and to mark the positions of the shafts prior to removal.



The pictures are in order from rear axle companion flange (first pic), followed by rear axle slip yoke at transfer case, followed by front axle transfer case flange, followed by front axle companion flange.



Ryan

 

[BNH4221]

Thanks all for the responses. It makes me even more confident in my ability to get the job done. Special thanks to Ryan for the pics!



Jelag - in response to your comment about the shafts being balanced at the factory; we all know how well DC does some things (like balancing shafts).

Seriously, I am a victim of the dreaded 70 MPH vibration. I intalled the centramatics on my wheels and the vibration was reduced. I saw the Balancemasters for the drive shaft and thought it might work to mitigate more of the driveline vibration.

Lets say I had the shafts balanced. They are only as good as the person who balanced them. We have all had tires balanced by some flunky who didn't do a good job. I imagine the driveshafts would be just as susceptible to poor quality.

It may not be a scientific term, but the balancemasters and centramatics are sort of an "active" balancing agent. Adding the balancemasters acts as an active balancer, working with fluid that is infinitely adjustable, as it were. With conventional balancing, driveshafts and wheels are either in balance or not.

With the 70 MPH vibe, no one is really sure where it is coming from. Again, I hypothesize that adding this "active" balancing agent may mitigate vibrations coming from the drive shaft or ones that are are passed through, amplified or otherwise enhanced by the shafts. So, even if the driveshafts are perfectly balanced, the Balancemasters -may- reduce some other order vibrations. Just a theory, but one I thought might be worth exploring.

In any case, it was probably about $150 that I spent. If it works, great. If not, I didn't break the bank. No one had any feedback on the product pro or con, so I thought I might be a guinea pig and give it a shot.

I am sure some engineer will completely blow this theory out of the water, but what the heck.



Once again, thanks to all for the responses and pictures. Membership $$ well spent!



Steve

 

[steved]

With the 70 MPH vibe, no one is really sure where it is coming from.



Steve

IMHO, I don't think it is one single cause, but multiple causes... remove any one cause and the issue goes away.



My solution was to keep the front diff and driveshaft from spinning by installing the DT kit... others have noted that replacing the torqueconverter and flexplate cured it (hard to do in mine since it is a manual)... some find that simply balancing the shafts did the trick (that didn't help mine)...



I hope it works out for you... I know how annoying it is NOT to be able to drive with traffic because of the vibes... let alone the damage that might develope later as a result of the vibes...



steved

 

[BNH4221]

My solution was to keep the front diff and driveshaft from spinning by installing the DT kit...

In an ideal world, the silly truck would have come from the factory with lockouts. But back here in reality we have to improvise. The DT kit is pricey right? A little out of my league. I'm glad you were able to cure your problem with one.



I agree that there are probably multiple causes. I don't agree that removing one cause will cure the problem. I think it is, for me, a layered approach. Changing the caster of the front end and adding centramatics was one layer for me. Balancemasters will be another layer. Perhaps your DT kit was a sort of "nuclear option" that radically fixed the problem. Again, out of my league right now. :{



I also realize that there are probably numerous "cures" to the problem. I thought this was a cheap way to attempt one. I'll be the first to say that my vibration issue is not all that bad. I decided it was not bad enough to lemon law the truck. Since I decided to keep it, I will try some not-so-expensive fixes and see what happens.



Steve