Front drive shaft broken

[Dokatd]

I think the “maximum adjustment forward” statement on the paperwork means they dialed in maximum caster after the lift to help with the steering but in effect this lowers the pinion even more adding additional angle to the cv joints. That’s what I’d be more worried about as the cv joints boots are already stressed now they are even more so. Nice of them to baby the driveshafts during install, which is the right thing to do, but now the front is set to run in a condition that will shorten the cv boot life.

Yeah, you need to make sure the caster is reset after lifting. If you get your caster maxed out at stock height and then lift then you will have even more caster once lifted. So it could be dialed back a bit.

 

[Commodore]

This is a driveshaft for a Jeep Cherokee. Notice the boot design for the transfer case side. Makes me think that we should be looking for something like this.

 

[Jhellweg]

Yeah, you need to make sure the caster is reset after lifting. If you get your caster maxed out at stock height and then lift then you will have even more caster once lifted. So it could be dialed back a bit.

The caster was adjusted forward as a part of the lift to match the guidance that Eibach provides for the IG. Now that potentially adding additional strain is news to me

 

[C-Mack]

The caster was adjusted forward as a part of the lift to match the guidance that Eibach provides for the IG. Now that potentially adding additional strain is news to me

Yup, it’s an unfortunate result of some “interesting” design decisions on the front axle by IA related to suspension geometry, pinion, and caster angles, etc... The current setup is not very forgiving of taller lifts and tends to punish the front driveshaft, more specifically the protective CV boots, which can and have failed on various owners vehicles.

Some possible options are:

• Check the front driveshaft on a regular basis to catch a failure as early as you can
• Return the vehicle to stock configuration to get as much life out of the driveshaft as you can “hopefully”
• Try an aftermarket CV Joint and see if you can get bit more life out of the rubber boot before it fails
• Mess around with various u-joint double/double cardan driveshaft setups and deal with vibrations at speed
• Buy another stock front shaft and have it as a spare and replace it when a joint fails
• Get really lucky (as some have) and not suffer any failures “fingers crossed approach”
• Try to be comfortable with the knowledge that this can be a common failure point especially with a lift and just get on with life
• Hope IA comes up with an improved design or driveshaft but the likely hood of that being a retroactive fix is practically nil.

 

[Ovrland Bill]

Can the integrity of the driveshaft boots on a stock Grenadier be confirmed by a simple visual inspection, or is there more to it than that (such as a component disassembly requirement)?

 

[C-Mack]

Can the integrity of the driveshaft boots on a stock Grenadier be confirmed by a simple visual inspection, or is there more to it than that (such as a component disassembly requirement)?

Yes, very easily in fact. The protective boots are out in the open just slide under the vehicle with a flashlight and closely inspect each boot cv joint closely. Take a damp rag and gentle wipe out each boot cup so you can clearly see the boot material. Look for micro cracking or small tears. It will usually start in a ring near where the boot is bonded to the thinner part of the driveshaft as it enters the joint and sees the most flex during each rotation cycle.

I inspect mine every couple of weeks especially after being off road and in muddy conditions where mud can dry on the surface of the boot. Keeping the boots clean and debris free is a pain for sure but until something more durable comes along it’s the only way I can see to stay ahead of a failure.

 

[Ovrland Bill]

Yes, very easily in fact. The protective boots are out in the open just slide under the vehicle with a flashlight and closely inspect each boot cv joint closely. Take a damp rag and gentle wipe out each boot cup so you can clearly see the boot material. Look for micro cracking or small tears. It will usually start in a ring near where the boot is bonded to the thinner part of the driveshaft as it enters the joint and sees the most flex during each rotation cycle.

I inspect mine every couple of weeks especially after being off road and in muddy conditions where mud can dry on the surface of the boot. Keeping the boots clean and debris free is a pain for sure but until something more durable comes along it’s the only way I can see to stay ahead of a failure.

So it’s just like my LRRP (Land Rover Reliability Program): “Watch it like a Hawk”