Aftermarket half-shaft (1 Viewer)

[CruisinGA]

DS half shaft spun inside the drive flange. Need to replace drive flange and half-shaft, obviously.
We were convinced it was the diff, so this is really a blessing.

Toyota half-shaft list = $500
Toyota drive flange list = $71

I see half shafts on rockauto as cheap as $45, but I am more than a little wary of these.
I doubt drive flanges are available anywhere but Toyota, but it is worth asking.

Anyone have any personal experience with aftermarket half shafts? Any recommendations?

TIA

 

[Gottagetone]

Get the Toyota shaft, end of discussion and no worries.

 

[CruisinGA]

Obviously Toyota is typically better.

So the original Toyota half shaft lasted 200k miles. Say an aftermarket one that costs $250 lasts ~ 100k miles.
Easy choice- aftermarket. No chance we will still have this cruiser in 100k miles.

Is there a viable aftermarket option?

 

[Gottagetone]

Lots of posts about peeps using an aftermarket and having problems, lots of stories of peeps without problems, no stories of peeps using OEM half shaft and having problems.

 

[OGBeno]

Bailey...I've got one on the shelf with your name on it dude....

 

[spressomon]

Save that drive plate! Mill or grind the remaining splines/ID and ditto for one more. Carry them in your rig for a "just in case" moment out on the trail when/if you have CV or diff issues.

 

[OregonLC]

Obviously Toyota is typically better.

So the original Toyota half shaft lasted 200k miles. Say an aftermarket one that costs $250 lasts ~ 100k miles.
Easy choice- aftermarket. No chance we will still have this cruiser in 100k miles.

Is there a viable aftermarket option?

The math may work but the geography fails. Murphy's law will have it fail on the trail. Not worth it IMO.

 

[spressomon]

Everybody has a different threshold for pain . That NAPA CV I had didn't make it 10k miles/6-months.

 

[bamabrock]

Is there not an aftermarket alloy shaft available? The bad part about drive flanges is hubs are usually great fuses in the front to avoid blowing diffs joints/cvs, while the flanges are designed to be a constant, thus making the CV or diff the weak spot. They are necessary in fulltime configurations though.

 

[OregonLC]

It's not that one isn't available. It's that they're like milk in the fridge; they come with an expiration date that is short. I don't recall a single install that hasn't resulted in some type of noise/breakage/replacement. False savings.

 

[steenh]

My try with them was a dismal failure... vibration issues that were solved as soon as i went OEM. Never again!

 

[agaisin]

Lots of posts about peeps using an aftermarket and having problems, lots of stories of peeps without problems, no stories of peeps using OEM half shaft and having problems.

100% agree that OEM is the best known option. Also agree that NAPA or other cheapo options while tempting with their low price and 'lifetime' warranty are not worth the trouble since there are too many accounts of vibration or premature breakage and they use a different joint design (tripod vs. rzeppa).

However, for interest's sake, I'll point out that there are at least four reports of blown OEM cv shafts/joints that I've seen on this forum and no I'm not talking about just puking grease rather broken shafts or joints - typically described as grenading:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/290681-anyone-have-cv-joint-failure.html

Specifically:
1) i4c4lo here https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/290681-anyone-have-cv-joint-failure.html#post4561729
2) spressomon here https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/290681-anyone-have-cv-joint-failure-2.html#post6643602 (with more detail in post 91)
3) wildsmith here https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/290681-anyone-have-cv-joint-failure-2.html#post6643956
4) Brock here https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/290681-anyone-have-cv-joint-failure-2.html#post6644672

 

[OGBeno]

100% agree that OEM is the best known option. Also agree that NAPA or other cheapo options while tempting with their low price and 'lifetime' warranty are not worth the trouble since there are too many accounts of vibration or premature breakage and they use a different joint design (tripod vs. rzeppa).

However, for interest's sake, I'll point out that there are at least four reports of blown OEM cv shafts/joints that I've seen on this forum and no I'm not talking about just puking grease rather broken shafts or joints - typically described as grenading:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/290681-anyone-have-cv-joint-failure.html

Specifically:
1) i4c4lo here https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/290681-anyone-have-cv-joint-failure.html#post4561729
2) spressomon here https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/290681-anyone-have-cv-joint-failure-2.html#post6643602 (with more detail in post 91)
3) wildsmith here https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/290681-anyone-have-cv-joint-failure-2.html#post6643956
4) Brock here https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/290681-anyone-have-cv-joint-failure-2.html#post6644672

I would exclude Amando and Spresso...they are not your average 100 series owners...

 

[f5driver]

I replaced the aftermarket axles which were causing a shudder while accelerating. Interestingly the aftermarket left and right axles are different. Not so with the OEM which are identical. One of the OEM was probably refurbished. I'm in the middle of a two week camping/road trip so I'll post pics of the diffent axles next week.