Experience with Tatton's Double Cardan DS (1 Viewer)

[houstonlndcrsr]

I was about to place an order for a Tatton DC DS, but came across a thread on here about some of you having bad experiences. What about the rest of you guys that use his DS? Good product? Any other DC recommendation? My u-joints are loose and I figured instead of replacing both, I can just get a DC DS. I have a 3" OME lift.

 

[LC4LIFE]

You will see a mixed bag of results, just like most aftermarket parts. Before going the DC route measure your drive line angles to make sure it will work.

 

[SpenserAK]

I was looking at the same shaft & probably read the same threads. I decided it was a better idea to wait on witsend availability with all Toyota parts.

For $$ reasons I’d love to source a DC taco shaft to have modded, but super limited here and no DS shop..

 

[LeeroyTheLexus]

I just went with a DC shaft from Tom Woods. Have been very happy so far. I know it is not all toyota parts, but my shaft was in dire need of being replaced. I read mixed reviews on Tattons, so I went with Tom's and I would recommend it. They were fast and the quality is really good if you are fine with spicer joints.
That is my major concern because some wear by spicer while others say they fail in 5,000 miles. We will see. Worth a shot if you do not want to wait.

 

[Irish Reiver]

I went with the Tom Woods option and haven't looked back. I probably have 7k on mine and it runs smooth as butter. Don't be shy with grease and i am sure the spicers will hold up nicely.

 

[BlueCruiser84]

My Tatton shaft has been great for 5k-10k miles. My only complaint is you have to take the end off the Tcase to grease the DC joint.

A DC shaft is not a magic bullet. As another poster said you need to confirm your angles will be compatible with a DC shaft.

 

[ajax1]

Or you can have one made with a tacomA shaft if you can find one for pretty cheap,

 

[White Sheep]

I purchased front and back DCs from Tatton about 6 months ago. No complaints. My LC is my daily drive.

A month or so down the road, I also installed the Man A Fre drop brackets

 

[houstonlndcrsr]

I just went with a DC shaft from Tom Woods. Have been very happy so far. I know it is not all toyota parts, but my shaft was in dire need of being replaced. I read mixed reviews on Tattons, so I went with Tom's and I would recommend it. They were fast and the quality is really good if you are fine with spicer joints.
That is my major concern because some wear by spicer while others say they fail in 5,000 miles. We will see. Worth a shot if you do not want to wait.

Hmm apparently Tatton also uses spicers

I went with the Tom Woods option and haven't looked back. I probably have 7k on mine and it runs smooth as butter. Don't be shy with grease and i am sure the spicers will hold up nicely.

Thanks guys, i'll look into Tom Woods

 

[houstonlndcrsr]

You will see a mixed bag of results, just like most aftermarket parts. Before going the DC route measure your drive line angles to make sure it will work.

My Tatton shaft has been great for 5k-10k miles. My only complaint is you have to take the end off the Tcase to grease the DC joint.

A DC shaft is not a magic bullet. As another poster said you need to confirm your angles will be compatible with a DC shaft.

What will prevent the DC from "working" properly, and how do I measure the angles? I have a 3" OME lift.

 

[lumbee1]

I went with Carolina Driveline. They were local and easy to use. I've had my DC shaft for almost 2 years. Immediately removed the driveline vibs from the OEM shaft.

 

[thegadgetguy]

I have a Tatton front, and it's worked out okay. You definitely have to make sure you keep the DC centering ball greased. At this point mine probably needs a new DC joint, and it has maybe 25k miles on it? It's been making noises for the last bit here.

If I had to buy another today, I would either build a Toyota based shaft myself, or pay for one. The components in the Tatton just don't seem that high quality, and it hasn't lasted anywhere near as long as either of my OEM shafts have (though admittedly they're not DC ones). I could be wrong on this, so please don't quote me, but I'm not confident Tatton shafts are built with actual Spicer components. Perhaps something to ask Tatton if you do decide to buy one.

 

[richardlillard1]

I’ve been running one for about 120k now. It works fine.

 

[baldilocks]

@houstonlndcrsr
You want there to be no angle at the pinion joint or within a degree, preferably a degree pinion up (front axle) while parked to allow for a small amount of axle wrap under load if that happens with the radius arm set up. The pinion should point as directly as possible at the transfer case output flange. The two joints in the DC cage will split the angle at the transfer case 50/50. I’d go with Tom Wood’s unless you can find a good driveline shop locally. You can retain the Toyota/ Matsuba joint at the slip end. Request Spicer Life Series joints in the DC head. Also, the DC flange that bolts directly to the transfer case output will probably need to be machined down to around .300” in order to have full thread engagement of the shaft retention nuts. Measure your stud length and ask the shop about the flange thickness.

 

[cybrstar]

I’ve bought close to a dozen from him over the last past 10 years. No complaints here. Some of the DC joints have been different throughout the year but none have given me issues. Hey for the price you can’t go wrong.