Hey y'all,

I have to replace the front drive shaft on my '03 Durango because the driveshaft CV joint is toast. After reading a few comments about this CV joint design, I'd rather upgrade this part and eliminate the CV joint of one end to a double U-joint. Any thoughts of why this would not be recommended?

My question is: can the rear CV joint driveshaft be replaced with a U-joint driveshaft? The slip-yolk connection is different in the rear. How do I take the slip yolk out of one to replace with the other?

My driveshaft:



What I want to upgrade to:



Thanks for your help!

 

I'm not positive here, but I think you'll probably have to tear apart your transfer case to switch to the other style of front driveshaft. There might be a bolt in the center of the yoke though that would let you switch them, but I don't remember for sure. The double u-joint is technically a CV joint too.

 

Yes you can replace the factory front driveshaft with one that has a u-joint on each end. You just unbolt the old and bolt in the new. I bought one off ebay for around $200 (best I remember). The seller was something like "driveshaftguy". I works great.

Danny

Edit:
Here is a link to the one I bought:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Dodge-Dakota-Durango-Front-Driveshaft-981-/251554677535?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A2003%7CModel%3ADurango&hash=item3a91d3c31f&vxp=mtr