So after I shattered a u joint last night, and dropped the driveshaft on the side of the interstate, I installed a new u joint, now I have a pretty good vibration at all speeds, possible driveshaft warped? If so, I refuse to go back with a stock driveshaft. Anyway to use a 2500 DS?

 

May have damaged driveshaft, but it does not need beefing up. They are plenty stout. Damage because of failed u joint could happened to any shaft.

Double check u joint installation and make sure they are fitted properly in the yokes.

 

Bending or damage to the driveshaft due to a failed ujoint doesnt qualify for "beef up any parts that break" IMO. It wasnt the driveshafts fault, and as gd said, even the best of the best driveshafts will see damage when hitting an interstate. I would call a couple of salvage yards, find a used one and be happy.

 

Excuse me for wanting something heavy duty.

 

Couple things to consider on your question.

First, the half ton axles will have a limitation on ujoint/flange setup.

You can't beef up the current driveshaft...readily. The stock half ton driveshaft diameter is some like 3-3/8" OD. Aftermarket driveshaft sizes make the OEM non-standard. Meaning that that aftermarket are like 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, etc.

You could consult a driveline shop and see if they would sleeve the entire one. However, I can tell you that would be cost prohibitive.

At minimum, take current drive shaft to a driveline shop and have it rebalanced and ujoints all checked. I'd be cautious of any cosmetic dents no matter what.

The alternative is to just replace it entirely with like a 4" aftermarket. You can choose thickness of like 0.083", 0.095", 0.120", etc. You would reuse the slip yoke at the tcase/tranny and the flange on the axle.

You can have heavy duty, you just gotta pay to play.

The 2500 DS will not bolt in b/c the ujoint size is different (tranny and axle). You might be able to just get one have the yoke/ujoints replaced with yours.

 

You're excused. Lol... Im just saying that if you are wanting to beef something up, there are plenty of things on these trucks that are actually too weak for thier uses. The driveshaft isnt one of them. Steering components, suspension, transmission... Those are things that I would be spending "beefing up" money on long before the driveshaft came to mind.

 

I understand that. This truck has just been very clunky and clanky lately. (After driveshaft took its fall) I was just wanting some advice on making the truck a little more dependable. Sorry if I came off as rude!

 

Heavy duty (good quality) U-joints would be a good upgrade. Something with a zerk fitting, if you can find them. The shaft itself already isn't too bad. Expecting it to survive getting tossed from a broken U-joint IS a bit much.

 

I'll clarify something that is causing confusion. The driveshaft didn't drop while in motion, it dropped while the truck was still, I had pulled over because the entire truck started to shudder violently. After I pulled over, I looked underneath, checked play in the u joints, everything was connected. Started it back up, and ran through the gears with my foot on the brake(followed by a loud clunking, popping) after shutting the truck off, I looked underneath and it had fallen. Could it have bent the shaft? Also, dangeous to drive with warped driveshaft?

 

HeyYou is right on upgrading to a good quality U-joint. I got mine through this website. You can get some from AutoZone and O'Reilly's for $8-$10, or you can spend $80 on some quality ones and never have to worry about it again.

http://www.drivetrainamerica.com/