Front drive shaft vibes and solutions

[Coachyak]

I have a 97 TJ with a DPG Ultimate Lift. It’s about 21/2 inches in height. Using stock control arms and no SYE. Also has been re-geared to 4.56. Since I have owned it, and before the lift, I have always had slight vibration that starts around 55 and increased as the Jeep accelerated. It was enough to make me not want to go over 60, although I did drive it to Colorado a few years ago and it did ok on the highway. Today I followed the recommendation to disconnect the Front DS and drive it to see what happpened. And sure enough not only did the vibration disappear but there was less noise from under the Jeep.

So now the question how did I fix it permanently.
I came up with these options but you may know of more. Let me know what your experience has been and your recommendations are appreciated.

1. I have had my eye on the free spin kit from Yukon and it is running a little over a $1000 now. I like the idea of the unlocked hubs so it’s a possibility. I was wanting to do this as a part of my build eventually anyway.

2 I could buy u joints and replace them. But they seem fine to me. No play or noise.

3. I could go with a Tom Woods DS. I have a rear DS from them and it is great quality.

4. Get the hub kit and the Tom Woods DS, but is that overkill?

Thanks

 

[TJ Jim]

Get it rebuilt and balanced. That fixed my vibes. My centering ball was bad.

 

[Coachyak]

Get it rebuilt and balanced. That fixed my vibes. My centering ball was bad.

Thanks

 

[Hopper]

Had the exact same issue. I just bought a new shaft. I went with Adam's. I don't miss the vibes one bit.

 

[JMT]

I have a 97 TJ with a DPG Ultimate Lift. It’s about 21/2 inches in height. Using stock control arms and no SYE. Also has been re-geared to 4.56. Since I have owned it, and before the lift, I have always had slight vibration that starts around 55 and increased as the Jeep accelerated. It was enough to make me not want to go over 60, although I did drive it to Colorado a few years ago and it did ok on the highway. Today I followed the recommendation to disconnect the Front DS and drive it to see what happpened. And sure enough not only did the vibration disappear but there was less noise from under the Jeep.

So now the question how did I fix it permanently.
I came up with these options but you may know of more. Let me know what your experience has been and your recommendations are appreciated.

1. I have had my eye on the free spin kit from Yukon and it is running a little over a $1000 now. I like the idea of the unlocked hubs so it’s a possibility. I was wanting to do this as a part of my build eventually anyway.

2 I could buy u joints and replace them. But they seem fine to me. No play or noise.

3. I could go with a Tom Woods DS. I have a rear DS from them and it is great quality.

4. Get the hub kit and the Tom Woods DS, but is that overkill?

Thanks

Getting it rebuilt and balanced will probably run you over $275. Consider the cost relative to a new shaft.

 

[Coachyak]

Getting it rebuilt and balanced will probably run you over $275. Consider the cost relative to a new shaft.

I called a local shop $265 for rebuild
TW was $369
Adams was closer to $400
Probably go with TW. I already have one on the rear.
Thanks

 

[eastbloc]

I will advice to stay away from Adams.
That clown gave me endless run around after sending unbalanced driveshafts, so much for "Best Warranty in the Industry.". Also not long ago we had a discussion about blue teflon coating disintegrating on splines, turned out that my experience was not a rare single incident and Adams was under the spot light on that one.