Seized driveshaft

I had the same issue with a well maintained Adams driveshaft.
Initially i was barely able to separate it by doing like a deadlift with it. After taking it apart i cleaned and greased everything, blue coating had a rough spot all the way around on the lower end of the splines. Putting it back together was not easy, initial entrance was smooth but close to half way in it started resisting to the point where i had to put my weight on it.
Then i thought that maybe something is really sticking to the walls of the other half of ds and it need a good smack to break through, so i smacked it on the ground, it went all the way in, grease is everywhere and that is when it really seized up. After fruitlessly beating it with a hammer and yanking on it with all i had, i tied one end to a tree and other to a Jeep and pulled it apart.

That rough spot in blue coating that goes around the splines makes me believe that there is either a balancing issue, inside of the tube was not properly cut, or somehow inside of the tube with all that grease in there a corrosion started forming.

Eventually i wrote it off as what ever and ordered another set from them... and both ds arrived out of balance. Trying to resolve it with them officially has put an end to me doing business with them.
 
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How freely do the splines need to slide? What happens if they're able to move but kinda tight?
 
man now I’m thinking of selling my new uninstalled Adam’s shaft and getting one from Tom woods.
 
srimes said:
How freely do the splines need to slide? What happens if they're able to move but kinda tight?
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If you disconnect a TC end and let it hang down while connected to the axle, a new ds will slide out on its own, butter smooth. With time a bit of resistance will develop, but not to the point where you are fighting with it. If you have to look for tools to help you with compression and tension, i think you are running into a territory of lack of lubrication or other issues.

That is my take on it from dealing with 1 oem and 4 aftermarket driveshafts at this point.
 
Lax22 said:
man now I’m thinking of selling my new uninstalled Adam’s shaft and getting one from Tom woods.
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Idk man, there are plenty of complains about balancing issues with Woods, but that could also be from the fact that more people use them than Adams. Also don't underestimate "jerry" factor on this forum, people religiously gobble down his words without questions. If he says TW is the way, people will praise TW even if TW send them a completely bent ds.

Adams uses a much higher quality paint on their ds, Woods thin coat of paint was flaking off while i was installing it. At time of order, Woods was claiming to use Spicer ujoints, but arrived with Neapco. Not saying it is better or worse, simply stating how it is before you make a rash decision.

Standing behind its product i think is where going with Woods is a better option. From what i have read and still read, TW take care of the issues, where in contrast Adams (from my experience) does a whole lot of talking about the issue with 0 incentive to resolve them.

After my 1st ds seized up, their 1st solution was to sell me a new one with a decent discount, then they mentioned of shipping it to them at my expanse to have it serviced. You see? After taking into account cost of shipping and hassle of getting it shipped and waiting period, of course i chose to go with a new ds with a discount.
2nd set of driveshafts arrived with balancing issues. Rebalancing it at local shop did not resolve the balancing issue all the way, it got better, but issue is the issue. Just because another shop touched it, Adams said that they will not refund it, but if i ship them back they would gladly inspect them thoroughly because there may be some structural or harmonic imperfection (i don't remember exactly how they said it). So, after spending money on a defective product, and then spending more money to try to fix a defective product, i have to spend more money to ship back the defective product with no guarantees of anything, all of that while i wait without transportation.

So, if you are still thinking to sell your Adams ds, at least make a decision based on my negative experience and positive experience that other members have had with them.
 
So is there any maintenance that should be done to prevent this?
I just noticed that my front is seized after I pulled the axle but I can’t remember if this is aftermarket or if it’s a rebuilt stock one. I haven’t looked much at it yet, going to work on it tomorrow. What’s a good way to get old grease out?
 
Mumblewood said:
So is there any maintenance that should be done to prevent this?
I just noticed that my front is seized after I pulled the axle but I can’t remember if this is aftermarket or if it’s a rebuilt stock one. I haven’t looked much at it yet, going to work on it tomorrow. What’s a good way to get old grease out?
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Ideally what you need to do when greasing the splines is to disconnect the shaft from the axle and plunge the slip to help get grease the full length of the splines.
 
Got it off the jeep today, it’s not an Adam’s or rebuilt, it’s a Coast,I don’t think there around much anymore. I now remember when ordering it Northridge was pushing them hard saying the quality was the best….
Anyways I’ll tear into it this week and try to get it freed up. I think I have a couple stock spares floating around somewhere if I need one
 
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