Chromoly axle shaft Vs RCV axle shat

Guascone

Guascone

Member
Hi, I'm going to replace my axle shaft (front). In the past I red some topic where it was suggested to use the chromoly axle shafts instead of the RCV (front).

Which are the benefits to use the chromoly instead of the RCV?

I found the RCV at a very good price with a low delta cost respect to the chromoly (Alloy)...
 
I had the same decision to make 2 months ago. Google RCV's clicking. That was enough reading to scare me back to chromoly. I read so many folks who had to get rebuild kits, etc and the noises came back. No thanks. I went Revolution because they're made in the USA, but I was bummed after $900 they weren't even assembled! They work fine, and luckily I was doing ball joints at the same time so the press worked on the u-joints. Make sure you use circle clips instead of the c-clips.

https://wayalife.com/showthread.php...ls-and-pro-steer-ball-joints-aftermath-report
 
I went with the RCV shafts when I ordered my PR44 3 years ago. Now with 60k miles on them the clicking drives me up a goddam wall. If I were to do it again I'd do the Chrome Moly shafts with full circle clips & save some money.
 
In my opinion, RCVs are great for rigs with lock out hubs so they are not spinning on the hiway wearing on the tolerances between the balls and the cage.

For our Jeeps they just wear too fast.

I don't know how strong they are on a 44, but the ones I had in my Toyota tested as strong as a Dana 60 shaft, so in a Toy, nearly unbreakable. I would assume the ones for a 44 would be a little stronger than that even.
 
I've had my RCV s for 4 years but only about 40k miles. No clicking so far. I grease them every other oil change just a couple pumps. I have no complaints. I like them but probably will not choose them again when I change up to D60's.


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I've run RCV's in the past and for the super high premium you have to pay, you'd think that they would actually warranty the stupid loud popping and snapping sound they all get or at least, on rigs that actually use them. This is to say nothing about them not warranting twisted splines and calling it "normal". No, I won't be wasting my money on them again. A good chromoly shaft with full circle clips is what I've been running for years and without any problems and they're what I'm running again now.
 
When I got my PR 44 I went with Dynatrac's own Axle shafts and they have been great, no complaints here.
 
wayoflife said:
I've run RCV's in the past and for the super high premium you have to pay, you'd think that they would actually warranty the stupid loud popping and snapping sound they all get or at least, on rigs that actually use them. This is to say nothing about them not warranting twisted splines and calling it "normal". No, I won't be wasting my money on them again. A good chromoly shaft with full circle clips is what I've been running for years and without any problems and they're what I'm running again now.
Click to expand...

So would you upgrade to chromoly now over the stock Dana 44s or wait until you have a problem and upgrade at that point?


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StormTrooper_JK said:
So would you upgrade to chromoly now over the stock Dana 44s or wait until you have a problem and upgrade at that point?
Click to expand...

Me, I would wait until I needed to replace it. On my 2012, my driver side shaft went out pretty early on (totally common) but my passenger side shaft was still running strong when I pulled it and made it into a spare after 80,000 miles. Again, it is important to get a chromoly shaft that comes with FULL CIRCLE CLIPS.
 
wayoflife said:
Me, I would wait until I needed to replace it. On my 2012, my driver side shaft went out pretty early on (totally common) but my passenger side shaft was still running strong when I pulled it and made it into a spare after 80,000 miles. Again, it is important to get a chromoly shaft that comes with FULL CIRCLE CLIPS.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info


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I went with Carbon Off-road shafts, cheaper than ten factory and revolution, same specs and warranty and full circle clips of course. Get in touch with Exodus Jeeps.


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This is why WAYALIFE is awesome!! I like reading what others have tried and what has been proven time and time again. Being a new jeeper it gives me confidence to select parts as I upgrade. Thanks to all I really appreciate it!!
 
Hey Folks,
I’ve been running 35” tires for about 9 months now and have decided I need to change my gear ratio and am set with getting that done next week (thanks for all the advice on that). Question now is should I swap out the front and back axle shafts now with chromoly shafts when I get the gears changed out? Also would you go with G2 or who?

Thanks a ton in advance,
Joe


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MonoJoe said:
Hey Folks,
I’ve been running 35” tires for about 9 months now and have decided I need to change my gear ratio and am set with getting that done next week (thanks for all the advice on that). Question now is should I swap out the front and back axle shafts now with chromoly shafts when I get the gears changed out? Also would you go with G2 or who?

Thanks a ton in advance,
Joe


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Click to expand...

How hard do you off-road? Unless you're banging into rocks and stuff, I think your stock shafts should be fine.

If you want to take it to the "next level", I would recommend having the axle shaft seals replaced while they do the gears. It's minimal extra labor and a few extra bucks. I didn't, and later had to change the rears and fronts out due to leaking. I also bent the rear flanges, but that was sliding sideways into rocks with 37's.

The fronts are $20 and easily swapped while the carrier is out.

The rears require cutting the "wedding rings" off, pressing off the bearings, and installing new seals, bearings, and rings. Or swapping in chromoly shafts with new bearings/seals.

You could also upgrade the stock front shafts to full circle clips instead of C-clips for a few dollars and improve reliability.
 
I guess I'm on the other side of the RCV debate lol. I've had two sets of RCVs in my WJ. One set in my D30 and another set in my HP44 that had to be custom. I haven't had any issues with either set, but as somebody mentioned before, my WJ has hubs up front. I've abused the shit out of that jeep (hence one reason it hasnt been working in forever), and they've held up.

Now obviously the opinions expressed in this thread are from first hand accounts, and while personally I think they are both good options, it all comes down to your persona preference.

When it comes to my JK, I will probably do Chromoly shafts.
 
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