justin mazzon
Member
I have a '13 JK and recently tore the front driveline rubber boot. Is this something I should be replace right away? How much would a mechanic charge to do the work. I think a new boot is only like $12.00.
Torne Front driveline rubber boot
- Thread starter justin mazzon
- Start date
Mike_JK_Houston_711
New member
Sorry about your boot. What size lift do you have? If you're 3.5" or more, you may want to think about purchasing an aftermarket driveshaft like JE Reel or Adams. In the meantime, I have seen people on the forum say they've run with a tore boot temporarily just fine. I'm not sure on labor costs though.
justin mazzon
Member
Yah, I have a 3.5" lift and that's why I'm getting nervous, as I have a feeling the dollars are going to start adding up quickly.
NevadaZielmeister
Caught the Bug
According to the dealer, the boot is not sold separately. So if you going OEM, that is a brand new front drive shaft. At least, that was the line they were feeding me. I went with JE Reel as part of my build anyways, so no biggie to me. I have a free one without the boot if you want it, you pay shipping.
Mike_JK_Houston_711
New member
If you have the money, just replace the front ds with a je reel. Maybe $800 or so. But you'll spend more than that continually tearing your factory shaft boot and having to pay labor on the fixes every time.
WJCO
Meme King
Just curious how long you've been running this thing?
swampdog
New member
If he is only going 37s and isn't an animal, he can get a non-greaseable (stronger than greasable) 1310 front drive shaft for $420 delivered.
1310 joint isn't even as strong as the stock rzeppa. The rest if the shaft may be but not the joint.
swampdog
New member
But a 1310 u-joint style operates at a higher angle much better than the stock shaft will, which is his problem (3.5" lift)...another stock shaft helps in no way, it just kicks the can a couple of months. It his profile says he is running a 33" tire, so a 1350 would be silly.
Mike_JK_Houston_711
New member
This animated gif makes me hungry every time I see it lol
I agree with that but have you ever heard or seen a stock joint fail because the angle was too severe? I have never heard of the stock rzeppa joint failing due to excessive angle but I have heard of the boot failing countless times and the part that I mentioned addresses that issue. I will tell you what I hear about quite frequently is 1310 style driveshafts being a royal pain in the ass to deal with as far as vibrations and having to sacrifice drivability in the form of caster. Vibrations that will cause your transfer case to literally grenade spewing hot trans fluid all over the exhaust and catching fire. This issue really pokes it head out with high numeric gear ratios like 4.88 and up. I would say that half of the people that I know that have bought all the high end 1310 driveshafts have had vibe issues including myself. I sold them off at a loss and bought a set of these and its been perfect since.
I keep asking and nobody can answer me.... how many joints have you seen failed due to high angle? Also did you even look at the product? It has a redesigned boot and the area around the boot is made to accommodate the extra angle without destroying the boot.
swampdog
New member
Not going to lie here, personally, zero, but you have to use some sense here. Is there a reason that any reputable builder or seasoned off roader runs a u-joint style shaft and not a teraflex rzeppa joint? Of course, it's a superior product and a legitimate fix for a problem, not a cheap Chinese bandaid.
I don't know, for hardcore offroaders it's probably better to get a 1310 or better style shaft. For daily drivers and light wheeled jeeps I wouldn't get anything else.