Tom282

Well, at 46,807 my driveshaft was causing a shudder at takeoff, and a "chirping" that got faster as the truck speed increased and then turned into a squeal. I did some research on the forum here, and decided to give Rich at Doghouse Diesel www.doghousediesel.com a call. I ordered my new shaft late on Monday, and Fedex delivered it sometime before 4:00 PM today (Thursday)! I talked with Rich about what I needed before I bought it, and it was really nice to have a knowledgable person answer the phone when I called!

The biggest issue that I had with the replacement was getting the old shaft and carrier bearing/bracket out. I live in Upstate New York, and the Winter road salt corrodes everything under the truck! I don't have a impact wrench, and it took a lot of muscle and WD-40 to break free and remove the 15mm bolts on the carrier bearing, carrier bearing bracket, and saddle bolts. To make matters worse, Chrysler decided to use Loctite on the saddle bolts, and they were a bear to get out!! Patience and WD-40 were my best friends, and I was able to work them out by unscrewing them as far as they would easily go, spray them with WD-40, and then screw them back in again. After 4-5 cycles on each bolt, I was able to remove them without incident. The new shaft installed effortlessly, and after reinstalling the 4 saddle bolts and torquing them to 85 ft.-pd. I was ready for a test drive.

I was thrilled that the shudder I was experiencing at take off as well as the chirp/squeal that I had with the old shaft was completely gone!! The truck accelerated smoothly, and the difference at highway speed was fantastic. I didn't realize how much shaft noise I was getting until this new shaft was in! I called and talked with Rich after my installation (he understood my excitement), and and told him how happy I was with my purchase! I always have a hard time putting OEM parts back in that will have the same performance as the parts they replace, and this new shaft corrected a lot of "issues" that Dodge created with the 2 piece driveshaft.

I couldn't be happier with my new shaft and the service provided by Doghouse Diesel!

Big Swole

Rich is Great People!!!

And REALLY knows his Chit!!

I'm a Lucky Lucky guy to be so close to Rich / Doghouse and the Jeff Garmon / Garmon's Diesel!!


Rich is actually letting me get is drive shaft loops that he made for his stock shafts before he decided to go this route....

If I had just recently spent so much I'd love a set my self....

He saved Lots of weight with his too... Very nice product!!

He posted pics and the weight savings on his HUGE thread on CF... I'll see if I can find the links...

Big Swole

http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/3r...-pics-143.html



This link should take you to the pics on CF of the shafts....

If you have several Hours and haven't seen his Build thread, it is WORTH going through... Dude's got MAD Skillz!

Tom282

[QUOTE=Big Swole;2979045]Rich is Great People!!!

And REALLY knows his Chit!!

I'm a Lucky Lucky guy to be so close to Rich / Doghouse and the Jeff Garmon / Garmon's Diesel!!
QUOTE]


Thanks for the comments Big Swole!!

If I lived that close to Rich and his shop, me and my truck would be thrilled, but my wife and my wallet would be a little strained!!!

Drove the truck to work today with a smile that went ear-to-ear!! That shaft is quiet and smooth. All future upgrades and replacements will be through Rich at Doghouse!! We had a few laughs when we talked yesterday, he seems like a really great guy!

.boB

WD-40 is not a penetrating oil. You would get much better results with something like PB Blaster.

I hope you also used red locktite on those bolts. If you didn't, you should.

Tom282

Thanks for the reply. I did a little research and here's what I found out:

What does WD-40 do?
WD-40 fulfills five basic functions:
1. CLEANS: WD-40 gets under dirt, grime and grease to clean. It also dissolves adhesives, allowing easy removal of labels, tape and excess bonding material.
2. DISPLACES MOISTURE: Because WD-40 displaces moisture, it quickly dries out electrical systems to eliminate moisture-induced short circuits.
3. PENETRATES: WD-40 loosens rust-to-metal bonds and frees stuck, frozen or rusted metal parts.
4. LUBRICATES: WD-40's lubricating ingredients are widely dispersed and tenaciously held to all moving parts.
5. PROTECTS: WD-40 protects metal surfaces with corrosion-resistant ingredients to shield against moisture and other corrosive elements.

I had WD-40 in the garage....

As far as the Loctite, the factory states:

"No, red is too aggressive.

The only time you ever want to use red is if you NEVER plan to remove something.

We normally use blue loctite on those bolts. Blue is whats on there from the factory and is more than adequate.

Very rarely do we use red on fasteners. It's too aggressive for most applications."

I'll pick up some blue Loctite tonight and reinstall the bolts with it. Thank you for the input!