I had the exact same experience, right rear tire wobble that felt like an out of balance tire. Changed to the spare in a parking lot during a 450 mile trip. So same with the spare. Got home and pulled the RR tire and brake assembly. Long story short it was G2 replacements for me. All 4 axle shafts at once hopefully to never happen, fingers crossed as I do like to wheel some rocks.

 

I would recommend Revolution Gear American made 4340 Chromoly shafts. They come with the bearing, seal and backing plate installed, all you have to do is screw on the wheel studs. Lifetime warranty which includes flanges.

That's what I put on mine and I wheel hard.

 

I concur with cranbiz... revolution....

 

Ten Factory shafts are cheap, especially after using the Northridge 4x4 10% off coupon. I’ve already bent one set that was replaced under warranty. Northridge customer service was helpful and processed the claim on my behalf.

If you have the extra cash, go with the Domestic produced RGA shafts.

 

You are lucky. 10 Factory doesn't usually warranty bent shafts. I know several people who were told tough luck. Fortunately Northridge cares enough to do the right thing.


Non Rubi in stock on Amazon.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B017BW6SQO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amazon has the Rubi too but they want a premium for those. I would wait for revolution to get those back in stock.

 

Thanks for all of the input so far! Keep it coming! Looks like Revolution is most preferred so far. I’m a sucker for American made parts too...

 

I've got a set on order now.

 

I got some recommendations a few months ago, and decided I wanted to go with revolution. When I started looking (and emailed Brandon with a couple questions) three months ago, they were out of stock on the rubicon rears. They're still out of stock, and now Brandon won't respond to my emails. So while I'd like to go revolution and recommend them, it looks like I'll have to go another direction.

Luckily, I don't have a bent flange (yet), so it's not urgent for me...

 

Thanks for the heads up... I actually just noticed that on their website it says that they’re out of stock for the Rubicon kit, like you said... that sucks! I’ll try to email them and see if they respond. I’ll post here if I find anything out. Man that’s a bummer if I got all hyped up for the Revolutions and can’t even find any!!!

 

to long. did not read

 

Didn’t read but took the time to troll on the thread? Cool.

Yes, I did realize it was too lengthy after I posted but forgive me for not being that guy who clogs up the the forum saying “part brok wut fix?” Also, I’ve done extensive research looking for similar problems and I couldn’t find anyone who has posted on here, in good detail, of the problem at hand. My intent was to create this thread so that someone else with the same problem can find it online by searching the same signs and symptoms and know what to do to fix it. I’m out here to help other people as well. Knowledge is useless unless it’s shared.

But this might be too much for you to read also.

 

Blah blah blah... revolution shafts. Made in USA too.

 

Revolutions here. Make sure to get the made in USA ones.

 

Update: The information that I’ve received today is that the Revolution Rubicon shafts are on backorder at the moment due to their vendors machine being down. ETA is the end of this month (end of July). That information is coming directly from Brandon at Revolution Gear and Axle as well as multiple distributors that have also spoken with Revolution today. The Revolution Non-Rubicon 30 spline shafts seem to be in stock from various distributors but I am in need of the Rubicon 32 spline shafts. Only time will tell...

 

+1 on Revolution.
FWIW it's not just the spline count that's different, Non-Rubis are equal length shafts, Rubi shafts are not equal. Make sure you know which side is short/long before you tackle the job.

 

Welcome to the Achillies Heel of the JK rear D44. So far I've bent a set of Superior chromoloys (Foote Axle & Forge, out of business) and two sets of G2s. The first set of the latter 4WP warrantied, but they demanded to inspect them first. Fortunately I had a set of Alloys on the shelf, so I swapped them out and waited a month or so. 4WP had argued "We've never heard of this, you have a bent wheel...no?, then you have a bent rotor...NO??? Ok, then we have to inspect them." $80 to ship them to 4WP, they sent a new set immediately. Those bent in one fairly gentle trip to Moab. I didn;t even bother getting them replaced, they went in the trash and I kept the Alloys in service. They have been in there for a year or so and appear to be ok so far, but I expect they're one ledge away from the dreaded wobble. Next set will be Tens and we'll see how it goes. However, short of a full floater rear axle this is going to be your life for as long as you build it heavy & wheel it hard.

 

I have revolutions, they're made in the USA and have a good warranty. Funny though I just bought new front revolution shafts, and they're stamped "foote". So I don't think they're out of business. Maybe just moved up to supplier status.

 

Foote here in Los Angeles forges all of Revolutions US made shafts.

 

Carbon Offroad

 

Yea, what he said.

I have a full set of carbons, front and rear. Preassembled and great price with 15 year warranty. I'm not very nice to my jeep, so far no issues.

 

Any after market rear shafts will be stronger at the flanges.
And even then they all can bend, but revolutions or ten factory are both much stronger than oem.

 

Nail on the head here... you are exactly right :thumb:

 

I would have liked to order revolutions, but I just could not pass up the price Northridge4x4 had on the ten factory rear shafts.. $343 assembled and shipped to me, nice sale they had a few days ago.

 

Wow, yeah that is a great price! Especially for us penny pinchers who have a huge mod list that we’re saving up for! Definitely not opposed to those complete axle kits either! Thanks for the input.

 

UPDATE:

So, on my last post, I mentioned that I was in contact directly with Brandon from Revolution Gear & Axle and that he informed me that the pre-assembled RAK51 U.S. Made, 32 Spline, Rubicon, Rear Axle Kit was OUT OF STOCK (huge bummer) and that he would contact me when he heard any further news from their manufacturer (what I now learned is Foote in L.A. - Thanks TRBOKEV!). I’ve been patiently [anxiously] waiting for the kits to come back in stock and Brandon actually informed me 2 days ago that the RAK51 kits were in fact IN STOCK and that they would be clear to process shipping out the following day if I placed the order (they offer free shipping online by the way). Big shoutout to Brandon from RG&A for putting up with my questions and updating me as I asked, either by email or on their Facebook page. I ALWAYS got a reply back within short timing and he seemed just as anxious and frustrated as myself to get the parts in. I also mentioned on here that I was in contact with some of their vendors who sell their stuff and I was in touch with Eric at X-Diff Gear & Axle (xdiffautoparts.com) who had also been in contact with Brandon about the kits after my inquiry with them on their website. X-Diff was able to offer a killer deal on the U.S. made axle kit at nearly $60 cheaper than straight from RGA and they also offer free shipping... (its worthy of mentioning that both RGA and X-Diff offered me a 5% military discount if you can send proof or ID). Because I’m saving for future mods I would be crazy not to go with the X-Diff deal over all so I pulled the trigger yesterday after Eric at X-Diff said that they had just received a fresh batch of them as well from RGA’s manufacturer. I’m not trying to sell anything for these guys but I just wanted to give them both a shoutout because I told them I would for them dealing with this whole ordeal personally and professionally. It really goes to show how important (good) customer service can be, especially in the tight-knit Jeep community where it seems all we do is converse and/or complain about stuff like this. I’ll be getting my RGA Axles in sometime next week and I’ll be installing them myself shortly after. I will post pics when done because we all love pics, am I right? :happyyes:

Thanks to everyone for the continued info! After all of my research, there is no right or wrong when it comes to better axle shafts. like GetRDun said, almost anything is better or beefier than stock and would be an upgrade nonetheless. However, being a machinist by trade and dealing with all types of metals on a daily basis where I need to know their strengths and weaknesses, I wanted to go with some 4340 shafts over the 4140 due to the added Nickel mixture into the alloy.

Just because this might help someone; AISI-SAE 4100 series is a Chromium-Molybdenum Steel, AISI-SAE 4300 series is a Nickle-Chromium-Molybdenum Steel. 4140 that’s been Hot Rolled, and normalized has a tensile strength of 148,000 PSI, and a yield of 95,000 PSI. 4340 that’s been Hot Rolled, and normalized has a tensile strength of 185,000 PSI, and a yield of 125,000. Just my input. There are a lot of factors in heat treating and spline cutting that play into the strength of the axles as well, and I may be over doing it but don’t we all have some kind of track record of doing that in this community? I take pride in everything that I do. Even when it comes to writing too much information on a post. :thumb:

-eSCAPEist

 

Glad to hear they got them in and let you order. I called last Monday, and was rather rudely told (not by Brandon, though Brandon is who won't respond to my emails) end of August/beginning of September, "Not too much longer Bud".

After I got off the phone with Revolution I ordered some Ten Factory shafts from Northridge.

 

I hate to hear that, Brandon always responded to my questions by email or on their FB page every time I needed something and he even responded right away when I asked if I could have some more RGA decals because the one in my box was trashed due to the weight of the packaging, no questions asked he asked for my address to send me some, lol, I thought that was pretty cool. But as soon as they got the batch, Brandon emailed me (as well as Eric from X-Diff who sold them cheaper) and I had them at my door the next week. Just put them on last night and it was a painless install. But hey, nothing wrong with Ten Factory from what I’ve seen, anything is better than stock! I just made my self wait for the extra strength 4340 shafts from them. I do love my RGA’s and I’m finally riding smooth!

 

Some pics from my install last night. Install was a breeze in my garage and I am thoroughly pleased with the outcome and quality of the RGA RAK51 American made Rubicon rear axle shafts. Just a tip for those who are looking forward to this; when you remove both wheels and put the axle on jack stands, make the stand on whatever side you are working on a notch or two taller so that the gear oil doesn’t pour out when you remove the old axle. I alternated sides for each shaft and I didn’t get any gear oil spill. Also, crawl under and spray the (2) 18mm brake assembly bolts and the (4) 18mm axle shaft nuts with PB Blaster a day before the install so that they come right off when you go to wrenching on them. Tight spaces don’t let you get much more than a regular wrench back there, ratcheting wrenches and PB Blaster were the bees knees for this whole job. Get 2 cans of brake cleaner to clean up the surrounding areas before pulling the old one out and be sure to remove the old bearing race from the axle housing carefully and clean the bearing surface thoroughly before installing the new shaft assembly. It would be wise to replace your rotor and brake pads after replacing the bent shaft too because of the uneven wear if they’ve been on the wobbly axle for a while... Anyway, Here’s the goods:

 

My apologies for opening an older thread. But I just couldn't find a Rubicon D44 rear Revolution-made axle shaft (or for that matter Carbon Offroad) that is 4340.

Can you share where you got your RGA 4340 rear Rubi axle shaft? All I could find was 4140 rear axle shafts with both Carbon and Revolution. (https://www.revolutiongear.com/product/07_18_jeep_rubicon_rear_32_spline_axle_american_made) RGA's now listing their SKU RAK51 as 4140 not 4340.

Although plenty of resellers are advertising RAK51 SKU as 4340 in their websites, but link above from RGA clearly shows it is 4140. (Resellers - https://www.4lowparts.com/shop/dana-44-jk-rubicon-rear-axle-kit-revolution/ | https://www.rubitrux.com/revolution-gear-and-axle-jk-rubicon-32-spine-rear-axle-kit-usa-made.html)

Did they stop making 4340s? Or did I misread the post here, because I did order front axle shaft that is 4340. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

Glad its all good now. Out of morbid curiosity, did you spot the issue with the oem shaft?

 

You know what?... out of the sheer intent to replace them as quick as possible late last night, I didn’t even remember to check it. I’ll definitely check out the bad one later when I get off work and I’ll post what I find.

 

It appears https://www.revolutiongear.com/product/07_18_jeep_jk_non_rubicon_rear_30_spline_american_axle Has changed the axle material as even their website says 4140 for the D44 shafts.

 

Yup, they have. I emailed RGA and they confirmed it is 4140. In their email to me they also said 4140 is a better material for the rear axles. (Debatable? Yes. But just stating what they said is all.)

 

From my experience, unless you're running a free float rear axle, you can bend any axle shaft if you wheel it hard enough. (Keep your stock shafts for trail spares.)

 

Hey guys - if anyone reads this and have an opinion or knowledge on this question, please share your thoughts. Posting it here since it is axle related.

I picked up a Carbon-Offroad 4340 rubi front axle shaft from Krawl Offroad because they had this on sale a few weeks ago. When I pulled it out the box I saw some of the splines looked a bit filed off and one of the splines was filed quite a bit. Pics below.

Question - is this normal for brand new axle shaft to look like this and is it OK to install? Neither Carbon, nor Krawl Offroad is responding to my emails. Hence posting here.