RCV's in a DD???

so ive begun the search(and penny pinching) to get into an upgraded set of shafts for the 30 turd polishing process...

oh, the important stuff, right. tis a 1990 wagoneer. 4.0 auto 242 w/sye
HP30 4.56 spartan lunchbox truss SOLID cover
29spline 8.25 4.56 powertrax 'lunchbox' Rustys diff armor
RE 3.5" lift (might lower a bit more)
will be on adj. short arms
15x10 beadlocks and (most likely) the awesomeness of 35" Kevlars.
cage
:thumbup:

i do presently DD this, and even when a nother vehicle is DD'd, this will be driven to and from trails...


after some reading here and there about upgraded axle shafts, all ive gotten is that the argument about which is better is much like that of which tire is better.

a little info on me and driving:
i tend to try and wheel hard stuff for full body, 30/8.25 and 35's. i toss tack welds on the ujoint caps to help keep em in place. When i break front shafts, its due to destroying the ujoints. the joints themselves are the weak links for me, NOT so much the shafts...


so. Along with upgraded shafts($6oo-800 range roughly) ill need upgraded joints (about $200)

can those upgraded joints take the abuse that DD duties pose?


with the cost of shafts and joints (~800-1k) i was looking at the RCV's. while there isnt much to be found as far as reviews for them in a 30 (all kinds of reviews for 44/60 setups) the overall consensus is that they are bad a$$ on the trail. but how would THEY hold up to DD duties?

also, am i correct that companies like RCV only stand by the warranties if the product is installed by a recognized shop?


what say you?


(yes i know, i could just upgrade the axles. i work 50+ hours a week to pay for bills and school- which takes up the rest of my time. i dont have the time to keep the jeep down to get a different axle fabbed up under there. and these axles have worked jsut fone for me on 35's before, i just want to avoid the occasional ujoint destruction. so please limit the "get rid of the 30" comments and please keep to constructive points of view.

vendors and those with upgraded 30's hold thoughts i wish to read most)


thanks, and let the trash fly

Just curious, are you using 760xs for joints? Or just 297s?

the big stock ones, sorry shoulda included that

There's a big difference between any old "big stock one" which is a 297x joint, and a Spicer 760x joint.



297x is on the left and 760x is on the right.

760x is MUCH stronger. I was destroying yoke ears and D30 gears before those joints.

I'd try them before dropping any serious coin. They can be found online for ~$30 a pop.

very interesting, may have to give that a try, thanks sir!

Not a problem, good luck :thumbup:

I'd definitely either tack them in or grind the shafts out for full circles.

Since you say you drive it to the trails, I'd rather grind out the shaft as when you tack the cap in you risk burning away all the grease.

interesting. in the pic the two dont look much differant in size or anything. what makes the 760 so much stronger? are they forged instead of cast or something?

cold forged instead of hot forged, makes them more dense


from what ive read

MoparManiac said:

Not a problem, good luck :thumbup:

I'd definitely either tack them in or grind the shafts out for full circles.

Since you say you drive it to the trails, I'd rather grind out the shaft as when you tack the cap in you risk burning away all the grease.

Click to expand...

Nevermind messing up the grease, but you run the risk of messing up the finish by running that much current through them.

More info (and pictures) here

MoparManiac said:

Not a problem, good luck :thumbup:

I'd definitely either tack them in or grind the shafts out for full circles.

Since you say you drive it to the trails, I'd rather grind out the shaft as when you tack the cap in you risk burning away all the grease.

Click to expand...

you think the quick tack would cause that much damage to the grease?

asp said:

Nevermind messing up the grease, but you run the risk of messing up the finish by running that much current through them.

More info (and pictures) here

Click to expand...

wow, very interesting! thanks for the post

guessing there is a write up or two about grinding out the shafts on here?

Doubtful, but once you hold the full circle clip up to the inner part of the ear you'll see what you need to grind out.

It's not much.

MoparManiac said:

Doubtful, but once you hold the full circle clip up to the inner part of the ear you'll see what you need to grind out.

It's not much.

Click to expand...

cool cool, thanks again, ill get some of these to run for now and see how it goes

You may find this of interest. http://completeoffroad.com/i-593362...-chrome-moly-axle-kit-27-spline-multiple.html

asp said:

Nevermind messing up the grease, but you run the risk of messing up the finish by running that much current through them.

More info (and pictures) here

Click to expand...

I've always wondered if that happens when people weld the caps... a way you can avoid this kind of damage is to put the ground clamp on the same side of the U-joint as the cap you are welding (i.e. if you are welding a cap in an ear on the stub shaft, put the ground clamp on the stub shaft. If you are welding a cap in an ear on the inner shaft, put the ground clamp on the inner shaft.)

Regardless I would only weld the caps on regreasable joints, for the reason MoparManiac gave. I want to be able to force that burned/overheated grease out of the joint after welding.

in4aride said:

guessing there is a write up or two about grinding out the shafts on here?

Click to expand...

Grind out the inner lip/step enough the let the clip go all the way around flat.









(Disclaimer: 760's were put in after blowing up those awesome Brute Force joints :greensmok)

(Another disclaimer: Welding caps is ghey)

spicer doesnt even make the 297s anymore

they just sell the 760's with the semi circle clips.

i just installed some in my tj dana30 with no modifications needed

i break alloy outer shafts before 760's in my 44 as well

I have RCV's in my D30. It was never a true DD after I put the shafts in, but I've driven it to work multiple times with them in (80 miles round trip) and I always drive to the trails (2-3 hours minimum). I talked with RCV before I bought them to make sure they were good for a DD type vehicle and they said absolutely no problems. You just have to make sure to put some new grease in them every once in a while.

You also don't need them installed by a shop, just fine doing it yourself. Stand up guys at that company too. When I went to install mine for the first time, the grease boot didn't fit with the bolts they gave me. I told them and had two new boots at my door in 3 days, just before I left on a trip where I broke a u-joint and ended up installing the axle at the campsite.


I am also the type to pretty much try anything on the trails. If I can put a front tire on it, I'll drive up it. The RCV's have definitely held up to some abuse.

As for RCVs in a DD, if they can stand up to trail abuse (high torque at high angles, high RPMs under wheelspin conditions, etc) I am sure they can stand up to being driven on the road just fine. Keep em greased and forget about it.