Ordering MaxTrac lift kit... how to tell if I need Carrier Bearing or not?

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1c197aabca34ecd93b878aca597f09f9.jpg


How do I know if I have a 1pc or 2pc driveshaft?

My truck is a 2012 1500 Regular Cab ST w/ 5.7 Hemi (came from factory with OEM 20” wheel option if that changes things).

Is there a way to know which driveshaft I have just by the model or vin?


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muddy12

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just for reference,
iveshafts_ffdd83a9994bacddb2f1241f1ee9a094715882af.jpg
one piece is on the top, two piece is on the bottom.
one end will be attached to the transmission (T-case if 4x4), and the other end will be attached to the rear axle.
 
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Am I missing something? Can you not just look under the truck??


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Gee, why didn’t I think of that? Genius idea. Thanks. /s

Do you own a caliper, geometry, or physics book?

???

just for reference,
iveshafts_ffdd83a9994bacddb2f1241f1ee9a094715882af.jpg
one piece is on the top, two piece is on the bottom.
one end will be attached to the transmission (T-case if 4x4), and the other end will be attached to the rear axle.

Thanks for actually being helpful and not just commenting a smart ass remark. I’ve never really dealt with driveshafts before so I don’t know much about them. I’ll take a look under my truck.


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muddy12

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Gee, why didn’t I think of that? Genius idea. Thanks. /s



???



Thanks for actually being helpful and not just commenting a smart ass remark. I’ve never really dealt with driveshafts before so I don’t know much about them. I’ll take a look under my truck.


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Didn't mean for my first comment to come across as being a smart ass; My apologies.
Just wanted to see if there were any extenuating circumstances, that were preventing you from accessing the truck. It was also a place holder while I looked to see if there was any other way to determine which shaft it might have. So far, it seems like the 1 vs 2 piece, is just about as confusing as the aluminum vs steel discussions.
 

RedSRT4Me

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1c197aabca34ecd93b878aca597f09f9.jpg


How do I know if I have a 1pc or 2pc driveshaft?

My truck is a 2012 1500 Regular Cab ST w/ 5.7 Hemi (came from factory with OEM 20” wheel option if that changes things).

Is there a way to know which driveshaft I have just by the model or vin?


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Usually single cab has a 1 piece driveshaft.

Crew cab RWD have 2 piece driveshafts.

If you crawl under there and still unsure try snapping a pic and loading it to the site.
 
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Its cool, and yea i am going to go crawl under it when i go outside in a few minutes.

I have one more question about this lift kit maybe someone can help.

I just ordered new rims and tires, here are the specs:

Backspacing: 4.52
Offset: -25
Wheel Diameter: 20
Wheel Width: 10
Hub Bore: 87.10
Tire Size: 35x12.50x20

Now the MaxTrax 4.5"/3" Lift kit with Fox Shocks says the following:

WARNING:

  • MAXTRAC SUSPENSION DOES NOT ADVISE USING WHEELS WIDER THAN 9" OR WHEELS WITH LESS THAN 4.5" BACKSPACING. DOING SO WILL RESULT IN VOIDING ANY AND ALL MANUFACTURER WARRANTIES
So my new wheels backspacing is 4.52 and maxtrac says no less then 4.5". Obviously 4.52" is more then 4.5" but its such a close call that i am not sure if there will be problems or not. What do you guys think? Also it says to run 9" wide rims, but my new rims are 10" wide.... again is this going to be a problem?
 

G-Ride990

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Its cool, and yea i am going to go crawl under it when i go outside in a few minutes.

I have one more question about this lift kit maybe someone can help.

I just ordered new rims and tires, here are the specs:

Backspacing: 4.52
Offset: -25
Wheel Diameter: 20
Wheel Width: 10
Hub Bore: 87.10
Tire Size: 35x12.50x20

Now the MaxTrax 4.5"/3" Lift kit with Fox Shocks says the following:

WARNING:

  • MAXTRAC SUSPENSION DOES NOT ADVISE USING WHEELS WIDER THAN 9" OR WHEELS WITH LESS THAN 4.5" BACKSPACING. DOING SO WILL RESULT IN VOIDING ANY AND ALL MANUFACTURER WARRANTIES
So my new wheels backspacing is 4.52 and maxtrac says no less then 4.5". Obviously 4.52" is more then 4.5" but its such a close call that i am not sure if there will be problems or not. What do you guys think? Also it says to run 9" wide rims, but my new rims are 10" wide.... again is this going to be a problem?

Ask @CAG CheechDogg about this. They voided his warranty for his wide wheels too.

Really dumb. The wide wheels will work just fine.
 

RedSRT4Me

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Its cool, and yea i am going to go crawl under it when i go outside in a few minutes.

I have one more question about this lift kit maybe someone can help.

I just ordered new rims and tires, here are the specs:

Backspacing: 4.52
Offset: -25
Wheel Diameter: 20
Wheel Width: 10
Hub Bore: 87.10
Tire Size: 35x12.50x20

Now the MaxTrax 4.5"/3" Lift kit with Fox Shocks says the following:

WARNING:

  • MAXTRAC SUSPENSION DOES NOT ADVISE USING WHEELS WIDER THAN 9" OR WHEELS WITH LESS THAN 4.5" BACKSPACING. DOING SO WILL RESULT IN VOIDING ANY AND ALL MANUFACTURER WARRANTIES
So my new wheels backspacing is 4.52 and maxtrac says no less then 4.5". Obviously 4.52" is more then 4.5" but its such a close call that i am not sure if there will be problems or not. What do you guys think? Also it says to run 9" wide rims, but my new rims are 10" wide.... again is this going to be a problem?

I run Moto Metal 970's
20x10 -24mm offset.
37x12r20 Ridge Grapplers

20210322_122439.jpg

Maxtrac 7" lift kit. Bilstein shocks
Maxtrac UCA'S
CORE 4x4 tier 3 Five-link


You'll be good to go.
 
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Look underneath your truck if you see your driveshaft held in place in the middle with a bracket then it is a 2 piece and you "definitely" need the carrier bearing spacer kit ....

And the warranty is more than just about fitment ... what if something snaps like it's happening with BDS UCAs .... these companies are getting to damn complacent and are not giving a care about what is happening with these bad quality parts they are starting to produce in mass numbers due to popular demand .... but hey it's your truck and if all you care about is fitment go for it lol ....
 
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Ask @CAG CheechDogg about this. They voided his warranty for his wide wheels too.

Really dumb. The wide wheels will work just fine.


Yeah it was complete bs .... all they had to do was replace the damn springs to show good faith and honor a warranty for my truck ... they can't even do that lol ... that right there shows me exactly what kind of company they are ...don't get me wrong the lift kit itself is hands down the best but their springs are not strong enough or have the compression to keep my trucks front end from sagging .... I am going to end up getting other springs because from what I am being told their springs are Chinese crap everything else is made here in the USA by them .....
 
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Thanks for the advice guys.

Crawled under my truck and seems it’s a solid 1 piece.

f8a02445baef71816d95241943573069.jpg
c0ee9f4f037f932922098b106ccd2f00.jpg


I never noticed how clean the underside of my truck is for living in the Northeast. Aside from the surface rust on the driveshaft and the finish rust on the exhaust, it’s pretty damn clean.


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G-Ride990

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Thanks for the advice guys.

Crawled under my truck and seems it’s a solid 1 piece.


I never noticed how clean the underside of my truck is for living in the Northeast. Aside from the surface rust on the driveshaft and the finish rust on the exhaust, it’s pretty damn clean.


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FYI dont worry about the rust on the drive shaft. The steel drive shafts on 4th gens are made out of a material known as weathering steel (trade name Cor-Ten). Sounds really weird but the rusting actually prevents more corrosion.
 
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FYI dont worry about the rust on the drive shaft. The steel drive shafts on 4th gens are made out of a material known as weathering steel. Sounds really weird but the rusting actually prevents more corrosion.


You can also paint it if it bothers you which is what I will be doing pretty soon ... I keep on procrastinating but it's gonnah happen .....
 

G-Ride990

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You can also paint it if it bothers you which is what I will be doing pretty soon ... I keep on procrastinating but it's gonnah happen .....
Right before I bought my truck I crawled under it and noticed how much rust was on the drive shaft. Being an AZ truck it's whole life and having only 6k miles on it at the time I was pissed. Until I learned this haha. I never got around to painting mine either.
 
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FYI dont worry about the rust on the drive shaft. The steel drive shafts on 4th gens are made out of a material known as weathering steel (trade name Cor-Ten). Sounds really weird but the rusting actually prevents more corrosion.

Oh, no, I wasn’t worried about the rust in the driveshaft lol. I was just pointing out how clean my trucks underside looked for being 9, almost 10hrs old with 92k miles. I knew the driveshafts rust almost immediately and the exhaust rusting on the surface is common too.

Unfortunately the freaking crypto market CRASHED over the past 48 hours and I lost ALOT so this lift kit is now gonna have to wait until my coins go back up some, rough day when I spent $2,800 on new wheels and tires just to lose $4,000+ in investments in a couple hours.


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Nick@GotExhaust

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Being a shorter config truck you shouldn't have a carrier bearing. They used that on longer trucks like crew cabs
 

muddy12

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Being a shorter config truck you shouldn't have a carrier bearing. They used that on longer trucks like crew cabs

wander if it was just crew cab + long bed trucks? Or maybe only certain years? Just like the "which trucks have steel vs aluminum drive shafts", I haven't been able to find anything definitive about which trucks got which configuration of drive shaft. My truck, which is a '12, crew cab, 5'-7" bed, has a one piece shaft.
 
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