New Grenadier Front Driveshafts from Sven here in the US.

[David Czarnecki]

In this video we review the stock Grenadier driveshaft and compare it to two that Sven has developed. We bought these to test and compare. I have driven the DC to DC and it was solid with no vibrations felt at any speeds or decelerations as others have reported. I have two customers with these installed. In talking with Sven, the next versions will have a grease nipple on the center balls so that is evolving. The DC to Rzeppa is going in my Grenadier this week to check that out as well as it is a less costly approach than the DC to DC version. I will be making further videos with these driveshafts as well so subscribe to the YouTube channel. Both are are custom built in France. Feel free to email me at david@design-build-go.com for more info.



View: https://youtu.be/0DTXRCdfbag

 

[Catpaw4x4]

Very timely info! Look forward to seeing the progress. Cheers!

 

[Kiefffff]

Awesome. Looking forward to the DC to DC option being available.

 

[Mister_BevilAcqua]

Nice to see! Surprised one of the many Jeep drive shaft companies here in the states doesn't want to take a crack at it, should help with the cost.

 

[Sven]

Nice to see! Surprised one of the many Jeep drive shaft companies here in the states doesn't want to take a crack at it, should help with the cost.

Quality of the parts is not the same , thats why I don't have any vibs on my shaft , Jeeps ride in 2wd all the time and lock in 4WD when the go Offroad , so they can do with a front propshaft with a poor balancing

 

[Dokatd]

Quality of the parts is not the same , thats why I don't have any vibs on my shaft , Jeeps ride in 2wd all the time and lock in 4WD when the go Offroad , so they can do with a front propshaft with a poor balancing

Ok, this is where I have to stop you. We have tons of shops here in the states that build DC shafts and DC/DC shafts all out of high quality and precision balanced parts. I personally installed a 1350 DC/DC shaft in a 94' Defender with zero vibes. At this point you are reaching with the "Quality" speil.

I trust your shafts are built and balanced well, but let's not make wholesale assumptions about what is being built on this side of the pond. Tom Woods in fact refused to make this shaft not because they couldn't build a quality balanced DC shafts but that they didn't have the proper tooling to build one with a Rzeppa at the other end and still balance it to their standards.

The DC/DC grenadier shafts that have been produced here in the states for well over a year now ran perfectly smooth on mile one, but they started to loosen up after many many miles and started to vibe. This is just what happens to DC/DC shafts with severe angles.

 

[Sven]

Ok, this is where I have to stop you. We have tons of shops here in the states that build DC shafts and DC/DC shafts all out of high quality and precision balanced parts. I personally installed a 1350 DC/DC shaft in a 94' Defender with zero vibes. At this point you are reaching with the "Quality" speil.

I trust your shafts are built and balanced well, but let's not make wholesale assumptions about what is being built on this side of the pond. Tom Woods in fact refused to make this shaft not because they couldn't build a quality balanced DC shafts but that they didn't have the proper tooling to build one with a Rzeppa at the other end and still balance it to their standards.

The DC/DC grenadier shafts that have been produced here in the states for well over a year now ran perfectly smooth on mile one, but they started to loosen up after many many miles and started to vibe. This is just what happens to DC/DC shafts with severe angles.

For me the problem is not just the angle , but the all time 4wd

DC/DC is to reserve to several lift , 95% of the time the DC/Rzeppa is better

 

[ECrider]

Bravo boys. Forum and Gren community at it's finest. Bon chance all involved. Will be purchasing as soon as well proven.

 

[Sven]

Proven on my car , absolutely no vib at all

 

[Max]

Ok, this is where I have to stop you.

 

[skinny_tom]

Ok, this is where I have to stop you. We have tons of shops here in the states that build DC shafts and DC/DC shafts all out of high quality and precision balanced parts. I personally installed a 1350 DC/DC shaft in a 94' Defender with zero vibes. At this point you are reaching with the "Quality" speil.

I trust your shafts are built and balanced well, but let's not make wholesale assumptions about what is being built on this side of the pond. Tom Woods in fact refused to make this shaft not because they couldn't build a quality balanced DC shafts but that they didn't have the proper tooling to build one with a Rzeppa at the other end and still balance it to their standards.

The DC/DC grenadier shafts that have been produced here in the states for well over a year now ran perfectly smooth on mile one, but they started to loosen up after many many miles and started to vibe. This is just what happens to DC/DC shafts with severe angles.

So, from what you said, he's kinda right...

Citing Tom Woods as the de facto standard of quality drive shafts in the U.S... A company whose standards and reputation go an awfully long way in the off-road arena... A company that, in your words, "refused to make this shaft" because they don't have the tooling... suggests that anything else made here would be of lesser quality. Just what Sven said. Of course I have no way of knowing the level of quality that we will see when the Game-Changer gets the screws put to it- but I'm sure we will find out soon.

Now, you and I know that there are plenty of other manufacturers that can put together a great drive shaft. But none, except for your secret project, seem to be willing to take on the project, or have been successful in building one. In essence, we are without a quality drive shaft solution in the United States.

Yet.

 

[David Czarnecki]

Nice to see! Surprised one of the many Jeep drive shaft companies here in the states doesn't want to take a crack at it, should help with the cost.

Low volume combined with difficulties in securing the correct flange in the US is what I've been told. You can see the response by Ton Woods in the video comments. The euro to dollar is poor as well.

 

[David Czarnecki]

Ok, this is where I have to stop you. We have tons of shops here in the states that build DC shafts and DC/DC shafts all out of high quality and precision balanced parts. I personally installed a 1350 DC/DC shaft in a 94' Defender with zero vibes. At this point you are reaching with the "Quality" speil.

I trust your shafts are built and balanced well, but let's not make wholesale assumptions about what is being built on this side of the pond. Tom Woods in fact refused to make this shaft not because they couldn't build a quality balanced DC shafts but that they didn't have the proper tooling to build one with a Rzeppa at the other end and still balance it to their standards.

The DC/DC grenadier shafts that have been produced here in the states for well over a year now ran perfectly smooth on mile one, but they started to loosen up after many many miles and started to vibe. This is just what happens to DC/DC shafts with severe angles.

Actually if you see by the Tom Woods team video comments the flange procurement was the issue not vibration. That's from the horse's mouth. I have Tom Woods in my 1966 Bronco. This is a solution we sre trying here and now. If you need one this could be an option. If another US manufacturer jumps in, the more the merrier. We need long lasting solutions so we are working it this way.

 

[David Czarnecki]

Bravo boys. Forum and Gren community at it's finest. Bon chance all involved. Will be purchasing as soon as well proven.

I'll keep posting vidoes on the progress.

 

[Mister_BevilAcqua]

The saddest part of all of this is that it shouldn't even have been an issue on a vehicle in this segment. The fact that we are dealing with this issue and are forced to accept it as "ok" is offensive. I will keep my fingers crossed that this will be a long-term, reliable solution.

 

[Dokatd]

So, from what you said, he's kinda right...

Citing Tom Woods as the de facto standard of quality drive shafts in the U.S... A company whose standards and reputation go an awfully long way in the off-road arena... A company that, in your words, "refused to make this shaft" because they don't have the tooling... suggests that anything else made here would be of lesser quality. Just what Sven said. Of course I have no way of knowing the level of quality that we will see when the Game-Changer gets the screws put to it- but I'm sure we will find out soon.

Now, you and I know that there are plenty of other manufacturers that can put together a great drive shaft. But none, except for your secret project, seem to be willing to take on the project, or have been successful in building one. In essence, we are without a quality drive shaft solution in the United States.

Yet.

He brought Jeeps into it and why they don't need a precision shaft. I'm not a Jeep fan, but saying Jeeps are part time 4wd and thus don't need precision shafts so American companies don't make shafts as well as him is just a bit off the wall. He brought DC to single cardan shafts into the discussion not me.

Tom woods doesn't have the fixturing to balance Rzeppa joint shafts. They didn't feel it was worth acquiring that fixturing. They could have cobbled something but that wouldn't be to their level so they turned it down. They refused to make something less than their standard.

Sven may be an amazing machinest and probably is. So maybe he cobbled something together to do it right. Or maybe he's just willing to gamble his reputation more than Tom Woods. Who knows.

 

[Dokatd]

Actually if you see by the Tom Woods team video comments the flange procurement was the issue not vibration. That's from the horse's mouth. I have Tom Woods in my 1966 Bronco. This is a solution we sre trying here and now. If you need one this could be an option. If another US manufacturer jumps in, the more the merrier. We need long lasting solutions so we are working it this way.

There were several factors if you want to get to the bottom of it. I dealt with Shawn Woods directly as I was who he was R&Ding with. I have the emails. Shawn is a great guy and we had some great talks.

I currently use woods shafts on other trucks and have had many in the past. All work well and I am disappointed they refused the project.

 

[Sven]

Sorry guys , it's to many comments for me . . . i just see one things , my shafts work perfectly on all the cars i do , included my race car with 500hp and 1.000nm , so i don't need any discuss , it's just facts .

 

[Tazzieman]

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Many of us are sitting back and watching this dinner. Literally and figuratively.
It'll be alright in the end and if it's not all right, it's not the end!
Keep up the good work , whichever part of the planet you're based