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Ford F-150: 4WD Drive Shaft Reviews

Drive shafts on the the F-150 and F-250 and Super Duty trucks are generally pretty resilient. Still, they have flaws and occasionally will break. This article runs down some of the aftermarket options for drive shafts. It doesn't matter if you snapped a u-joint trying to tow a Chevy or if you need a lightweight shaft for your race-truck. We've got you covered.

By Pizzaman711 - November 14, 2014

This article applies to the Ford F-150 (2004-2014).

The drive shaft is what delivers power from your transmission to your axle. With so many brands on the market, it can be hard to choose. They come in different materials, different sizes, and with different u-joints to best fit your application. Whether it be for your daily driver, track truck or your off-road monster, it's important to not go with any cheap drive shaft, as one improperly built or made of cheap materials can cause it to fail or bad drive line vibrations.

Drive Shaft Brands
Shaftmasters
A1 Cardone
ProComp
Precision Shaft Technologies
Visteon
Price $750 $100-$300 $430-$650 $230-$1000+ $800+
OEM/Aftermarket/Custom

Aftermarket

OEM

Aftermarket

Custom

OEM
Material Steel, Aluminum Steel, Aluminum Steel Steel, Aluminum, Carbon Fiber Steel, Aluminum
Warranty 30 Day Limited 1 Year / 18,000 Mile Limited Lifetime Optional Lifetime 1 Year Limited
Best Quality: Precision Shaft Technologies

Best Value: A1 Cardone

Shaftmasters

Price - $750

OEM/Aftermarket/Custom - Aftermarket

Material - Steel and Aluminum

Warranty - 30 Day Limited

Shaftmasters make quality drive shafts that are a direct, bolt-in replacement for the OEM shaft. Unlike the OEM shaft, these come with serviceable u-joints so that you don't have to replace the entire drive shaft when they go bad. The price on these is pretty steep compared to what you can get when going custom, but if you need a drive shaft right away you'll be able to get one of these a lot faster than getting one custom built. These even come with all the tools needed to do the install as well. Recommended if you're willing to pay for a high-quality, user-maintainable drive shaft.

A1 Cardone

Price - $100-$300

OEM/Aftermarket/Custom - OEM Rebuilt

Material - Steel and Aluminum

Warranty - 1 Year / 18,000 Mile (whichever comes first)

This drive shaft is a bit different from the others. You can't actually buy a brand new A1 Cardone driveshaft, but they will rebuild your OEM unit. The A1 product line is, "Cardone's rebuild service: where they'll take your worn out OEM drive shaft and rebuild it with OEM quality parts." If you don't mind waiting for their two to three week turn around process, this can be a highly cost-effective way to fix your drive shaft. The reviews on these are generally positive, making the A1 a recommendation to the daily driver who doesn't mind the downtime. Recommended if you want to repair your daily-driven drive shaft for cheap.

ProComp

Price - $430-$650

OEM/Aftermarket/Custom - Aftermarket

Material - Steel

Warranty - Limited Lifetime

These drive shafts are made specifically for lifted vehicles to help correct the drive line angles and eliminate drive line vibrations by making them longer than the OEM drive shaft. ProComp is well known in the lifted truck industry for making quality products, and this holds true for their drive shafts as well. However, due to their premium price, it's recommended to check your other options first before making your final decision to go with a ProComp drive shaft. Recommended if you need a drive shaft for your lifted truck.

Precision Shaft Technologies

Price - $230-$1000+

OEM/Aftermarket/Custom - Custom

Material - Steel, Aluminum, and Carbon Fiber

Warranty - Optional Lifetime

These are great quality drive shafts that, for the most part, are completely end-user serviceable. This is a great feature to have as some trucks coming from the factory come with drive shafts that don't have replaceable parts, like U-Joints. PST's drive shafts do have to be custom built which means you'll have to wait. These are cheaper than most OEM replacements. You also have the option to get a lifetime warranty which will cover your drive shaft no matter the truck's use—that includes time spent at the track. Overall, these are highly recommended due to both the price point and all the different options you get when choosing what works best for your needs. Recommended if you want a variety of high-quality drive shafts at a good price.

Visteon

Price - $800+

OEM/Aftermarket/Custom - OEM

Material - Steel, Aluminum

Warranty - 1 Year Limited

If you absolutely have to have the same drive shaft that came on your vehicle from the factory, and prefer new over getting the old rebuilt, Visteon is about your only option. The quality is good on these drive shafts but the price makes these lose a lot of points when ranking them. Since they're the same as OEM, you'll also lose out on the feature of being able to rebuild them yourself. For the price, there are a lot better options out there on the market, considering you can get custom carbon fiber or chromoly drive shafts for around the same price. Recommended if you absolutely need an OEM replacement drive shaft.

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