# Dodge Parts



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

So the MegaCab now has 80K on it and the carrier bearing on the two piece drive shaft is starting to chirp. Well most would say replace the bearing and carry on. Well just so happens in 2007 Dodge went to a 1 piece drive shaft and it is superior to the two piece shaft in many different ways. So I started doing some research and came up with two part numbers.

52123220AB and 52123161AB

Both are reported to work, one is specific to the combination I have and the other is quoted for a different transmission but since this is for a 4x4 that does not matter as the transfer case is the same. The questions come up as one shaft is over $100 different than the other shaft.

Who around here is in good with their dodge dealer and can find out the skinny on these two shafts? Why the big price difference?


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## Snow (Sep 27, 2011)

I'll ask "a guy I know" and see what he comes up with... may take a day or two to find out..

I know years back when I needed a new drive shaft for the Grand Cherokee, the shop went through 5 before they decided to get one made, seems all the shafts they ordered showed they should fit, but none of them did. Also had similar thing with the regular Cherokee and an exhaust pipe, parts listed 2 different pipes, one available aftermarket and one only available at the dealer for about $150 more...guess which one I needed..


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## OutbackingIT (Aug 29, 2012)

I don't know what the cost of these are, but another option is aftermarket.

Here is one that I was considering for my 06 mega.

http://www.doghousediesel.com/catalog/i429.html


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

OutbackingIT said:


> I don't know what the cost of these are, but another option is aftermarket.
> 
> Here is one that I was considering for my 06 mega.
> 
> http://www.doghousediesel.com/catalog/i429.html


I am seeing prices from $500 to $900 on OEM parts depending on the source. Doghouse use to sell OEM but they now make their own and it is about $150 more than the more common prices I have found online. They are in the running but if I can nail down this part number question it will help me decide on which way I go.

BTW the local dealer is a bit of a waste of time. I asked about this and he said he needed my vin and could only tell me the parts that were originally sold with my truck!! Said he could not even look up a part without a VIN.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Snow said:


> I'll ask "a guy I know" and see what he comes up with... may take a day or two to find out..
> 
> I know years back when I needed a new drive shaft for the Grand Cherokee, the shop went through 5 before they decided to get one made, seems all the shafts they ordered showed they should fit, but none of them did. Also had similar thing with the regular Cherokee and an exhaust pipe, parts listed 2 different pipes, one available aftermarket and one only available at the dealer for about $150 more...guess which one I needed..


Couple of days is not an issue. No more camping this year so I have most of the winter to chase down this to get a good deal.


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## Snow (Sep 27, 2011)

Sorry to say my guy struck out.. didn't tell me what the numbers were for only that they didn't match for a '06 3500 mega cab.. Not sure if there is a US/Canada difference thing or not, my parts guy is usually pretty good without having a vin but this time got nowhere... Sorry about that ..


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Snow said:


> Sorry to say my guy struck out.. didn't tell me what the numbers were for only that they didn't match for a '06 3500 mega cab.. Not sure if there is a US/Canada difference thing or not, my parts guy is usually pretty good without having a vin but this time got nowhere... Sorry about that ..


The numbers were for a 2007 3500 Mega so he was correct that they were not for an 06 but I was hoping to find out what the differences were in the two part numbers.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Bringing this back to life.

Anybody else know a Dodge parts man that can give details on the the shafts in question. Thinks like length and parts break down on the yoke to see if there are differences?


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## willingtonpaul (Apr 16, 2010)

CamperAndy said:


> Bringing this back to life.
> 
> Anybody else know a Dodge parts man that can give details on the the shafts in question. Thinks like length and parts break down on the yoke to see if there are differences?


on the ford forums there are a few site sponsors that are good with parts. nothing on the RAM forums ? i imagine you have done internet searches, too, but i am surprised the trail is so cold. is it that much of a specialty item ?

and a thought about driveline geometry going with the one piece driveshaft. you could experience some shudder or vibration when taking off, especially under load, if you change the geometry and either cause or exacerbate axle wrap. just a thought; i am by no means well versed in the RAM driveline. but it happens with long bed crew cab fords sometimes, and annoys the hell out of some owners. hate to see you spend $$$ and then regret it 'cause the truck vibrates upon takeoff when you are hitched up and loaded.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

willingtonpaul said:


> Bringing this back to life.
> 
> Anybody else know a Dodge parts man that can give details on the the shafts in question. Thinks like length and parts break down on the yoke to see if there are differences?


on the ford forums there are a few site sponsors that are good with parts. nothing on the RAM forums ? i imagine you have done internet searches, too, but i am surprised the trail is so cold. is it that much of a specialty item ?

and a thought about driveline geometry going with the one piece driveshaft. you could experience some shudder or vibration when taking off, especially under load, if you change the geometry and either cause or exacerbate axle wrap. just a thought; i am by no means well versed in the RAM driveline. but it happens with long bed crew cab fords sometimes, and annoys the hell out of some owners. hate to see you spend $$$ and then regret it 'cause the truck vibrates upon takeoff when you are hitched up and loaded.
[/quote]

Paul, thanks for the Ford perspective and the points are valid but in this case Dodge went to a one piece design from a two piece design for the same wheelbase. There could be some geometry concerns but those would be addressable with appropriate wedges on the rear end or maybe a spacer on the transfer case to drop the output down some. Right now I have vibration at speed that I am confident is due to the carrier bearing going bad, so that is another reason I want to get rid of the two piece shaft.

My internet searches and Dodge forum searches have not been definitive. LOTS of info but nothing that I would want to hang my hat on and spend the money. There are third party vendors such as Dog House Diesel that have the shaft for sale but the price is higher then I would like to spend at the moment. Come next spring if I am not able to get answers on the OEM parts that could be used I will have to go to Dog House.


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## scuba0331 (Dec 7, 2011)

I belong to a mopar forum and one of the members is a driveshaft specialist. Maybe he can help you. Here's a link to his website http://www.supershafts.com/.

Also another site I belong too may have someone on there that may br able to help you. http://www.ramforumz.com/

Good luck!


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

scuba0331 said:


> I belong to a mopar forum and one of the members is a driveshaft specialist. Maybe he can help you. Here's a link to his website http://www.supershafts.com/.
> 
> Also another site I belong too may have someone on there that may br able to help you. http://www.ramforumz.com/
> 
> Good luck!


Thanks for the leads. I will try to contact the drive shaft shop on Monday to see what they say. I went to a local guy that is a more or less one man shop and he had more work then he could get done in a month laying on the floor by his roll up door and he did not even want to really discuss a custom shaft with me. That is sort of why I am looking at OEM options for a replacement shaft. I don't really need a custom shaft to hold 1000 HP and that seems to be the direction for aftermarket shafts.


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## scuba0331 (Dec 7, 2011)

CamperAndy said:


> I belong to a mopar forum and one of the members is a driveshaft specialist. Maybe he can help you. Here's a link to his website http://www.supershafts.com/.
> 
> Also another site I belong too may have someone on there that may br able to help you. http://www.ramforumz.com/
> 
> Good luck!


Thanks for the leads. I will try to contact the drive shaft shop on Monday to see what they say. I went to a local guy that is a more or less one man shop and he had more work then he could get done in a month laying on the floor by his roll up door and he did not even want to really discuss a custom shaft with me. That is sort of why I am looking at OEM options for a replacement shaft. I don't really need a custom shaft to hold 1000 HP and that seems to be the direction for aftermarket shafts.
[/quote]

Any luck?


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

scuba0331 said:


> Any luck?


Work gets in the way sometimes. I have not called yet but will as soon as I remember and that memory happens to be during working hours on the east coast.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

CamperAndy said:


> Any luck?


Work gets in the way sometimes. I have not called yet but will as soon as I remember and that memory happens to be during working hours on the east coast.
[/quote]

Lunch time rolled around and I remembered to call!!! Talked to Marty at Supershafts and he was very informative. Wish I lived closer but I may be able to do this via mail. His price (reusing my yoke and rear flange) was $525 which is more than $200 less then Doghouse and about the cost of OEM.

So now when Uncle Sam gives back my over payment next Feb I should have this as an option to move forward next spring!


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## scuba0331 (Dec 7, 2011)

CamperAndy said:


> Any luck?


Work gets in the way sometimes. I have not called yet but will as soon as I remember and that memory happens to be during working hours on the east coast.
[/quote]

Lunch time rolled around and I remembered to call!!! Talked to Marty at Supershafts and he was very informative. Wish I lived closer but I may be able to do this via mail. His price (reusing my yoke and rear flange) was $525 which is more than $200 less then Doghouse and about the cost of OEM.

So now when Uncle Sam gives back my over payment next Feb I should have this as an option to move forward next spring!
[/quote]

Great. I hope you get it all figured out!


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Well it is done. After much hand wringing over where to get the shaft. I found an on-line source for a factory shaft I got the 52123161AB for $475 plus $45 shipping and it was complete with front yoke and rear flange.

Seemed to take forever to get but got it yesterday. Removal of the steel two piece shaft took a bit of work as the center support bolts were really corroded/packed with road grit, so they were a bit tough to get out. It also weighed a ton, well at least 80 pounds. Installed the new aluminum shaft, which was a breeze as it only weighs about 25 or 30 pounds. The shaft seemed/looked a bit short as the yoke goes into the transfer case tail shaft about 1.5 inches less (still has about 4" of engagement)than the old shaft but that is due to the slip joint in the middle of the two piece shaft.

I did a test drive with the DW prior to the change and she was so use to the truck that she did not seem to notice the vibration. After the shaft change we were not even out of the neighborhood when she said "why did you not do this sooner!". The difference is a magnitude of difference. Why this is not standard I do not know but if you have a two piece shaft that the bearings are starting to go out on, don't waste money on new bearings, just upgrade to a single piece shaft and you will be very happy.


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