Offroad driving is tough on your truck or Jeep, proper preparation will help ensure that it's ready for the challenge. Proper installation of that lift kit is a good start.

The truck with those big, beefy tires was sitting on the side of the road in Wonder Lake. Traffic was passing by and the driver was out of the truck looking underneath. There, the problem wasn’t too difficult to recognize.

The front end of the driveshaft is hanging down on the ground as if the truck was prepared to pole vault.

Why would the driveshaft fall out of the transmission? Something is clearly wrong.

A short conversation with the owner of the truck establishes that he just purchased the truck. The previous owner had recently installed a lift kit on the truck.

This wasn’t a minor adjustment; after installation of the lift kit, those climbing into the truck virtually needed ladders to get up there. But why would this cause the driveshaft to fall out? 

A simple matter of geometry

Prior to installing the lift kit, the transmission and the rearend were relatively aligned. The U-joints helped to compensate for the difference. Everything was fine. But adding the lift kit can increase the distance and angle between the transmission and the rear differential.

As the truck’s chassis and body were raised from the ground, the rear end stayed fairly close to its original position, only adjusted by the size of the tires. This meant that the driveshaft had to extend down from the back of the transmission to the front of the rearend and the angle and distance had changed.

The person who installed the lift kit had failed to compensate for the difference. Failing to make these adjustments. Most likely, the truck had hit a bump which flexed the suspension and momentarily increased the distance and angle causing the driveshaft to fall out.

Other considerations

Most people know better than to perform an incomplete installation of a lift kit when they prepare their vehicle for the off-road experience; you don’t see a lot of trucks on the side of the highway with their driveshafts resting on the ground. But there are actually a number of factors to consider when preparing to go off road.

Along with the wheels, tires, suspension and driveshaft, you may want to install skid plates to protect the undercarriage and mechanical parts from rocks, stumps and other obstacles. You may want to install a winch so you can pull yourself out of sticky situations. 

Naturally, you want the rest of the mechanical parts of your vehicle in the best possible condition, not just mechanically sound but solidly installed. The rough ride you’ll give your truck when you leave your Wonder Lake driveway to go offroad has the potential to knock anything loose off.

Just to be safe, you may want to bring your off-roader to the pros to have it checked out before he hit the rugged countryside. And, if you're not sure, you might want a qualified auto repair shop that performs lift kit installations to install yours.