Notes from my G-Force Renegade half shaft install.

[jmeiers]

If anyone is on the fence about installing half shafts yourself, just go for it. Super easy! I watched lots of video and read articles and way overthought the whole thing and also was slightly nervous reading some horror stories about getting the shafts out. Some notes for others attempting to install half shafts on their own:

1) I use the Kobalt brushless/cordless tools from Lowes and the impact gun loosened all bolts and the axle nut easily.
2) I removed the brake caliper and caliper mounts in 1 whole unit and hung it out of the way.
3) Perfect time to swap in new vertical links since I removed them completely. I threw the stockers in the trash and replaced them the BMR TCA045 (spherical).
4) I removed the spindle/knuckle entirely. Only 3 bolts and it comes right off and is pretty light and it goes back on just as easily.
5) Once everything is out of the way, I removed both my shafts by simply grabbing the main bar of the shaft with 2 hands, pushed them inwards as far as they would go, and then gave a swift tug and they popped right out. No pry bars or other nightmares! This is the part of the install that I was worried about the most and it was actually the easiest part. I'm only 160 lbs. so not like I had to put a bunch of weight into it to get them out. They came out that easily!
6) Only 2 drops of diff fluid came out on passenger side and nothing came out on the driver side.

I did the install in my garage on jack stands and had the car back on the ground in 2.5 hours. Spent 2 hours on passenger side taking my sweet time and did the driver side in 30 minutes flat since I was now fully prepared, knew exactly what to do, and had every tool ready to go.

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[Cobra Jet]

Good deal! I’ve read horror stories on here where folks can’t seem to get the axles out of the pumpkin, maybe they’re doing it wrong or trying to force them out.

There also might be a difference between the Torsen rear (which your 18 PP1 should have) and how easy (or difficult) it is to remove as opposed to the prior year rears.

 

[NC85]

I did the renegade axles and Steeda links at the same time as well.

I noticed better 60’ and more stable launches at the track immediately after installing them.

 

[jmeiers]

I did the renegade axles and Steeda links at the same time as well.

I noticed better 60’ and more stable launches at the track immediately after installing them.

Did your Renegade half shaft boots rub or come very close to your rear shocks? Mine seem to be very close to rubbing and they may very well be rubbing. I took the car out for a test drive after the install and didn't hear anything unusual and car drives great. I'm going to jack up the car now and see if there is any rubbing. I have Steeda rear shocks so maybe they have are wider than stock shocks? Maybe I can try and loosen them at the bottom and try and slide them over and retighten to give more clearance between the shock and boot?

 

[NC85]

You’ll be fine. They don’t rub.

 

[jmeiers]

I drove the car around for a bit and then jacked each side of the rear up by the control arm just enough to get the rear tire off so I could see what the shock body to shaft boot clearance is like at ride height. Both sides are not touching but the drivers side is very close. There were no rub marks so I am not going to worry about it for now and just keep an eye on it and check it after I go to the drag strip next weekend.

I also noticed the shock dust covers were also very close to touching and I suspect they would actually touch on a hard launch so I cut 3 inches off of each cover to solve that potential issue.

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