Drive Shaft Repair Cost

As your engine creates the power for the car, the drive shaft transmits that power as torque onto either the front, rear or both the front and rear, depending on the kind of car you have. Let’s talk about what happens when that drive shaft stops working properly.

Depending on the kind of car you have, this can be a relatively inexpensive procedure, or it can cost quite a bit. On the low end, expect to pay about $300. On the high end, the cost can be as much as $2,000. On average, the labor costs will be about $70, but some cars will take a lot more work and can cost two or three times that amount. Parts will vary significantly from one vehicle to the next. The average cost of parts of drive shaft repair is between $400 and $600.

Drive Shaft Repair Cost Comparison

Your Mechanic

Midas

Mr. Tire

NAPA

Walmart

Amazon

What Is Drive Shaft Repair?

Repairing your car’s drive shaft is a major undertaking. If you have been driving a damaged crankshaft for a while, then you can expect to pay a lot for the repairs. It can be costly anyway, but just know that the longer this problem goes on unresolved, the worse it will be for you and your car.

It’s possible that the mechanic will find that more than just the crankshaft needs to be replaced when looking at your car and inspecting the damage.

How long the repair process takes depends partly on what kind of car you have, as the labor time and costs can greatly increase from one car to the next.

Benefits of Drive Shaft Repair

If you don’t get your drive shaft repaired, there are serious consequences for your car in the future, but having this repair done means that you will be avoiding a lot of expensive repairs later. This can be a pretty costly job already, and the sooner you get it done, the more money you will save. Your car is also going to stop making odd noises or riding roughly. It can vibrate when you drive it with a bad crank shaft, and that problem will stop once you get the repairs done as well.

What Is Done during Drive Shaft Repair?

Your mechanic is going to have to spend some time testing your car’s parts and seeing how extensive the damage is before beginning serious work. A lot of times, a damaged crank shaft results in other damages to the car, and the mechanic needs to know how severe and widespread that damage is.

To replace the crankshaft, though, he will need to elevate the vehicle, remove the crank shaft that’s damaged and replace it with a new one. There aren’t many parts in the way normally, so this is a relatively simple, but time-consuming process.

Once the new parts are in place, the mechanic will road test the vehicle and likely ask you to pay attention to how it operates over the next few weeks to see if there are any farther problems that were not noticed.

When to Get Drive Shaft Repair

In the worst-case scenario, your driveshaft will stop working entirely. When that happens, your vehicle won’t be able to move, because it won’t have any torque or power being transmitted to the wheels. If it is only somewhat damaged or working intermittently then you may be placing the rest of the vehicle under serious stress, as the other parts have to do the job of the drive shaft, and that can lead to some major damage over time.

You should get the drive shaft fixed as soon as you know there is a problem with it, and it’s not a good idea to drive any distance at all with this part damaged.

You can look for signs like a lack of power, difficulty getting the car to move or squeaking, clanking or vibration when the car is in motion. All these may indicate that the drive shaft is in need of repairs.

How to Save Money on Drive Shaft Repair

Because this is such an expensive repair job, in most cases, your best bet for saving money is to compare the cost of the parts and labor. See how much each mechanic in your area will charge you for the service and also check to see if you can source some of the parts on your own to get a better deal.

You may be tempted to do the work yourself to save money, but unless you have the tools and the training to pull this off successfully, it’s a job best left to the professionals. Part of the reason this repair job costs so much is because of all the work and expertise that goes into it.

Sample Drive Shaft Repair Costs