Why Consider Heavy-Duty RCV Axle Parts and Drivetrain Components for Off-Roading

If you drive a front-wheel (FWD), all-wheel (AWD), or four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle, then you’re no stranger to constant velocity, or CV joints. In fact, if your vehicle has a rear-mounted engine, or your rear-wheel drive vehicle has independent rear suspension (IRS), then you’re also getting around with the help of CVs.

CV joints, along with the driveshaft axles that link them together, make up the assemblies that connect your wheels to the output shafts on your transaxle. Each wheel has its own axle, and every axle has 2 CV joints: an inner, which is attached to the transaxle, and an outer, which is attached to the wheel.

AWD and 4WD vehicles require 4 complete axle sets to reliably convert engine rotation into wheel rotation with as little mechanical resistance as possible. Precisely how reliably these axle sets are though, depends on how and where they’re driven.

Under ordinary driving conditions, factory axle sets can last for decades. Motorsports, however, demand the heaviest duty axle assemblies possible. They’re not optional; which is why when it comes to heavy-duty driveshafts, professional powertrain builders know they can trust RCV.

Heavy Duty Axles From RCV

If you regularly do any type of rallying or off-roading, then you already know the kinds of hard knocks your suspension can take, but what about your axle sets? Powertrain shocks and crushing impacts can easily stress axle sets beyond their factory tolerances. Installing high-performance RCV axles and powertrain components though, will give you all the advantages you need to take on any off-road challenge without wondering whether your CV and axle combinations are up to the job.

With over 70 years in the business of manufacturing heavy-duty drive axle and powertrain products, RCV is one of the most respected names in both high-performance and competition motorsports. And although they’re experts in driveline components for aggressive off-road competition vehicles, their real specialty is no-nonsense applications for popular FWD, AWD, and 4WD vehicles that spend lots of time off-road, such as:

• · Toyota J40, 60, 80, and 105 series Landcruisers;
• · Toyota HDJ and VDJ series Landcruisers;
• · Toyota Hilux and 4Runners;
• · Nissan Y60 and Y61 series Patrols;
• · Suzuki Sierras; and,
• · Ford T6 Rangers and Mazda BT50s.

RCV understands that when it comes to off-roading, that it doesn’t much to make an OE drive axle fail. A sudden wheel slip at just the right angle can send enough torque through a stock CV to shear it instantly away from an axle, and even a tiny tear in a low-quality CV boot will let enough grit into the joint for it to slowly grind itself to scrap metal. Installing the heaviest duty components before you go off-road is going to save you a lot of money and frustration in the long run, and that’s where RCV can help.

The RCV Components You Need

RCV manufacturers all of their own components and internals, and you can purchase them as complete axle sets or as individual assemblies, including:

• · Hardened axle shafts. Individual left- and right-hand shafts in a range of OE, and severe duty wheel and transaxle combinations.
• · Performance CV assemblies. Complete units with ball bearings, inner spider and outer cage.
• · CV boots. Heat and abrasion-resistant neoprene covers and clamps to keep lubrication in, and dirt out of your CV joints.

They also manufacture a range of other products that are designed to further strengthen and upgrade the OE transaxle assemblies on select groups of vehicles, such as:

• · Toyota flange kits. Complete kits with flanges, dust caps and studs for increasing the OE spline count on CV axles.
• · Toyota hub gears. For increasing the torsional strength of the inner transaxle hub.
• · Nissan bell end kits. Complete 30 tooth spline inner CV conversion assemblies.

Regardless of whether you want to strengthen or replace individual components, or do a complete powertrain rebuild from end to end, if it’s about keeping your wheels on the ground and turning in unison, RCV has exactly what you’re looking for.

Axles From the Best Material

Let’s be honest: axle and powertrain components aren’t just expensive: they’re also invisible. Unfortunately, these two points make it all too easy, especially for the occasional off-roader, to assume that they don’t need to worry about heavy-duty powertrain components when they could be making other upgrades instead. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.

It’s important to remember that every vehicle is designed as a complete system, and high visibility mods like increases in horsepower and tyre size, or raising suspension clearances will immediately alter the stresses and ranges of articulation on the axle sets. Making those kinds of changes to a 2500kg vehicle and taking it off-road without upgrading the CV and axle combination is a setup for disappointment.

What sets RCV axle and powertrain components apart from OE, and almost every other aftermarket driveshaft component manufacturer is the materials. RCV axle components are made only from Chromoly steel.

4340 Alloy

RCV’s extra strength 4340 drives axles and components are forged and dual heat-treated from 100% Chromoly stock. They’re meant for extra hard off-road usage, and are rated up to twice as strong as stock OE components.

300M Alloy

RCV makes its ultra-strength drive axles from 300M. This low alloy steel has a higher carbon and molybdenum content than 4340, which not only makes them competition-grade components, but also among the strongest powertrain components produced anywhere.

With RCV powertrains, you’re benefiting from precision engineering that begins with the best materials. That’s the combination you want to take with you anytime you go off-roading.

The Final Word

At the end of the day, you simply can’t afford to neglect your CVs and drive axles. Damaging a CV joint or breaking an axle shaft can be an inconvenience when you’re off-roading, but the added damage that can be done to your wheels, steering components, and even transaxle, is going to compound your headache exponentially.

Installing high-performance RCV axles and powertrain components is going to give you the assurance that whenever you go off-road, your powertrain won’t fail you at the worst possible moment. So while you’re thinking about ways to increase your 4WD’s performance, think about what RCV can do to keep it reliable.