I've been driving around with a bent drive shaft for some time - it wasn't a huge bend and nothing was binding (at least as far as I could tell) so I thought it was OK to keep driving with it. I wouldn't have even known about this new/recent damage (see below) if I hadn't been doing a visual once-over on the car just in case. The pin on the drive shaft must have been slowly backing out over time, gradually chewing away more and more at the rear arm and outdrive, because it was driving beautifully shortly before this pictures were taken and never would have known anything was wrong if I hadn't see this. Sheesh!
So do you think that continuing to drive with a slightly bent driveshaft was the cause, or is it more likely that whatever caused the bent shaft in the first place is also what loosened the pin and started the process? Am I being too abusive or expecting to much durability? I guess maybe I need to back off the standing backflips and other antics, as I really didn't expect to be breaking parts so often on a vehicle renowned for its durability. I Just don't FEEL like I've been all that abusive w/ this thing: 4s only, and no crazy-high jumps or skate parks a this point.
So do you think that continuing to drive with a slightly bent driveshaft was the cause, or is it more likely that whatever caused the bent shaft in the first place is also what loosened the pin and started the process? Am I being too abusive or expecting to much durability? I guess maybe I need to back off the standing backflips and other antics, as I really didn't expect to be breaking parts so often on a vehicle renowned for its durability. I Just don't FEEL like I've been all that abusive w/ this thing: 4s only, and no crazy-high jumps or skate parks a this point.