Thank you ROCKLEDGE for the TSB info.All said,I love my Ranger.97,000 mi. and no major problems.When I buy another I will be sure to check the driveshaft type.
Well, I decided to take off early from work this afternoon and re-lube my driveshaft slip yoke again using the new Molykote grease. Since I have had the shaft off a few times already, I'm getting pretty efficient at it.
I pulled the old slip yoke boot off and compared it to the new boot from the kit. Same thing. So if your old boot looks fine, no need to order the new one. Save your $ there.
The Molykote grease, however, is a different story. This stuff is really unique. It looks a lot like teflon grease (white in color) but is much thicker and, for lack of a better word, "tackier" in consistency. Put this stuff on something and it isn't gonna just wash or rub off. For this reason, I like it better then the teflon grease I have been using. (You can see what the Molykote grease looks like by going to page 8 of the recently-revised Driveshaft Slip Yoke Lube PDF file, wherein I posted a few pics from this afternoon's activities).
The test ride was great, no clunking at all on take off or braking, which is what really counts. I feel that this satisfactory condition will remain a lot longer now because of the texture and consistency of the Molykote grease. I really believe that one of the main purposes of this new grease is to ensure it remains in place in order to do its job, which of course is lubrication.
Hi Rockledge,
I called Dow Corning today to see if i could buy the molykote EM-D110 from their distributer since i dont use the clamps or need a new boot. Smallest container is about 2 lbs. for around $400.00 . Then i called my local ford dealer to see if they had the clamps and grease , which they do for $27 something. I pick up tomorrow and redue mine in couple weeks.
Alan
Hi Rockledge,
I called Dow Corning today to see if i could buy the molykote EM-D110 from their distributer since i dont use the clamps or need a new boot. Smallest container is about 2 lbs. for around $400.00 . Then i called my local ford dealer to see if they had the clamps and grease , which they do for $27 something. I pick up tomorrow and redue mine in couple weeks.
Alan
2 lbs. for around $400.00? This Molykote grease must really be high tech.
P.S. Your driveshaft should be a little easier to get off this time...
I've got a 2001 Ranger Supercab 4X4 that has developed the common driveshaft "clunk" problrm when accelerating or coming to a stop. (My '97 also had the same condition.) I took it to TWO Ford dealers who both said that because I have the aluminum driveshaft, the TSB mentioned in this thread doesn't apply and they didn't know how to fix the problem. (One dealer told me that he has had a number of Rangers in for the same problem, and as yet Ford has not come up with a solution.) I also took the truck to a transmission shop that I trust, and the technician there concluded that there was nothing wrong with the tranny, and although he definitely felt the clunk, he couldn't diagnose the cause. Ford also told me that the rear springs were "weak" and I needed to add a leaf to keep the rear end from "twisting" during acceleration. I had leafs added (not because I believed the Ford tech, but because I tow a boat) and ther was NO improvement to the "clunk" problem.
Anyway, last night I pulled the driveshaft and took apart the slip yoke. There was very little grease in the yoke assembly, so I cleaned it and reassembled with Valvoline Super Lube (teflon based) grease. This TOTALLY fixed the problem. No clunks upon acceleration or stopping; it made a BIG difference.
When Ford concludes that the aluminum driveshaft represents a "fix", what is really meant is that if the truck has an aluminum shaft then it also has a much larger (aluminum) slip yoke assemble that has a sprayed-on (teflon?) coating and minimal grease that should behave better than the smaller steel parts. When, in fact, the larger diameter yoke really (in my opinion) has a greater potential for failure because of increased surface area in the spline interface.
So, even though you may have an aluminum driveshaft, you still may have a problem with "clunking" because of inadequate or "dried" grase in the slip yoke assembly. It's well worth the hour spent to pull it out and re-grease it.
Thanks for the feedback on the aluminum driveshaft pearsonrb, and welcome to FTE.
Would you say that the procedure for lubing the slip yoke on the aluminum shaft is pretty much identical to the one outlined above for the steel shaft?
Sorry about the delay...I have been away for a bit. The dealer where I had my Ranger completely replaced the rear leaf springs to no avail. They put in a new slip yoke to no avail, finally they replaced the Aluminum drive shaft with another aluminum drive shaft. That seemed to resolve the problem. Three weeks ago I was back at the dealer and found a 2004 F-150 FX4 Blaze Yellow, So I let them have the Ranger back and drove the F-150 home. I'm sure the problem with my Ranger was just the same as everyone else's..insufficient lubrication of the slip joint.
Has their been any successfull (legal) negotiating techniques with Ford Dealers to get them to extend the warranty to say 100K on installing this TSB in my 2001 4x4? It more about the principal of it. That is, if Ford expects me to buy a new Ford in the the future, they need to take care of this extremely well documented defect. This issue seems to almost dominate the Ranger forum (over 7000 hits) and is my #1 complaint against the truck.
It does keep my wife out of my truck, she says its "too rough of a ride".
Hi All,
I relubed mine with the molykote about 1300 miles ago and it has never driven better, it is a major pain of a service job . I hope it last a while, well worth $28. I am so happy This wed site is fantastic
Even on the highway the whole drivetrain seams more solid, shifting and over bumps .
later alan
Well, the Superlube lasted only a couple of months. I can feel the problem starting again. I went to three Ford dealers to try to get the specified moly grease and they all said that the number I gave them (from previous posts) was an engineering number AND they didn'y have any moly grease in stock.
So, I looked in the Grainger catalogue and they carry a Loctite moly paste (65% moly) that sells for about $20.00 for 8 oz. I'm gonna try this.....
Don't understand the part about engineering numbers. Whatever numbers that are indicated, the parts dept. should know what to do with them and how to get the Molykote grease. I would have printed out the TSB and stuck it in their faces.
As for the Superlube not holding up, that is the Valvoline stuff you used, and not the Ford/Molykote product set forth in the TSB. Just wanted to clarify that for the others.
I read in the Oil & Lube Forum that "Sta-Lube makes an extreme-pressure moly grease suitable for slip yoke splines". Just thought I'd mention it.
This Molykote grease must really be high tech. 
