I posted a ? a while ago about swapping my 3 speed manual over to an AOD in my '82 F100..and a few people recommended a C6... i found a good C6.. measured it and found out it's roughly 5-6" longer than the old 3 speed..now my question is what year trucks can I find the right driveshaft in? obviously another '82 C6 equipped F-100/150 would do, but i didn't see any out at the junkyard..mostly 84-94 trucks.. would a shaft out of a say.. 85 F150 with a C6 work? most of the trucks they had were EFI 302's/w AOD's..and a few 300's with 4 speeds behind them.. i also thought of maybe an 80's van? going to measure my driveshaft, and go back and take some measurements.. or would i be better off taking my driveshaft to a shop to have them shorten it/rebalance it? another question i have is will an AOD flexplate work with a C6? I know the C6 flexplate won't work on the AOD, but i don't know about the AOD flexplate on the C6..

 

Do you still have the v6 in your truck? The factory 3 speed auto for your truck was a c5.

I know very little about the 3.8 v6. Some questions that need to be answered;

Where did you get the c6 tranny from(what engine was it originally hooked to)? I believe a tranny from a 300/302/351w will fit your v6.

Is the v6 externally balanced or internally balanced? You may have to hunt up a v6 flexplate that will fit the c6. I don't know if a c5 flexplate will fit, but you can go to a parts house online and see if some of the part numbers are the same. They try to stock only what they need, so if they are the same they will have the same part number.

As far as the driveshaft, you don't really know what you need, I don't believe a c6 was ever offered behind the v6. I thought the bellhousing/engine line was the same for all engines/trannies, but I am finding out I am wrong on that, so there is no guarantee a driveshaft from a 302/c6 will fit your truck. Your best bet is to take the driveshaft you have apart and stick the slip yoke up in the tranny leaving about 1" room for it to slide in, and then measure from the center of the joint hole to the center of the joint saddle on the rearend, and then try to find one at the junkyard. You could easily get one made if you want to spend the money.

 

I pulled the 3.8 out along with the 3 speed stick that was behind it.. i'm swapping in a 5.0 HO along with the c6 tranny.. the c6 came out of an 84 econoline van with a 351W...

 

Is your truck a long bed or a short bed? If it's a long bed, they seem more common and you might be able to find the proper driveshaft from the junkyard.

Here are all the different driveshafts offered for a 82 f150. I picked a f150 because it had more engine/tranny options.
133" WB, M.T., 4x2, one-piece
155" WB, M.T., 4x2, Fr section, Ford (3 & 4 spd)
139" WB, M.T., Fr section, Ford (3 & 4 spd)
133" WB, M.T., 4x2, two-piece, Fr section, Warner
139" WB, A.T., Fr section, AOD
155" WB, M.T., 4x2, Fr section, Warner
139" WB, A.T., Fr section, C6
139" WB, M.T., Fr section, New Process
139" WB, M.T., Fr section, Warner
117" WB, A.T., 4x2, AOD
117" WB, A.T., 4x2, C6
117" WB, A.T., 4x4
117" WB, M.T., 4x2
117" WB, M.T., 4x4
133" WB, A.T., 4x2, one-piece, AOD, from 11/2/81
133" WB, A.T., 4x2, one-piece, AOD, thru 11/1/81
133" WB, A.T., 4x2, one-piece, C6
133" WB, A.T., 4x2, two-piece, Fr section, from 11/2/81
133" WB, A.T., 4x2, two-piece, Fr section, thru 11/1/81
133" WB, A.T., 4x2, two-piece, Rr section
133" WB, A.T., 4x4
133" WB, M.T., 4x2, two-piece, Fr section, Ford (overdrive)
133" WB, M.T., 4x2, two-piece, Rr section
133" WB, M.T., 4x4
139" WB, A.T., Rr section
139" WB, M.T., Rr section
155" WB, A.T., 4x2, Fr section, AOD, from 11/2/81
155" WB, A.T., 4x2, Fr section, AOD, thru 11/1/81
155" WB, A.T., 4x2, Rr section
155" WB, A.T., 4x4, Rr section
155" WB, M.T., 4x2, Rr section
155" WB, M.T., 4x4, Rr section
133" WB, M.T., 4x2, two-piece, Fr section, New Process
155" WB, M.T., 4x2, Fr section, New Process
155" WB, M.T., 4x4, Fr section
155" WB, A.T., 4x2, Fr section, C6
155" WB, A.T., 4x4, Fr section

If you notice, some of these trucks had a two piece driveshaft with a carrier bearing mounted on the crossmember. This may be the original setup used for your new combo, so be prepared to have to buy two driveshafts and a carrier bearing.

I think I am right that a regular cab 8 ft bed truck is a 133" wheelbase. I plugged in this style truck with a one piece driveshaft, 4x2, c6, in Arizona on the site Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market and nothing came up. If you live near another state you might try that.

 

....................Duplicate post

 

she's a long bed...
hmm. the 2 piece shaft doesn't sound bad..
the junkyard i usually go to has drive shafts for pretty cheap.. picked up one for my old bronco a few years back.. only cost $26...i'm sure they've gone up in price a few more bucks, as that was like 6 years ago.. they do have really good prices.. esp. for engines.. $187 for a complete motor..fully dressed accessories and all.. you can't beat that price...that is where i picked up my 5.0HO.. and it's a perfect running motor.. inside is almost spotless, bearings are within spec.. no evidence of excessive blow-by or oil burning..
usually, their inventory doesn't show up on any of the used parts databases..as it's a U-pull-it type of place.. Ecology Auto Parts Inc.
i forgot to ask, does the type of rearend the truck has make a difference in driveshaft length? my truck has the 2.75 9".
thank you for that list.. atleast now i know there are some options.

 

The type rearend does make a difference sometimes, since the nose of the rearend can be a different length. Also some of the rearends had different types of connections for the u-joints.

 

Hmm.. i wonder if a driveshaft from a late 70's fseries would work? i know alot of those had the 9" rear.. seen a couple over at the junkyard.. i will measure my driveshaft and go over there on friday...hopefully i'll get lucky and find something.
..

 

Early 80's also used a 9". My 1980 reg cab long bed (133" WB) has a C6 and 9". The driveshaft is a 1 piece, 2 joint shaft.
The late 70's may have used a similar shaft, but the u-joint size changed somewhere along the way.

 

Is cutting a driveshaft and welding it back at the smaller length a no-no?

 

It can be done if you have the equipment to do it. You can set the old driveshaft up in a lathe and cut the weld loose on the end of the shaft that holds the slip yoke in place, and then drive the slip yoke out. Cut the tube to length with something that will cut very square, then re-insert the slip yoke. You can then set it back up in a lathe with a dial indicator, or if you can get the rearend of the truck to turn easily, install it in the truck and use a dial indicator to get the shaft runout as small as possible. Then you can re-weld the yoke in place. Professional shops then balance the shaft.

I would get a shop to do it if it was a rear shaft as in the case of the original poster. I have done several myself at home for the front 4x4 shaft, since I don't use it as much and at a very high speed.

 

ok i got some measurements off of my truck..
current shaft is 71 1/2" long.. old transmission was 31" long from top of bellhousing to the tail..
the C6 is 35 1/2" long from bellhousing to tail. so the shaft i need should be around 67" long.. i will do some scouting at the junkyard and see if i can find anything around 67" long on an f100/f150..or possibly an Eseries van..but the vans are probably longer...i know they had a ton of vans with the 9" rear and the C6...never know.. might just work..

Rogue_Wulff: how long is the driveshaft on your truck?

if the U-joints are different can't I take the yoke off of the donor's differential? since i'm using the front yoke that will come with the new driveshaft..

 

Gonna be hard to get a DS measurement for me. It's dark out now, and by morning they are saying 3-6" of "partly cloudy" will be around.
Taking the yoke off the donor would work, but, you run the risk of killing the pinion bearings. There's a "crush sleeve" between the pinion bearings. It's job is to collapse as the pinion nut is tightened and hold the proper tension in between the bearings, but it's a once and done item.

 

Welp.. went to the junkyard today.. every fricken driveshaft they had was ruined.. thanks to the forklift drivers..There is a place that deals with fords only.. will try tomorrow.. but they are expensive..
And the van driveshafts dont fit..too long
If i cant find a driveshaft that will fit i will have to have it shortened..i'm sure that isn't cheap..

 

We installed a C6 with a transfer case into my dad's 1986 F350 to replace the old C6 without a transfercase; so we needed the driveshaft shortened. We had a truck shop shorten the driveshaft, and they painted and balanced both sections of it for a little bit less than $150. I don't know what the place was called.