front driveshaft info
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Senior User
Joined: Sep 2012
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From: New Mexico
front driveshaft info
I write the following to capture what I’ve learned over the past few weeks. In searching the forums for a few hours total, I could not quite find the information I was looking for so hopefully others will find this helpful. Thanks to 77&79F250 for the exchange of PMs and good ideas along the way!
A couple of months ago, I locked in the front hubs on the way to work to help keep them working – something I do a few times a year. Unlike the previous time, I experienced a bad vibration nearly as soon as I started gaining speed around 20 MPH. Over the past few weeks, I finally had time to tackle the issue.
Upon pulling the d/s and inspecting, two problems became obvious: 1) the double Cardan joint only moved easily in one plane, 2) the slip joint was at the limit of its travel at rest (meaning the rear of the splines contacted the yoke seal held on with the screw cap). 77&79F250 also suggested driving without the d/s to better isolate the problem. Neither with the hubs locked in nor the transfer case in 4WD, could I detect any vibration - the d/s was the issue.
Problem 1: Thinking I’d replace all the u-joints, I soaked everything in WD40 since it was all I had at the time. The next morning, I thought I’d try again to move the double Cardan joint and was able to increase it’s range of motion. Long story short, I applied more WD40 and worked the Cardan joint back and forth until it freed up the next day. Having WD40 in there isn’t a long term solution, but it will suffice until I can rebuild it myself or have a local shop do it ($200 they quoted me - ouch).
Problem 2: I looked at various options including lengthening the d/s (pricey), buying a new longer d/s (also pricey), or using a longer yoke. The latter caught my attention as I was pricing a new d/s at JBG. They have a number of yokes including one 7.5” which is just what I need given my current yoke is 6”. Further internet searching, pointed to the 7.5” yoke as being for the rear d/s. So I pulled off my rear yoke and found the splines were the same (1 3/8” by 16) as was the u-joint (a 1330 type). A fellow near work has some old Ford trucks and miscellaneous parts and had a few yokes to choose from. Here’s my old d/s and the new yoke to try.
A nice find was the rubber boot – but quite a challenge to slip over the splines. Also, while the splines fit just fine, they’re phased differently so the new yoke and my d/s are about 5 degrees out of line. Balance problem??? Vibration????
Since I’m only $37 into this project ($20 for the yoke and $17 for the u-joint), I went ahead and installed d/s and took it for a drive. I could detect no appreciable vibration either through the steering wheel or holding the transfer case lever. Given I only use 4WD a few times a year at slow speeds, I’ll leave this for now and move onto other projects. If I ever get to where I use 4WD more, I think I’ll just buy a new d/s (there appears to be a stock replacement variant with the length I need) as it’s about the same cost as having mine rebuilt and balanced.
Finally, for those of you with 4” lift kits, my rear d/s has about 4.5” of overlap between the splines and the yoke – good enough.
A couple of months ago, I locked in the front hubs on the way to work to help keep them working – something I do a few times a year. Unlike the previous time, I experienced a bad vibration nearly as soon as I started gaining speed around 20 MPH. Over the past few weeks, I finally had time to tackle the issue.
Upon pulling the d/s and inspecting, two problems became obvious: 1) the double Cardan joint only moved easily in one plane, 2) the slip joint was at the limit of its travel at rest (meaning the rear of the splines contacted the yoke seal held on with the screw cap). 77&79F250 also suggested driving without the d/s to better isolate the problem. Neither with the hubs locked in nor the transfer case in 4WD, could I detect any vibration - the d/s was the issue.
Problem 1: Thinking I’d replace all the u-joints, I soaked everything in WD40 since it was all I had at the time. The next morning, I thought I’d try again to move the double Cardan joint and was able to increase it’s range of motion. Long story short, I applied more WD40 and worked the Cardan joint back and forth until it freed up the next day. Having WD40 in there isn’t a long term solution, but it will suffice until I can rebuild it myself or have a local shop do it ($200 they quoted me - ouch).
Problem 2: I looked at various options including lengthening the d/s (pricey), buying a new longer d/s (also pricey), or using a longer yoke. The latter caught my attention as I was pricing a new d/s at JBG. They have a number of yokes including one 7.5” which is just what I need given my current yoke is 6”. Further internet searching, pointed to the 7.5” yoke as being for the rear d/s. So I pulled off my rear yoke and found the splines were the same (1 3/8” by 16) as was the u-joint (a 1330 type). A fellow near work has some old Ford trucks and miscellaneous parts and had a few yokes to choose from. Here’s my old d/s and the new yoke to try.
A nice find was the rubber boot – but quite a challenge to slip over the splines. Also, while the splines fit just fine, they’re phased differently so the new yoke and my d/s are about 5 degrees out of line. Balance problem??? Vibration????
Since I’m only $37 into this project ($20 for the yoke and $17 for the u-joint), I went ahead and installed d/s and took it for a drive. I could detect no appreciable vibration either through the steering wheel or holding the transfer case lever. Given I only use 4WD a few times a year at slow speeds, I’ll leave this for now and move onto other projects. If I ever get to where I use 4WD more, I think I’ll just buy a new d/s (there appears to be a stock replacement variant with the length I need) as it’s about the same cost as having mine rebuilt and balanced.
Finally, for those of you with 4” lift kits, my rear d/s has about 4.5” of overlap between the splines and the yoke – good enough.
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 372
Likes: 4
From: New Mexico
The d/s being at the limit of travel was due to the 4" lift. However, I don't think the limited motion of the double Cardan had anything to do with this. I suspect these joints are original, but never had much use so I wonder if the grease became more viscous or the grease/dirt cake bound it up.
I agree regarding vibration except for the situation of having (or forgetting) the hubs locked in using 2WD and hitting higher speeds. Of course, I'd figure this out pretty quick if it was an issue. Last night I also found some folks (not with Fords) wanting to specifically have the yoke/shaft 90 degrees out of phase. Not sure why . . .
I agree regarding vibration except for the situation of having (or forgetting) the hubs locked in using 2WD and hitting higher speeds. Of course, I'd figure this out pretty quick if it was an issue. Last night I also found some folks (not with Fords) wanting to specifically have the yoke/shaft 90 degrees out of phase. Not sure why . . .
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