Driveshaft Broke
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Joined: Dec 2004
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From: Mackinaw, IL
Driveshaft Broke
A buddy has an 88 ranger ext cab short bed 4x4 2.9 5 speed. The front of the rear driveshaft gave way at the ears just after the carrier bearing. We have located new driveshafts but they all use 3 1/4 wide u-joints and this truck uses 2 1/2 wide u-joints. Does anyone know what year Ford started using 3 1/4 u-joints so I can locate the yoke that comes out of the carrier bearing and just convert the whole driveline? 
Thank you
Thank you
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,084
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From: Stanton, Michigan, USA
I'm not a mechanical engineer nor do I play one on TV, but I believe that by going to a one-piece driveshaft, you'll loose the advantage of splitting the trans yoke to pinion yoke angle via the carrier support bearing, that is one of the reasons FoMoCo went with a two-piece driveshaft setup with the extended-cab trucks and long bed full-size trucks. What happens with a LOOONNNGGG one-piece driveshaft is that you put additional bind & strain on the TWO U-joints that you wouldn't have with the two-piece setup because the strain and angle is divided up between FOUR U-joints.
Bottomline: Yeah, it'll work but realize that a one-piece driveshaft is a weaker design than a two-piece driveshaft setup when its longer due to an extended cab or long bed. You may also loose some ground clearance mid-ship in the process......
As far as loosing the noise generated by a dry spline,,,, why not just lube it more often?
Good Luck!
BarnieTrk
Bottomline: Yeah, it'll work but realize that a one-piece driveshaft is a weaker design than a two-piece driveshaft setup when its longer due to an extended cab or long bed. You may also loose some ground clearance mid-ship in the process......
As far as loosing the noise generated by a dry spline,,,, why not just lube it more often?
Good Luck!
BarnieTrk
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I always heard themore moving parts you have, the more parts there are that can break.
You will lose some center of frame ground clearance, but any one of the ujoints you've got can bust at any time. Each one is just as strong as the next.
Since it's busted anyway, if you don't mind losing some ground clearence I think it will work. The only think I'd wonder about is if the front yoke has enough spline travel
A bonus to it all is that the shaft angle should be a lot less so that the joints don't have to work as hard
You will lose some center of frame ground clearance, but any one of the ujoints you've got can bust at any time. Each one is just as strong as the next.
Since it's busted anyway, if you don't mind losing some ground clearence I think it will work. The only think I'd wonder about is if the front yoke has enough spline travel
A bonus to it all is that the shaft angle should be a lot less so that the joints don't have to work as hard
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,084
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From: Stanton, Michigan, USA
BarnieTrk
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Years ago I broke the driveshaft on my '89 BroncoII. Why they made a drive shaft with CV joints is a mystery. I Removed the busted drive shaft and drove it for two weeks in 4WD which became front wheel drive. The price for the CV joint drive shaft was astrnomical at the time. I went to a place that does lift kits .They made a custom u-joint drive shaft with a spline to allow it to extend and contract as needed for $125.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2006
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From: UPSTATE NY
when talking about ujoint sizes, are you talking about the size of the caps? i believe you can order different size caps at parts stores and they will swap them for you and you can run prettymuch whatever combo you want.
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Yes, but the factory drive shaft had CV joints.
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