Drive shaft replacement

Dirtclod

New member
Joined
Mar 3, 2015
Messages
703
Reaction score
1
Location
Pilot Mtn. NC
So I got new stickers for my truck and she's riding like new again. However the mechanic said that 3 of my wheels were not true. He did get them balanced out just a little more weight than he likes. Couple days later I got to noticing a slight vibration when coasting off the throttle which felt just like a unjoint bad. Looked at them and seemed ok. I drove 280 miles to my beach house last week and after I got here it got really bad and finally the rear ujoints at the rear end came out. I think the culprit was I got the wrong size ujoints that was a tad too small. I replaced it with a spicer ujoint and replaced the opposite end with one the same size. Parts guy at ford said they're the same u joint. It boogered up just a tad much and I can't get the snap ring to lock in the groove and I'm thinking its the two holes where the ujoint installs are not lined up exactly and are spread out just ever so slightly. There's a junkyard 45 min away that I've dealt with before said he had several so just bring mine to match up. Not any match. He will sell me a drive shaft for a long bed cc for 40$. I've welded for 26 years and fabbed a lot of different things up but never a drive shaft. Now there's no doubt I can put it together perfectly lined up"IF"!!! I have the right machine to weld it. I've never cut one of these so I don't know the thickness. I have access to a miller thunderbolt stick welder and if it's at least 3/16" thick I can fit it and burn out with a 3/32 and Smooth it down and ride on. Does anyone know the the thickness of these driveshafts?
 

sootie

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
11,854
Reaction score
29
less than 3/16...but if you are shortening a shaft, normally you machine the old weld off at the flange and then shorten the tube and reweld to the flange. If you have a rotisserie the welding is no issue but i would recommend getting the shaft balanced after.
 

Dirtclod

New member
Joined
Mar 3, 2015
Messages
703
Reaction score
1
Location
Pilot Mtn. NC
so I could just cut the weld off on both drive shafts and weld the good one onto my drive shaft. If it's less than 3/16" I'm not going to attempt it. If I had a rig setup here and a torch to pre heat and post heat for warpage then no problem. Then like you said just take it and have it balanced. Thanks for the info Sootie.
 

Dirtclod

New member
Joined
Mar 3, 2015
Messages
703
Reaction score
1
Location
Pilot Mtn. NC
Well this has been a fiasco! I had the driveshaft cut and new piece welded on and they also installed a new ujoint for the rear. I had bought ujoints from one of the auto parts stores. It turned out they gave me the wrong ujoints. After dealing with their customer service the district Mgr agreed to pay for half of the repairs. So I ended up needing a new slip joint cause the ujoint they sold me messed that end up to. They bought the part from ford and I installed it and we called that even. Well the Fam thing came out again at the rear and the rear pinion yoke is missing the stop. I didn't notice it last night cause I guess it was turned so it could rest on the good side. I've read up some on this change out and it seems pretty cut and dry. Pipe wrench on yoke breaker bar with cheater pipe to break loose. I don't have an impact wrench except a 1/4" battery type which I know won't break it loose. What do I need to know before changing this out? Should I replace the seal and bearing or just take it out and slide new one in?
 

Dirtclod

New member
Joined
Mar 3, 2015
Messages
703
Reaction score
1
Location
Pilot Mtn. NC
Well I thought I might as well put a finish to thread. I ended up drilling and threading a piece on the yoke for a stop. It worked for 200 miles and it came out again. After I got home I put the old ujoint back in and welded a bead for a stop. That works like a charm.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0177.jpg
    IMG_0177.jpg
    1.4 MB · Views: 84
Top