1988 Ranger - Need help identifying drivetrain part

[Brain75]

If you are looking for a nudge push to do the driveshaft, apparently in the Ford Transit world, they recalled the lot of em and switched to longer shaft/ u joint etc.. flat out safety recall. The giubo has been declared dangerous.....

New recall, Nov 2020 (Driveshaft flexible coupling)

www.fordtransitusaforum.com

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

When you go back be sure to call it a "Giubo"

Driveshaft flex disc, Guibo?

88 2.9 2wd extra cab, having a hard time locating a replacement driveshaft flex disc, found a reference to a BMW/Beck Arnley part (#103-2103) that is claimed to be a replcement. Anyone have experience finding one of these? Not wanting to swap to a one piece shaft at this time. (picture not...

www.therangerstation.com

I kid you not...

Giubo - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

From the fact that is like the 3rd appearance in 25 years of TRS I kinda have to wonder if it really is a transplant from somewhere else in all 3 cases??? Maybe only the KC plant did them for 6 months before someone found out and said "not the right way" or somethin...


Based on what several people say (they are designed to eliminate vibrations in your BMW when you are doin' 200km/h on the autobahn), I think they are totally not required for a pickup.


No u-pick-it yards left in jersey? driveshaft costs about the same as that part out here... I'd eliminated it if I was here.


another search term for the parts counter geeks to hunt would be "Rag Joint"

Rag joint - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I wonder if it is tied to the 4cyl supercab which is in and of itself, pretty rare.

 

[JoshT]

Wow! I'm with these guys, never seen one of those on a Ranger driveshaft before. That said, I've never really paid attention to the driveshaft in an extended cab first gen before either.

I'd be another vote in favor of finding a replacement with a U-joint instead of the flex coupling. I have no idea which driveshafts may be a direct replacement. There have been a couple threads that asked and outlined what will swap with what (I started some) but I don't recall if the extrended cab was covered or what the verdict was. I was thinking just buy new, but even RockAuto wants around $700 for the dang thing.

I found a Reddit that claims the bolt circle for the coupling is 90mm but no mention of the bolt diameter. https://www.reddit.com/r/fordranger/comments/1d9axrr
This Dorman coupling, P/N 935-516, has the 90 mm diameter bolt circle and uses 10mm bolts. Might be worth checking to see. https://www.dormanproducts.com/p-153815-935-516.aspx?origin=keyword

Ford may have done a recall on the Transit, but a lot more vehicles have been running around with these couplings for decades and no problem.Your Ranger is included in that number. If I could find a coupling, I wouldn't have a problem replacing and driving until it fails again. While waiting on that next failure 30 years away, I'd figure out what U-joint style shafts fit, or pickup another flex coupling to stick on the shelf for a spare.

 

[opijmee]

Thanks for the replies again! @Brain75, I appreciate the google-foo you've been pulling and man I wish I could get parts as cheap as you do out there. There's a junkyard in my town that I called earlier and they said 400 for the driveshaft, which ain't too bad (for around here), especially considering what JoshT said about the rockauto price.
I measured the bolt pattern diameter on the slip yoke when I had it out and it's indeed about 90mm. I've looked through the links you guys sent to potential winners but it's always one or two things off, if the bolt pattern is right, then the sleeve length isn't or vice-versa.
Definitely leaning more towards just getting a "new" driveshaft instead of going crazy trying to find some seemingly mythical part that only like 4 rangers in the world have lol. But like JoshT mentioned, if I could find a coupler/guibo/rag joint/whatever, that actually fit I'd love to not have to worry about if for another 30 something years. I'll see what napa can do tomorrow but I get the feeling I'm gonna have to ask a friend to give me a ride to the junkyard soon!
And since we're on that subject anyways I figure I may as well ask, do the different engines have corresponding driveshaft's? I figure that for a new driveshaft to be compatible with mines it needs to come from a 2wd 5-speed supercab but I wonder if it matters if it was a 4 or 6 cyl. The main thing i'm worried about that is the trans yoke, mines is this 3 bolt flange thing at the end instead of the bracket for the u-joint so I'm not sure if that will affect the compatibility of it fitting into the transmission.

 

[opijmee]

I wonder if it is tied to the 4cyl supercab which is in and of itself, pretty rare.

I feel like thats quite possible, I got mines from facebook market place and it was the only one I saw after quite a while of searching.

 

[Brain75]

I'd ask if you were kidding on the $400, but I guess I don't actually want to know -ouch- .... On my 1948 I changed the old rock crusher tranny to a T5 (out of an S10, there was no world class mustangs around), and had a driveshaft shop MAKE me a new one - from scratch and it was less than $400 - totally custom, old knuckle style on the back, new spline slip on the front, non-standard length everything... all I had to do was supply the length measured to the nearest 1/8th inch. I think it was even less than $500 after taxes and parts (I had to pay for knuckle,spline section etc).


Hell if you were willing to wait for a nice warm day, give me the length exactly (for verification), pay cost/shipping/$20 in gas (the yard is an hour away from me), I would go pull one of those $20 driveshafts out of the 'yard and send it to you. I know there is an '89 in there extend cab with something smaller than a 2.9 (I took its front bumper for my fixing and only glanced at the engine) and 3 or 4 other 2nd gens... maybe even the right length shaft, every single thing in the yard was 6' bed... lots of 3rd gen, few 2nd and 3 or 4 1st gen. I don't really know what engine's were in much of em cause I was looking at bed length as my primary and not one 7' like what I have.


I got another angle for you to take on figuring out the right part... is there nothing left of the shreds with enough of a part number you can guess at the original part number?


Something else for you to do in your spare time if you feel like weeding through 70 different parts online. Oreilly lists 70 hits and the first 2 pages are all coupler (the 3rd page has a few then some acdelco parts and grease guns and total irrelevant junk)

Search oreilly's with NO vehicle filter just the words "driveshaft flex coupler"

https://www.oreillyauto.com/search?q=driveshaft+flex+coupler

then it is just a matter of looking at each one, one by one to eliminate it......ugh

 

[JoshT]

And since we're on that subject anyways I figure I may as well ask, do the different engines have corresponding driveshaft's?

Prior to today, I'd have said no. Prior to today I'd never seen that flex disk. I think that the answer may still be no, with the possible caveot that the 4 cylinder extended cab 2wd is the only one that got that flex disk.

I figure that for a new driveshaft to be compatible with mines it needs to come from a 2wd 5-speed supercab but I wonder if it matters if it was a 4 or 6 cyl.

I went through a similar situation a year or so back. My 85 was purchased without a driveshaft installed. At time of purchase I was planning an engine swap so didn't need it, that plan changed and I needed to source a driveshaft. The determination was that as long as the wheel base, transmission, and drive type (2wd/4wd) matched, the driveshaft was interchangable. Engine did not matter.

To an extent I confirmed this. My 85 is a 2.3L auto 2wd long bed (114" wheel base). I found a driveshaft from a 1990 2.9L auto 2wd long bed for $30and 15 minute drive. Length was perfect. and it slipped right into the back of my transmission. The only catch was that the axle flange was incorrect.

Turns out that somewhere between 1985 and 1990 Ford changed the diameter and bolt pattern of the axle flange to a larger size, probably coinsided with the move to the 8.8" axle installed with the 4.0L. Anyhow, swapping the yoke wasn't an option since the u-joints were different size. I was able to buy the correct size yoke for the axle and install on the driveshaft. Now I've just got to finish enough other projects to take the time to install it.

The main thing i'm worried about that is the trans yoke, mines is this 3 bolt flange thing at the end instead of the bracket for the u-joint so I'm not sure if that will affect the compatibility of it fitting into the transmission.

The "3 bolt flange" should actually be a slip yoke. It should slide right out of the back on the transmission once the rest of the driveshaft is out of the way. Your replacement driveshaft should come with the transmission yoke attached, so just slide it in place of the old three bolt yoke.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Prior to today, I'd have said no. Prior to today I'd never seen that flex disk. I think that the answer may still be no, with the possible caveot that the 4 cylinder extended cab 2wd is the only one that got that flex disk.






I went through a similar situation a year or so back. My 85 was purchased without a driveshaft installed. At time of purchase I was planning an engine swap so didn't need it, that plan changed and I needed to source a driveshaft. The determination was that as long as the wheel base, transmission, and drive type (2wd/4wd) matched, the driveshaft was interchangable. Engine did not matter.

To an extent I confirmed this. My 85 is a 2.3L auto 2wd long bed (114" wheel base). I found a driveshaft from a 1990 2.9L auto 2wd long bed for $30and 15 minute drive. Length was perfect. and it slipped right into the back of my transmission. The only catch was that the axle flange was incorrect.

Turns out that somewhere between 1985 and 1990 Ford changed the diameter and bolt pattern of the axle flange to a larger size, probably coinsided with the move to the 8.8" axle installed with the 4.0L. Anyhow, swapping the yoke wasn't an option since the u-joints were different size. I was able to buy the correct size yoke for the axle and install on the driveshaft. Now I've just got to finish enough other projects to take the time to install it.


The "3 bolt flange" should actually be a slip yoke. It should slide right out of the back on the transmission once the rest of the driveshaft is out of the way. Your replacement driveshaft should come with the transmission yoke attached, so just slide it in place of the old three bolt yoke.

There’s actually a few different yokes that Ford used. When I did the Explorer 8.8 in my green Ranger, despite the Ranger having an 8.8 prior to, the yoke pattern was different. What I tend to call large or small pattern, although technically it should probably be more like a square or rectangle pattern or something. IIRC, there’s also a couple common U-joint sizes in both patterns, a 1310 and 1350 I think it is. I’ve had to swap out yokes a couple times changing an axle or driveshaft and I have a couple old yokes sitting around because of it. It’s really not that big of a deal, especially if you’ve changed U-joints before.

 

[opijmee]

I'd ask if you were kidding on the $400, but I guess I don't actually want to know -ouch- .... On my 1948 I changed the old rock crusher tranny to a T5 (out of an S10, there was no world class mustangs around), and had a driveshaft shop MAKE me a new one - from scratch and it was less than $400 - totally custom, old knuckle style on the back, new spline slip on the front, non-standard length everything... all I had to do was supply the length measured to the nearest 1/8th inch. I think it was even less than $500 after taxes and parts (I had to pay for knuckle,spline section etc).


Hell if you were willing to wait for a nice warm day, give me the length exactly (for verification), pay cost/shipping/$20 in gas (the yard is an hour away from me), I would go pull one of those $20 driveshafts out of the 'yard and send it to you. I know there is an '89 in there extend cab with something smaller than a 2.9 (I took its front bumper for my fixing and only glanced at the engine) and 3 or 4 other 2nd gens... maybe even the right length shaft, every single thing in the yard was 6' bed... lots of 3rd gen, few 2nd and 3 or 4 1st gen. I don't really know what engine's were in much of em cause I was looking at bed length as my primary and not one 7' like what I have.


I got another angle for you to take on figuring out the right part... is there nothing left of the shreds with enough of a part number you can guess at the original part number?


Something else for you to do in your spare time if you feel like weeding through 70 different parts online. Oreilly lists 70 hits and the first 2 pages are all coupler (the 3rd page has a few then some acdelco parts and grease guns and total irrelevant junk)

Search oreilly's with NO vehicle filter just the words "driveshaft flex coupler"

https://www.oreillyauto.com/search?q=driveshaft+flex+coupler

then it is just a matter of looking at each one, one by one to eliminate it......ugh

I really appreciate the offer but I'm gonna have the junkyard order one for me, I just don't wanna risk it maybe not fitting for whatever reason (it sure has happened before with other parts lol) and then just be stuck with it. If the junkyard one ain't right then I may just take you up on that. And I've tried doing something similar to what you suggest before but at this point I'm not sure if I wanna spare the mental bandwidth for that lol.

Also I just want to get the truck on the road as soon as I can, since I have the brilliant idea of having my project also be my daily

 

[opijmee]

Prior to today, I'd have said no. Prior to today I'd never seen that flex disk. I think that the answer may still be no, with the possible caveot that the 4 cylinder extended cab 2wd is the only one that got that flex disk.






I went through a similar situation a year or so back. My 85 was purchased without a driveshaft installed. At time of purchase I was planning an engine swap so didn't need it, that plan changed and I needed to source a driveshaft. The determination was that as long as the wheel base, transmission, and drive type (2wd/4wd) matched, the driveshaft was interchangable. Engine did not matter.

To an extent I confirmed this. My 85 is a 2.3L auto 2wd long bed (114" wheel base). I found a driveshaft from a 1990 2.9L auto 2wd long bed for $30and 15 minute drive. Length was perfect. and it slipped right into the back of my transmission. The only catch was that the axle flange was incorrect.

Turns out that somewhere between 1985 and 1990 Ford changed the diameter and bolt pattern of the axle flange to a larger size, probably coinsided with the move to the 8.8" axle installed with the 4.0L. Anyhow, swapping the yoke wasn't an option since the u-joints were different size. I was able to buy the correct size yoke for the axle and install on the driveshaft. Now I've just got to finish enough other projects to take the time to install it.


The "3 bolt flange" should actually be a slip yoke. It should slide right out of the back on the transmission once the rest of the driveshaft is out of the way. Your replacement driveshaft should come with the transmission yoke attached, so just slide it in place of the old three bolt yoke.

Really good info, from you and lil_Blue_Ford, to keep in mind! We'll see how it goes with the "new" driveshaft coming in.

 

[Brain75]

I totally understand... wasn't exactly willing to go tromp through the yard while the snow was coming down horizontally and the wind was blowing 50mph. Your comment about "getting a ride" made me realize you are one vehicle situation which means you really don't want to wait on me, especially risking that I can't find the right one or wrap up money in the wrong one.

 

[opijmee]

I totally understand... wasn't exactly willing to go tromp through the yard while the snow was coming down horizontally and the wind was blowing 50mph. Your comment about "getting a ride" made me realize you are one vehicle situation which means you really don't want to wait on me, especially risking that I can't find the right one or wrap up money in the wrong one.

Very understandable, and yeah, I really just wanna get this thing done as soon as I can.

 

[JoshT]

Also I just want to get the truck on the road as soon as I can, since I have the brilliant idea of having my project also be my daily

Unacceptable. You need a second Ranger so one can be the project while the other can be a driver. You can take turns with which one is which, for them both to inevitably end up in the disabled project stage at the same time.

I say that in jest, but it really hits home. Probably does for many of us.


Good luck with finding what you need. If you find one and have issues with fitting it, ask away.

Also since you're going to need to turn a wrench on this at some point. You need a 12 point 12mm for the bolts that Ford used on the drive shafts. It's slow going but I've got a LONG box end wrench that I usually use for removing them. People look at me funny like it isn't going to work, but I haven't found one I couldn't break loose yet. Sockets and impacts work great, but at some angles the u-joint "ears" get in the way and I don't have to spin the driveshaft (not always possible) to get at any bolts with the wrench. I don't know what the carrier bearing requires, I've never had to mess with one of those.

 

[opijmee]

Unacceptable. You need a second Ranger so one can be the project while the other can be a driver. You can take turns with which one is which, for them both to inevitably end up in the disabled project stage at the same time.

I say that in jest, but it really hits home. Probably does for many of us.


Good luck with finding what you need. If you find one and have issues with fitting it, ask away.

Also since you're going to need to turn a wrench on this at some point. You need a 12 point 12mm for the bolts that Ford used on the drive shafts. It's slow going but I've got a LONG box end wrench that I usually use for removing them. People look at me funny like it isn't going to work, but I haven't found one I couldn't break loose yet. Sockets and impacts work great, but at some angles the u-joint "ears" get in the way and I don't have to spin the driveshaft (not always possible) to get at any bolts with the wrench. I don't know what the carrier bearing requires, I've never had to mess with one of those.

You know, its funny that you mentioned having two rangers because that was actually my situation about a year or so ago. I had a 2001 v6 auto Ranger that was also a supercab. Bought it at around 220k miles and the transmission started to slip like crazy around 255k and at that point I already had the ranger I have now for about a year or 2.

Absolutely loved that truck man.

And as for the driveshaft yea, I'm thinking about just getting a 12mm 12 point socket for my impact and just making my life easier that way. The main thing I'm concerned about fitting is that hopefully the yoke goes into the trans without a hitch but we'll see what happens. And I do have another question about it, would I have to worry about balancing the new driveshaft as I put it in? I saw some videos about U-joint replacement and the guy mentioned marking where the driveshaft was before taking it out to make sure that it is balanced when going back in, would I have to worry about that while putting the new one in? And if so, how would I go about doing that.

 

[SenorNoob]

When changing joint, yes keep alignment together. Probably the easiest thing to do is draw a line across the joints before breaking them down.
As for installing, unless the slip in the transmission isn't symmetrical for some reason just put it together. Even if it isn't then it'll only fit one way.