1-Piece Driveshafts And Why You Want One

[bobbywalter]

sounds like you have a hi rider.

you have to be mindful on pinion crush if you swap out rear flange,


you can use a late model 1 piece with your k member removed but it will need trimmed.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

He's driving an '85, so if he has the V6 it's a 2.8. Cab/Bed, we can eliminate Supercab because they wasn't available until '86.

Good point, for some reason I was thinking 85 was the first year for the 2.9, but my head is a mess from this sinus infection and sometimes I’m not sure what planet I’m on

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I did the swap as per TRS tech article.

Found a steel 1 piece on fleabay (I think from an explorer), cleaned it up with some paint and u joints, bolted right in.

The crossmember was fairly easy to remove.

It looked like it would clear the fuel tank tray, but I trimmed some off anyways...also fairly easy.

The 1 piece driveshaft eliminated a vibration problem I was having.

Took half a day taking my time and drying a few coats of paint.

 

[don4331]

On mine there are 3 U-joints
This is the Rear Yoke and Drive shaft
This is the forward part of the rear drive shaft and whatever that Slide part is called. (@Josh B , its called slip yoke. yes, confusingly named same as transmission slip yoke) And this is the forward part to the front yoke at the transfer case connection (spline stub), The Center (Carrier) Bearing sits on top of the cross member, the bolt there holds one side of it

@Josh B - Your pictures are worth 1k words.

@FattCracker - We need the same from you. Because I for 1 would like to see 3 piece driveshaft from Ranger. (Ford has done a lot of ..interesting... things over years, so I'm always interested in possible unicorns)

If one wants to get technical even the regular cab/short box (RCSB) 2wd driveshaft has 5 pieces: Transmission slip yoke, u-joint, drive shaft, u-joint & axle flange. RCSB 4wd is transfer case yoke, u-joint, double cardon yoke, u-joint, front spline stub, rear slip yoke shaft ), <with rubber dust boot which sort of holds front spline stub and rear slip yoke shaft into single piece - to the extent we consider it one piece> u-joint & axle flange. (Is that 9?) (Yes, I'm being bit of smart@$$, but that is why I want pictures, so we all know what we're talking about).

Weren't 2 piece driveshafts exclusive to SuperCabs? Due to tube diameter that Ford picked for the RC Rangers, they would have has "whirling"* issues. Paraphrased: Whirling being, when due to imbalance and deflection, a shaft when rotating at critical frequency becomes unstable resulting in destructive behavior. (If you want the whole engineering text - Design of Machine Elements by Faires - whole chapter on it)

*It was called "whirling" in referenced engineering textbook, so that's what I call it to today.

I get nervous about rear yoke reinstallation after just changing rear seal - am I getting tight enough to preload bearings, but not overtighten so that I damage the crush spacer - and I more/less know what I am doing. For someone of unknown ability, it is safer to recommend conversion bearing over replacing rear axle flange. As OP's truck is 4wd, if he can't find spare rear driveshaft flange, he can pull the existing rear drive shaft out and drive around for couple days in 4wd with just front axle engaged (poor man's front wheel drive) while he gets takes yoke off existing driveshaft, assembles on new and reinstalls). It's not like he would be without transportation...

All SuperCab Rangers have same wheelbase, so OP just needs 4wd version so it has correct slip yoke. And modifies crossmember to avoid contact; might need to adjust skid plate too (if his '85 has one)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I did the swap as per TRS tech article.

Found a steel 1 piece on fleabay (I think from an explorer), cleaned it up with some paint and u joints, bolted right in.

The crossmember was fairly easy to remove.

It looked like it would clear the fuel tank tray, but I trimmed some off anyways...also fairly easy.

The 1 piece driveshaft eliminated a vibration problem I was having.

Took half a day taking my time and drying a few coats of paint.

Explorer is too short.

Sport Trac is the same length as a super cab.

 

[1990RangerinSK]

Good point, for some reason I was thinking 85 was the first year for the 2.9, but my head is a mess from this sinus infection and sometimes I’m not sure what planet I’m on

2.9 was introduced in 1986.

 

[bobbywalter]

Explorer is too short.

Sport Trac is the same length as a super cab.

for some reason i remember the sport trac as a bit shorter....and big...and i mean biiiiig lift guys used ranger shafts....and a spacer in the front...


the op said his entire drivetrain has 1210 joints. so it can be a hi rider...they use a d/c 1210 at the case and a 1210 at the diff on the d 28.

not very many had 1210 front pinions.....1310 is the rule


that could open up a 2 pc for a long bed that was slated fo c/c duty as well...but i assume he has a early ext cab stx hi rider. 1210,1310, and 1330 are possible ranger joints.. certain explorer can work with certain non ext cab trucks....they get longer later on when the cab size changed.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

It might have been explorer v8. I'll try to find the fleabay purchase history if it will go that far back

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I went off the references in the tech article and had no problems finding the proper fitments years to choose from on my watchlist. Picked the best price/shipping time/condition of em, and went with the steel (vs aluminum), mostly due to availability and the little bit of extra clearance. It did take me two tries to get the right u joints.

 

[bobbywalter]

yeah...they are 60 something inches.....but thats a 2wd....dont remember 4x4.



i just make my own until i can afford to have one made. they are 7-800 bux these days.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

for some reason i remember the sport trac as a bit shorter....and big...and i mean biiiiig lift guys used ranger shafts....and a spacer in the front...


the op said his entire drivetrain has 1210 joints. so it can be a hi rider...they use a d/c 1210 at the case and a 1210 at the diff on the d 28.

not very many had 1210 front pinions.....1310 is the rule


that could open up a 2 pc for a long bed that was slated fo c/c duty as well...but i assume he has a early ext cab stx hi rider. 1210,1310, and 1330 are possible ranger joints.. certain explorer can work with certain non ext cab trucks....they get longer later on when the cab size changed.

Back when I was on a driveshaft quest they were on my list as an alternative to a super cab driveshaft.

I didn't have any more to go by than sasquatch rider at the bottom of this article:

One-Piece Rear Driveshaft Swap ('90-'97 4WD Supercab) - The Ranger Station

Extended Cab 4×4 Rangers used a two-piece rear driveshaft through 1997. In stock form, the only problem with the 2-piece shaft is that the rubber carrier bearing bushing can fall apart and need to be replaced. No biggie. However, Lifting … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

Update 05/12/2010:


From Sasquatch_Ryda:


The Explorer Sport Trac (2002-05) 4×4 rear drive shaft is the same as the 98 ranger 1 piece shaft. So it is another option for people looking to swap out the 2 piece.

I ended up finding one in the back of a supercab that apparently got junked for a bad trans and had the trans/driveline in the bed. (so it didn't get crunched)

 

[bobbywalter]

i should look up the part numbers and specs. i remember having them side by side....the lengths were close fully collapsed ...like an inch or so..... but the diameters were way different. aluminum and fattt

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

i should look up the part numbers and specs. i remember having them side by side....the lengths were close fully collapsed ...like an inch or so..... but the diameters were way different. aluminum and fattt

Maybe close enough to work.

Some Rangers were aluminum (and huge) too.

 

[bobbywalter]

yeah....workable for sure....just depends on actual suspension movement. they were both aluminum. the explorer was just different...the neckdown was solid fluting. but that may be year specific for all i know. i assumed it was for decreased nvh due to being a premium vehicle over rangers...that are for people like me...