1989 extended cab, looking for rubber coupler between transmission & drive shaft

[Winter Hawk]

The subject line pretty well says it all. There is a rubber/fiber coupler between the 5 speed transmission and the drive shaft. WHERE can I find that puppy? Mine is cracked and appears to be on its last legs. I thought I had one, it was freighted to Ohio from CA and the guy in the parts department said it was the only one he could find in the whole USA. Then the bolt holes wouldn't line up, the radius of the pattern was too small. There are three holes in the transmission output shaft flange and three on the drive shaft flange. The coupler has six holes so the flanges are offset 60 degrees (I think; maybe it's 30?) from each other. My old Chilton manual shows it, while my Hayne's doesn't.

I have thought of bolting the driveshaft flange direct to the transmission flange withe the coupler between them but that would probably not have the "give" which the coupler provides.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Sorry, can't help. I've never seen that before.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Why couldn't you just swap things over and use a regular driveshaft?

 

[Snoranger]

Ford has a recall on this same style driveshaft coupler used on the Transit vans… I’d learn from Ford and swap the driveshaft out with a standard driveshaft.

 

[Winter Hawk]

Our mechanic was able to read the numbers on the coupler and trace it back to Germany. This style is used on a number of vehicles, I believe he said Audi was one. It doesn't really help but it is available for big bucks from Europe.

 

[Vindictus]

Try the part number here

Auto Parts Locator: Search Millions of Parts | Rear Counter

Rear Counter: Your go-to marketplace for OEM auto parts. Connecting buyers and sellers since 2009. Fast, reliable, and comprehensive. Shop today!

www.rearcounter.com

 

[Winter Hawk]

Great, thank you! Now I have to find where I wrote the part number, as this all came to a head early last Summer....

I'll also see what I can find to replace the driveshaft.

 

[MaD]

By any chance did you succeed in finding one? I have a 1989 Ford ranger that has a coupler that is cracked and I'd like to replace it. What did you end up doing? Thanks!

 

[pjtoledo]

@MaD
online search of driveshaft coupler yields this result. this should get you started.
driveshaft coupler - Search

 

[Curious Hound]

Someone else needed one of those around here just a couple weeks ago. I think I found a link to one from NAPA.

 

[Curious Hound]

1988 Ranger - Need help identifying drivetrain part

Hello! So I was puttering along as usual in my trusty 90hp 2.3 on the highway when I heard something hit the bottom of my truck and started feeling some crazy vibrations coming from the trans as I went along, also saw smoke and smelled burning trans fluid. Made it home, checked the car and...

www.therangerstation.com

 

[Brain75]

If yours has not completely self destructed, the fastest thing to do would be to crawl under there and clean it up / remove looking for part number & mfg stamp. The poster of the other thread has a total of 12 posts, I think almost all of em related to that issue.... I wouldn't count on him coming back right away.

 

[MaD]

1988 Ranger - Need help identifying drivetrain part

Hello! So I was puttering along as usual in my trusty 90hp 2.3 on the highway when I heard something hit the bottom of my truck and started feeling some crazy vibrations coming from the trans as I went along, also saw smoke and smelled burning trans fluid. Made it home, checked the car and...

www.therangerstation.com

That coupler is for a Hyundai, OP still tried it and it didn't fit. Thanks tho.

 

[MaD]

If yours has not completely self destructed, the fastest thing to do would be to crawl under there and clean it up / remove looking for part number & mfg stamp. The poster of the other thread has a total of 12 posts, I think almost all of em related to that issue.... I wouldn't count on him coming back right away.

Ok that's probably what I'm gonna do, I'm take it off and take the coupler to a shop that specializes in dealing with driveshafts and hopefully they can find one similar.

 

[Brain75]

Even napa should be able to figure it out with a part number... w/o a number then yeah a driveshaft shop would be the ticket.

If you do find enough of a number to look up interchange I would try partsgeek/rockauto/etc - the usual online places since that would be more reasonable price.