more driveline questions

[yodaman1151]

ok so i did some research and can't seem to find what i'm looking for... so my truck has the two piece rear drive line. the yoke that is right behind the carrier bearing has "stretched". let me explain, i'm getting some vibration and i've replaced that joint twice in the last couple months.. it shatters the cap on the u joint. i investigated it and found that there is some play between the caps and the little retainer tab on the yoke (it has the strap type hold down). so my vibration is coming from the extra play.

I've read little snippets about putting a one piece driveline in place of the two piece. can i do this on my extended cab ranger? i found a driveline out of a 4 cylinder at the j-yard today and it would've fit (barely) but i would eliminate the slip yoke cuz it slips into the transmission.

my questions are:
Can i actually use a one piece on my truck?
What donor truck do i need to look for?
Do i need the slip yoke? ( i assume yes for articulation so it won't tear up my joints and mounts)


Thanks for the info and i'll keep looking in the mean time...

 

[superds]

It is possible to swap a one piece drive shaft onto your Ranger. I did on my '90 (supercab, 4x4). The donor shaft came from an 02 Ranger Supercab 4x4. I think all driveshafts from the 125" wheelbase Rangers are one piece from 1998 and up, it says the specific year in the tech section. Mine doesn't have a slip yoke on the transfer case but it does on the driveshaft itself and it is necessary to allow the axle to move up and down.

 

[yodaman1151]

It is possible to swap a one piece drive shaft onto your Ranger. I did on my '90 (supercab, 4x4). The donor shaft came from an 02 Ranger Supercab 4x4. I think all driveshafts from the 125" wheelbase Rangers are one piece from 1998 and up, it says the specific year in the tech section. Mine doesn't have a slip yoke on the transfer case but it does on the driveshaft itself and it is necessary to allow the axle to move up and down.

the only place i didnt look cuz i thought there wasnt one... well thanks for pointing me in the right direction

 

[superds]

Yeah, no problem. I went back and briefely refreshed my memory from the tech section and it said that the swap worked on 90-97 models. But I know when I did mine I had to use a conversion U joint (which wasn't mentioned in the article) instead of a standard one, maybe that's all that's required to make it work on an 83-89 model? Not sure, but it would be worth looking into to get rid of the two piece drive shaft.

 

[adsm08]

Supercab 4x4 to supercab 4x4 will work, but there is a small catch. All the 1-piece Rangers were M5 or 4/5R series transmissions, which are 2 inches longer than your FM145. I'm not sure if there is enough slip in that yoke to make it long enough.

I'd go ahead and try it unless someone who knows a bit more about it than I do says don't.

 

[superds]

Supercab 4x4 to supercab 4x4 will work, but there is a small catch. All the 1-piece Rangers were M5 or 4/5R series transmissions, which are 2 inches longer than your FM145. I'm not sure if there is enough slip in that yoke to make it long enough.

I'd go ahead and try it unless someone who knows a bit more about it than I do says don't.

Good point. And combine the shorter transmission length with Yoda's suspension lift which should already just about require a longer drive shaft and now I'm far less certain that the drive shaft will be long enough. Worth a shot to at least measure it though!