Hey guys,
I just found out a very useful bit of info that I wanted to share with you. Not only do Aerostars and Crown Vic's with the Police Interceptor package have aluminum drive shafts. 4 door 2wd Explorers, some late model E-Series vans and late model F-Series trucks. Late model extended cab Rangers have them too (standard cab Rangers reportedly have steel drive shafts). That's good info to know. That really widens your options of finding one. I'm gonna head to the bone yards tomorrow and see if I can find another one.
I got mine from a Crown Vic cop car for free. Shortened and balanced, good to go. Total investment was about $138.00.
All of my drive shaft searches end up with me having empty hands!
I'm sure you're not alone. The junk yards in my area either don't have any Crown Vice with the Police Interceptor package, or they do have one of those cars, but want way too much for the driveshaft. Some places had a car and a good price, but the driveshaft was rented, or bent. Knowing about 3 other types of vehicles that are suitable donors really increases your chances of finding one.
Luckily, I have a place that can shorten and balance one for me for $65. I should be able to pick one up for $20 from a local yard tomorrow.
so here's a question?.. can the DS from a ford van be used, and shortened... they are all aluminum too.
They sure can. You might have to use special u-joints to install your yokes on the driveshaft, but it IS doable.
I didn't know E Series vans had them too. That's good to know.
I'll be ed! I just went out and checked my '06 E-350 and IT has an aluminum driveshaft. Well... I'll definitely have to add E-Series vans to the list of candidates now. Thanks Daminic for letting me know about that.
Here's a good tip for anyone who's looking for one of these driveshafts. Use the pinion and slip yokes from the vehicle you take the driveshaft off of instead of your original yokes. Our cars came from the factory with yokes that have a narrower spread between the uijoint loops than Crown Vics and Ford vans/trucks. Crown Vics and Ford vans/trucks came with yokes that have a spread of 4 inches between the outside of the u-joint loops. Some trucks have a wider spread than this, but most seem to have a spread of 4 inches. Using yokes with a 4 inch spread will make your driveshaft stronger and will mean that you won't have to use special u-joints. That's a win, win.
they all had aluminum DS's since 87
If that's the case, it will sure make my job at the junkyard easier tomorrow. I measured the spread on my van's u-joint loops and they're 4 inches like I hoped. There are quite a few vans at the junkyard. :)
check the F series too
I'll do that and let you guys know what I find.
Jerry, there are adapter u-joints that will adapt the Cougar's (Or Thunderbird's) yoke and to the larger driveshaft.
The adapter u-joints should be avoided if you want the most strength. My driveshaft shop told me that. Considering simple physics, it makes sense too.
I should clarify something. If you have an AOD and an 8.8" axle, a slip yoke and pinion yoke out of a Crown Vic that has and AOD and 8.8" axle would be just what you want. I'm not sure if T5's use the same slip yoke that an AOD would, or not. I'd imagine both trannies use the same slip yokes though. Newer vehicles wouldn't have the right yokes on their driveshafts though unfortunately. The driveshaft's u-joint loops should have the correct spread though.
Hmmmmmmmm.........which Crown Vics?
I'm not sure when Ford stopped putting AOD's in Crown Vics, but any Crown Vic that has an AOD is what you're looking for if you want to find stronger yokes and want to be able to use stronger u-joints than the adapter u-joints a lot of guys use.
Th reason why u-joints with a wider spread are stronger, is because wider set u-joint and yoke loops have more leverage to turn the drive shaft than u-joint and yoke loops that are set closer together. To illustrate this point, you can turn a wheel more easily if you put your hands on the tread on either side of the tire, compared to trying to turn the wheel by its center cap.
I got jiped my 01 E350 superduty has a steel D.S
Just like I thought. There were good, aluminum driveshafts all over the junkyard. The cleanest one I saw was in a 98 extended cab, 2wd Ranger, so I pulled it. My trip today confirmed that you should be able to easily find an aluminum driveshaft if you know whiich vehicles to looks for.
This driveshaft has the 4" u-joints I was looking for and a 4" shaft diameter. I'm gonna have this badboy shortened, balanced and it'll be good to go!
^ Nice!
Not bad at all. What I like about this driveshaft over the one out of a Crown Vic, is the 4" diameter of the Ranger driveshaft. Crown Vic drive shafts are 3 1/2" in diameter from what I've seen. This should be a stronger driveshaft. Down the road, I plan on running sticky, wide tires out back (315/50/15's). I also plan to put a much stouter engine in a few years from now. The extra strength will help give me piece of mind.
At the Pick & pull I go to all the drive shafts in the yard have a flat spot from the loader lifting them , Dam it!
One thing to keep in mind, is that certain vehicles protect their driveshafts from forklift damage better than others. From what I've seen extended cab Rangers probably do it better than any of the other vehicles I named earlier in this thread Greg.
The MK VIII's also have aluminum driveshafts.
That's good info to have.
what is the advantage of an aluminum shaft over a steel shaft?. I have a crown vic shaft that Beau gave me, just havent had time to have it shortened.
If you want to learn more about the benefits of an aluminum driveshaft, check out this thread. http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/mod-custom-forum/619741-modern-aluminum-driveshaft.html
In addition to having a higher critical speed, aluminum driveshafts decrease the rotational mass your engine must turn. That means slightly improved performance and economy.
Less inertial mass = faster acceleration
Helps in the same way as an aluminum flywheel.
I didn't think about it that way lol
Hmmmmmmm, I've got both :evilgrin: and with 4:30's :evilgrin::evilgrin:
I got lucky when I found mine. I was getting parts for my daughters car and there was a police crown vic next to it. I started looking at it and laying in the trunk was the driveshaft. It even has police stamped on it. I still have to get it shortend and balanced and get it on there. Probably next year when I get the rearend rebuilt.
My Crown Vic driveshaft is 4 inches in diameter.
Just remember, the larger OD drive shaft may have interference problems with other things under the car especially if it is lowered. I have the FRPP aluminum DS in my Coupe and it rubs on the ebrake cables under hard cornering and acceleration. I am pretty sure a 4" will be fine in most cases but its something to think about and pretty easy to mock up on and existing DS.
Darren
That's strange Vinnie. The driveshaft I took out of a Crown Vic is only 3.5" in diameter. You sure you're not overestimating how big your shaft is?
:rollin::rollin::rollin::rollin:
'Vic shafts are 3.5"....don't worry Vinnie, my shaft isn't any bigger around than yours is :P
(Although mine is uncut, so It's got a few inches on ya)
So...you guys that have custom....shafts....
Do you like to lay under your cars and polish your shafts occasionally? lmao
OMG!!!! Dude's got an Ardvark!!!!
My driveshaft would've rubbed the lers, but I was swapping them anyway, so, no big deal. It was an item to watch for. I have the stainless dynomax lers installed away from the shaft.
I don't think I'm overestimating it's size....I think you're underestimating it's size. LOL. LOL.
Does your shaft flare out at the ends, or is it pretty much the same diameter down its whole length?
Same all the way.
I'll measure it in the morning again to double check. I'll report in after that.
Good. That's the one you want then. If it's straight all the way, it's a 4" shaft.
In the pic, you'll see that the top driveshaft has a smaller (3.5") diameter. The top driveshaft is out of a Crown Vic. The bottom driveshaft is out of a Ranger and is 4" in diameter.
O.K., I stand corrected. Mine is like the top one. I'm still keeping it !!!
No biggie. You aren't the first guy who thought his shaft was bigger than it actually was. :P
True, but you're the first guy who ever had to show me.
That's a scary thought. :)
Yes it is. Let's talk about something else now. LOL.
There's no way of knowing of course, but I'd really like to know how much more torque/power a Ranger driveshaft can handle compared to a Crown Vic shaft. I know there are guys running in the 9's with aluminum Ranger driveshafts. That's pretty impressive. Since I hope to set my car up so it doesn't spin at all off the line, that's piece of info is very comforting. I won't be running in the 9's.
I would imagine it could take a lot of torque. they hold up very well in a van, and they are not very short under there. shorten one, and it gets even stronger.
That's a good point. :)
Please excuse me for asking, but what is wrong with the Mustang shafts?
There's nothing wrong with them at all. Their only short fall is inability to stand up to quite as much torque/power as a larger shaft (like from a Ranger, or full-sized Ford van, or truck. In most cirspoogestances, the aluminum shafts you're talking about (3.5" diameter) will be more than strong enough to handle anything thrown at them. If you're running big, sticky tires in a car with a lot of power though, you'd be wise to use a larger diameter shaft like the 4" ones found in the aforementioned Ford trucks.
The guy that shortened my crown vic 3.5" drive shaft was confident that it could handle my cars weight on slicks leaving the line at 5500 rpm launch with 600 rwhp on a regular basis ( Mitchel's drive shaft service ) All they do is drive shafts and differentials
IF he was correct, that's definitely good news. That situation would put one heck of a load on a driveshaft and especially u-joints.
The drive shaft I have out of the MKVIII my engine came from is the same size as the crown vic shaft. :(