Carrier Bearing bracket

[DukeCanBuildit]

Hi Rick,

You are correct, a plant drive is randomly selected vehicle that the plant QC folks drive to ensure everything is correct or sometimes after a line problem was identified and the drive was to verify the correction was satisfactory...if anything is noted, it is put into the repair bays before shipping, so in a way it is a good deal if your vehicle had some mileage... I do not know current laws, but we were always told to keep any engineering drives under 50 miles and definitely below 125 miles as we then had to buy the vehicle and ship back to Dearborn. I think Plant QC drives did not have to document mileage below 50 miles, but we had a roll of stickers that indicated an engineering drive and that the warranty was extended by the mileage shown on the odometer. Again, if we found something, there was a plant QC review and then a repair. When I headed up Vehicle Launch for Ranger, we had to drive a set number of units...Something in order of 50 units for between major launchs and maybe double that for major launches.

Here is another backstory.

1990 Aerostar All Wheel Drive Launch...I was just NVH support but as I had struggled to get a handle on powertrain moan by developing a large brace between the transmission bellhousing and the transfer case. I was curious to see that powertrain install in the body, so some other members of the Launch Team joined me walking up the line to the point where the powertrain was installed. We were under strict orders to follow process anytime we were in the plant, and that was if we saw anything wrong or of concern, we were to notify plant personnel...line Foreman, QC rep or such. NEVER Take things into our own hands. On the way to the area, we cut through the body paint area. As the bodies came out of paint and a quick trip through some heat lamps, the body then headed around a corner and in to the paint oven..Prior to the oven, the rear hatch was secured at about a 45° angle by a plant installed bracket. Well...one of the brackets was not installed properly and the hatch went back up to its full open position which would trash the hatch in the paint oven.... One of the folks with me, (who will remain unidentified) shouted "I am on it!" and jumped into the Aerostar body and pulled the hatch down and secured the bracket to the hatch....And then he and the Aerostar body entered the paint oven. Yikes!!!! We had no idea of what would happen to this engineer.. Only thing was to alert the emergency response team and tell them what happened... We were so shocked none of us could remember the color of the body, so the team stationed themselves at the exit of the oven...It seemed like hours passed but finally the Aerostar popped out of the oven...fellow was helped out of the Aerostar body and whisked away on a stretcher on a golf cart to Plant Medical... He looked like a cooked goose. Fortunately this engineer was okay, shaken and dehydrated but not in need of transportation to a hospital.

The whole team caught hell from the plant manager...not a very pleasant experience... The plant had never before had something like this happen, at least as the folks around us could recall... Certainly a lesson learned by that engineer....

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Aerostar AWD, huh?

Phil, did you ever work with or know an engineer named George (Geo) who was part of the original Aerostar launch around (I’m guessing here) 1984/5?

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[Porpoise Hork]

Hi Charly,

Weird. I have seen a few driveshaft related problems, but not a tarp! Worse was a box spring from bedding. Awful trying to remove the spring wire.

Good Luck with your remedial efforts.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

My dad and I had that happen with a mattress one time. Middle of August in Houston 99F and 70% humidity on the side of the freeway... Only a pair of plyers and small wire cutters in the truck for tools. Words cannot begin to describe how much it sucked... ?

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Aerostar AWD, huh?

Phil, did you ever work with or know an engineer named George (Geo) who was part of the original Aerostar launch around (I’m guessing here) 1984/5?

Hi Duke,

Would need a bit more info to know for sure! It was a big launch with tons of engineers as part of the launch team... They had me at the plant as I had fixed a sever problem with powertrain bending that defied solution until I got involved as the Technical Expert. I did a modal analysis and saw what was going on and created a bracing strategy to stiffen up the transfercase/transmission interface.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Kawffin]

Old threads can be useful!

After a trip to Moab, Sedona, driving to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and a few other places, I have been wanting to get a bit more clearance and maybe fit 35s to my rig. I also wanted to smooth out the ride a little bit as I have been using a Hellwig helper spring when I add the rooftop tent and overlanding gear. I already had some Icon suspension components, so I invested a bit more and now have 2.5 inch extended travel shocks/struts all around and the Icon leaf packs. I also added a 1 inch block in back, a small spacer kit in front, and added a 1/2 inch more lift to the struts. Icon stage 6.5 I will call it because I have external reservoirs in the back but not the front due to seriously long lead times. The result is about a five inch lift in front and 3 inches in back. I have a slight rake remaining that will level out with said tent and overlanding gear. Works great, still need to get the tires, but first sorting out the issue...

After these changes, the vibration in the driveline was apparent immediately. Up to maybe 20-25 mph and then again around maybe 60-65 mph. Oh, I dropped the front diff an inch as well as I figured I was going to have geometry issues up front. I used a kit from Peak Suspension and it worked great. It is more of a rotation than a drop, but it just helped keep the angles good. Anyway, I wondered whether there would be any geometry issues in back, but I didn't find any kits or what not that might help me anticipate what I might need. I figured it would be an effort of giving it a shot and being ready to address the issues that arise.

That led me to the forum and although the vibrations noted here don't seem to be related to lift, the symptoms were the same. That led me to believe, as I suspected might happen, that the rear half of the drive shaft was at too steep of an angle moving the CV joints outside of their comfort range.

I read the TSB on this and the approach taken there is rotate the rear axle using shims. I am also familiar with dropping the center bearing a bit. Dropping or manipulating the center bearing seems to be the common approach in this thread. That is just what I did. I went out and got longer bolts of the proper automotive class 10.9 from the auto part shop, washers, and rubber bushings from the hardware store. I ended up dropping the center bearing 5/8th to 3/4th of an inch and all perceptible vibrations are gone. It is smoother than when I bought it new. Quite remarkable.

OK, cool story, at least to me. Here is the helpful part for others that might want to do this. The bolts holding the center bearing (referred to as CENTER SUPPORT by Ford) take a 15 mm socket to remove. The bolt is an M10-1.5. I didn't measure the length of the factory bolt, but the bolts I bought and used are 50 mm in length and used the same 15 mm socket. A bit longer bolt would also be possible if needed, although there is a limit to the length of the bolt based on available space behind/above the mounting points.

Next step, 35 inch tires.... They should fit, but it will be interesting to see how much more I need to surgically remove to get it "right." Man this truck is great fun to work on.

This is a very helpful summary of possible adjustments to remedy driveline vibrations after a lift.

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