How To Lubricate Your Driveshaft Slip Joint

[EJH]

Here is my story relating to the bump on acceleration from a stop...

I bought the truck 3 months ago used, it was a certified used car from a reputable dealership. It was a good deal, 94k miles for 20k. Slowly but surely I noticed a light thump or bump when stopping or accelerating from a stop. It developed to the serious thud. over time and I was nearing 100k miles so I reluctantly (this is a work truck so missing it cost me money) took it to the dealership. I knew something was wrong.

In typical fashion they kept it for two weeks. Then proclaimed they could not reproduce the issues and all they did was perform a transmission re-learn with forscan... >.>

Well, I knew I would have to figure it out myself. I knew 100% it was coming from the rear end. So I went ahead and drained the differential fluid to check for metal shavings and inspect the condition of the fluid. I used a borescope in the fill hole to inspect the condition of the gears inside. Gears and fluid looked fine, nothing out of the ordinary there.

This eventually led me to this forum, and eventually to this thread. Thank you so much for sharing this fix. It is VERY easy if you have the right tools. Here is a picture of everything I used. I did not use a torque wrench, just set the impact to #2 setting and used the German method of gutten-tight.

Honestly this was easier than changing the oil. Seriously. I did not set the parking brake because I just used an impact, the secret here is using a wobble extension to be able to use it. Also I did not have an ear clamp tool/clamps but if you get a CV kit from Amazon the small bands are perfect.

Amazon ear band kit.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NDD3TNQ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

I could not get the blue Ford official grease soon enough and it was nowhere to be found locally so I got some of this.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JF2LBQ6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

Bump/thump SOLVED.

Here is everything I needed for the job. Took less than an hour.

**** Tip for getting the splines correct, once you pull out the shaft you will notice a single valley in between splines is all black instead of blue, you'll notice on the female part that there is a couple of spots that have space for two splines, you'll notice it when you take it out even though this may sound confusing.****

So glad it worked out. Mine is going great still exactly one year since I lubed the spline with CS Moly.

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[Fawnbuster]

I did not have any vibration at highway speeds - and lubing the slip joint likely will not have any effect such vibrations. Most likely culprit for that would be an imbalanced tire or driveshaft angles that are wonky / out of spec. There are lots of other threads on this forum about highway vibrations.

Since posting this video, I've actually upgraded to a 1-piece driveshaft from Tom Woods, and LOVE it. My truck is silky smooth from 0 mph to ... well, in Mexico well over 100 mph. No vibrations, no clunks, etc.

But staying on topic: lubig the slip joint will cure the light/medium clunk many drivers experience just as they come to a stop or pull away from a stop.

Just curious what did that one piece drive shaft cost and does tge truck have to be on a lift to replace it or can it be done setting on the ground?

 

[quangdog]

Just curious what did that one piece drive shaft cost and does tge truck have to be on a lift to replace it or can it be done setting on the ground?

I picked my driveshaft up from Tom Woods, currently listed for $699 here:
https://4xshaft.com/pages/product-result?rq=mk_ford~md_ranger~yr_2019-2022

(pretty sure that's what I paid as well, but it's been a few years and I don't recall for sure).

I did not need a lift to replace it. If you are slim, you don't even need to lift the truck - however, it's a little easier to do the swap if you can put at least the rear wheels up on jack stands, as this allows you to chock the front wheels so they won't roll, and with the truck in neutral you can easily rotate the driveshaft to the positions needed to remove/reinstall hardware.

Good luck!

 

[RedlandRanger]

I finally got around to doing this today. @quangdog thank you so much for the video. Mine wasn't quite as easy as yours looked - I think they put on triple the amount of loctite at the factory on one of the bolts! I also had a bit of a struggle getting it back together but once I got it lined up correctly (it is rather particular) it slid right in.

I didn't really feel the clunk at stop like some people say, but I do get a strange clunk when downshifting to 8th gear sometimes. I figured this was a cheap thing and it can't hurt anything. My test drive afterwards felt pretty smooth, but it could be all in my head too.

It will be interesting to see if my sometimes weird 8th gear shift goes away now. There really was very little grease on my joint (looked almost identical to your video) and the grease that was there was black, not the blue PTFE grease.

 

[yamahaSHO]

I finally got around to doing this today. @quangdog thank you so much for the video. Mine wasn't quite as easy as yours looked - I think they put on triple the amount of loctite at the factory on one of the bolts! I also had a bit of a struggle getting it back together but once I got it lined up correctly (it is rather particular) it slid right in.

I didn't really feel the clunk at stop like some people say, but I do get a strange clunk when downshifting to 8th gear sometimes. I figured this was a cheap thing and it can't hurt anything. My test drive afterwards felt pretty smooth, but it could be all in my head too.

It will be interesting to see if my sometimes weird 8th gear shift goes away now. There really was very little grease on my joint (looked almost identical to your video) and the grease that was there was black, not the blue PTFE grease.

Your 8th gear clunk a lot? I found my transmission was low from the factory. Topped it off and it's not been doing the 8th gear clunk. I do need to lube my slip joint as you can feel it. I've only got just under 8k miles on this truck...

 

[RedlandRanger]

Your 8th gear clunk a lot? I found my transmission was low from the factory. Topped it off and it's not been doing the 8th gear clunk. I do need to lube my slip joint as you can feel it. I've only got just under 8k miles on this truck...

Not a lot - it seems when it does happen, it seems to be a downshift under very light throttle. It isn't bad, but it isn't smooth either.

My trans is definitely not low - I have the FitzStick installed and have spent way too long checking my trans fluid. I changed it a couple thousand miles ago too.

If this doesn't fix it, it isn't the end of the world. It just seemed like a possibility and it was a relatively cheap and quick fix. It certainly did not have much lube from the factory, that is for sure.

 

[chriskm1968]

I've got to do this to mine as well. I've been noticing a vibration on my 2019 for years.

 

[Kemo Sabe]

I've got to do this to mine as well. I've been noticing a vibration on my 2019 for years.

My vibration was caused by a bearing failure on center support.
Covered under running gear Ford warranty, s as below 60,000 miles. Or 50,000??
Good luck

 

[Agfreund]

Preparing to lubricate this slip joint, I’ve looked over this and other related threads, looked for pics and videos and I have not seen anyone with the same driveshaft set up that mine seems to have. Instead of a few larger bolts attached to the rear diff, it has 8 little 11/32 bolts holding the driveshaft. I’m hesitant to take it off as it looks like there are a series of what look like spacers between the two, Any input would be appreciated, anyone else with this setup?

Did you get a torque spec on these 8 bolts? Did lubing the splines fix the issue on your tremor, and did you happen to lube the CV/U (the one in the picture) joint while you had it off?

 

[RangerPhx]

Did you get a torque spec on these 8 bolts? Did lubing the splines fix the issue on your tremor, and did you happen to lube the CV/U (the one in the picture) joint while you had it off?

This was the torque info that I acquired and used:
Rear Axle end:
Crisscross - Loosen
Crisscross - Tighten - 35 Ft Lbs

Yes, lubing the splines fixed it right up. Felt like a different truck afterwards, far more tight and solid. I did not lube that rear joint, did not really see anything to lube actually.

Process: Mark shaft both ends so you re-install correctly. Remove boot clamp. You'll need a new clamp more than likely.
Support end of shaft so it doesn't drop. Pull the bolts along with the spacers, pull down and separate from the yoke.
Install in reverse order. I reused my bolts although they say they are a one time use bolt. Be sure to use blue lock tite. Been offroading and driving without issue since.

 

[Agfreund]

This was the torque info that I acquired and used:
Rear Axle end:
Crisscross - Loosen
Crisscross - Tighten - 35 Ft Lbs

Yes, lubing the splines fixed it right up. Felt like a different truck afterwards, far more tight and solid. I did not lube that rear joint, did not really see anything to lube actually.

Process: Mark shaft both ends so you re-install correctly. Remove boot clamp. You'll need a new clamp more than likely.
Support end of shaft so it doesn't drop. Pull the bolts along with the spacers, pull down and separate from the yoke.
Install in reverse order. I reused my bolts although they say they are a one time use bolt. Be sure to use blue lock tite. Been offroading and driving without issue since.

How did you get the rear out? Mine seems pretty well stuck even after removing the bolts and tapping with a rubber mallet. Does it need to slide forward or is it just the silver flange that comes off

edit: used a punch and hammer to lightly tap on the flange with the cutouts on the diff. Did a little on each side and was able to walk it out/fwd.

 

[RangerPhx]

How did you get the rear out? Mine seems pretty well stuck even after removing the bolts and tapping with a rubber mallet. Does it need to slide forward or is it just the silver flange that comes off

edit: used a punch and hammer to lightly tap on the flange with the cutouts on the diff. Did a little on each side and was able to walk it out/fwd.

Glad you got it sorted?
I do remember having to slightly move it forward to get it to drop down.

 

[gov cheese]

2019 ranger 80k miles and almost no grease in the slip joint. Just completed this maintenance took about less than 2 hours. TIP -- At least with mine there is a black line on key spline. Cleared about 1/2 inch of new grease from the key spline and used it to line up with mark on drive shaft.

 

[Lablanca2019]

Incase this helps anyone, I just completed this project without having to remove the driveshaft. All I did was drop the center support bearing and maneuver the shaft so it slid out of the splines, perhaps having a 2 inch level and rear icon lift helped, but either way it may be possible for anyone to do this without having to break the "seal" on the driveshaft bolts

 

[Deleted User 38384]

Great Thread Title !!!
PERV

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