One Piece Driveshaft

[Fitzmotor]

Somewhere in this 30 page thread or another, it was stated that Rangers are not the only ones to have u-joints out of time or phase. And I think it was done to eliminate a lot of vibrations and that "correcting" the phase/timing makes things worse.

Yes I know, Shaun commented that too, by traditional standards, driveshafts are timed or they vibrate, un-timed must be a countermeasure for something or driveshaft mfg has evolved away from timed shafts.

20 years ago if you walked into a driveshaft shop and asked them to build a shaft out of time, they would have laughed at you.

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[Stevedbvik1]

Yes I know, Shaun commented that too, by traditional standards, driveshafts are timed or they vibrate, un-timed must be a countermeasure for something or driveshaft mfg has evolved away from timed shafts.

20 years ago if you walked into a driveshaft shop and asked them to build a shaft out of time, they would have laughed at you.

20+ years ago heavy duty equipment like an Oshkosh S series mixer had out of phase Spicer Dana drive shafts from the factory. By design. All 5 of them.

 

[Fitzmotor]

I stand corrected.

 

[TJC]

That is a monster! ( S Series ). When you say "all 5 of them", are you talking driveshafts, or the number of units built? I suspect that there are 5 driveshafts.

 

[Stevedbvik1]

That is a monster! ( S Series ). When you say "all 5 of them", are you talking driveshafts, or the number of units built? I suspect that there are 5 driveshafts.

5 driveshafts. I worked at a dealership for them for 19 years. We sold 100’s of them.
1. Trans to carrier bearing
2. Carrier bearing to T/C input
3. T/C out to steer axle
4. T/C out to tandem input
5. Tandem out to rear axle

Some units had lockers in all positions. Line it up, lock em in and go.
In the 80’s they built some tri drive rear axles so there would have been 6 drive shafts.

 

[Shawn at Tom Wood's]

I suspect that Shaun already knew these numbers, and is playing things very conservative to protect his business. A single law suit could severely damage his business. Ford has deep pockets and a large well trained staff of legal experts.

You are very accurate. There's a couple reasons I haven't commented thus far on your calculations.

1. "The defense rests, Your Honor". I feel like I've said everything that needs to be said. All the information is there. I've explained how I have come the my own conclusions and laid out the tools and information required for others to come to their own conclusions. I don't want to continue beating a dead horse.
2. I have better things to do. Nothing against you Ford Ranger guys but my commitment to analyzing (maybe over-analyzing) this drive shaft issue with everyone has to end at some point. From a strictly business-minded perspective, looking at it as a cost-benefit sort of thing, my time is better spent elsewhere. In the last 60 days we've done $1,094,013 in gross sales, only $1,398 of that has been from Ranger shafts. Sorry, it's probably poor taste to share numbers like this but I'm a very transparent person and that's the best way I can quantify it. Plus maybe this can calm any concerns a person might have that this whole thing is just a money grab on my part. Bottom line here though is that the Ranger saga has accounted for 1/10% percent of our sales but has required a significant percentage of my mental and temporal bandwidth.
3. Your (@TJC) calculations are very astute and accurate. I didn't think there was much more to add.

You are right @TJC, I am playing things fairly conservative. This business that we have is the result of decades of my dad's hard work and sacrifice. A lot of my own too, and other people who work here. The American Dream turned reality, our shop is about a mile from the trailer park where we used to live about 35 years ago. I'm not about to put my dad's business at risk so that someone can drive over 100 mph in their pickup truck. And seriously, if you want to drive that fast just buy a Mustang and go to the track already.

 

[Muddy Fenders]

In the last 60 days we've done $1,094,013 in gross sales, only $1,398 of that has been from Ranger shafts.

Quick question...How does one get into this lucrative shaft business? Asking for a friend.
I'm happy if I... I mean my "friend", just make an honest living and hire a couple ex cons to do the dirty grunt work for minimum wage, get some government incentives for hiring some kids with learning disabilities etc. and turn a healthy enough profit that I can buy a nice boat.

 

[TJC]

Read the fine print
"In the last 60 days we've done $1,094,013 in gross sales, only $1,398 of that has been from Ranger shafts."

This is not Net Income or Profit.
I admire Shaun's ambition and desire to continue to build his family business. I know plenty of small business owners who work hard and regard employees as larger family.

-T

 

[Shawn at Tom Wood's]

Read the fine print
"In the last 60 days we've done $1,094,013 in gross sales, only $1,398 of that has been from Ranger shafts."

This is not Net Income or Profit.
I admire Shaun's ambition and desire to continue to build his family business. I know plenty of small business owners who work hard and regard employees as larger family.

-T

Oh for sure, costs of materials, labor, shipping, and everything else add up to almost as much money as we take in. Not quite, but almost. Quantifying it as I did was just my way of saying that I've got a lot of other things that require my attention, so please forgive and understand my inattention on this forum.

 

[TJC]

As everyone here knows, I am a satisfied customer of TW. The driveshaft swap rates at the top of the mods I have done to my truck. I love my Amp Research Power Steps, but they simply added a great convenience. The 1 piece driveshaft transformed my truck's power band & ride.

There are some skeptics in Ranger world, and several have voiced concerns on several fronts.

I took 15 minutes today to google "Tom Wood's Driveshafts and found the following links that anyone with questions may find interesting.

Tacomaworld on TW Driveshafts (they like them. One fellow had 100K miles on his... (and I didn't see any DS Loops in the pictures!) )

4x4Review of TW Driveshafts

Jeepforum on which brand of driveshaft to purchase

Dec 5, 2010​

Tom Wood is an exceptional source for driveshafts as well as pre and post-sale technical support. After having ordered three or four driveshafts from Tom over the years and enjoyed his post-sales support and follow-up, where he has actually called me to see how the new DS was working for me, I'll always give him my #1 recommendation. Tom read about me destroying a driveshaft and a bunch of other stuff on a trail last year and he called me before I could call him to get the replacement driveshaft process going. That kind of support is very tough to beat.​

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Dec 6, 2010​

all i ever hear is how awesome tom woods is and especially the customer service, so i doubt you'd be disappointed with them​

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Dec 6, 2010​

x2 on Tom Wood's service (not to mention the quality of his work)​

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I bought a new, never installed TW drveshaft on Craigslist and found that I couldn't use it . I called Tom and told him what happened, his response? Send the driveshaft so he can be sure it's actually one of his and he'll give full credit and send what I need, I pay shipping.​

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Now that's service​

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And yes it was and yes he did ​

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Dec 6, 2010​

Between the two you mentioned I'd buy from Tom Wood's every day of the week and twice on Sunday. In fact I did buy from him. I am lucky to have a local shop who does great work as well but TW is a top notch vendor.​

I added comments from the Jeep Forum as they date back 12 years. The other forums basically say the same thing... All favorable! I could not find a single negative statement. Seems Shawn takes after his father Tom.

You all know the score. If you've got the shudders or shakes, TW Driveshafts has the cure... and they back their products.

The data, and comments from myself and other (Ranger, Tacoma, Jeep, etc) customers speaks for itself.

 

[TopoRanger]

Oh for sure, costs of materials, labor, shipping, and everything else add up to almost as much money as we take in. Not quite, but almost. Quantifying it as I did was just my way of saying that I've got a lot of other things that require my attention, so please forgive and understand my inattention on this forum.

Shawn I definitely look forward to getting one of your driveshafts on the truck. I’m also going to be getting whatever merch that has artwork that Alan Close designed! He has drawnall my company’s artwork and I support the hell out of him. Loved all of your comments here in this thread. You’ve gained a customer for my truck and for my Jeep Wrangler!

 

[MIBuckeye]

Just another observation, and question....



Just got out of a new 2022 Bronco 4dr Badlands 2.7...REAL NICE....kinda makes my Tremor feel a little inadequate, but I digress.... knowing that it is built on the Ranger chassis, I took a peak underneath, curious about the driveshaft situation.... what I found was a straight shaft with a booted slip joint.



Serious question...Once again I ask why is it OK on the Bronco but a scary proposition on the Ranger?

 

[Stevedbvik1]

Just another observation, and question....



Just got out of a new 2022 Bronco 4dr Badlands 2.7...REAL NICE....kinda makes my Tremor feel a little inadequate, but I digress.... knowing that it is built on the Ranger chassis, I took a peak underneath, curious about the driveshaft situation.... what I found was a straight shaft with a booted slip joint.



Serious question...Once again I ask why is it OK on the Bronco but a scary proposition on the Ranger?

Driveshaft length? Ranger wb is 10 inches longer than Bronco. Depending upon engine/transmission/tcase positioning in each vehicle in relation to rear axle the drive shaft may be more than 10 inches longer in the Ranger. That’s the only thing I can think of

 

[CO2Ranger]

Driveshaft length? Ranger wb is 10 inches longer than Bronco. Depending upon engine/transmission/tcase positioning in each vehicle in relation to rear axle the drive shaft may be more than 10 inches longer in the Ranger. That’s the only thing I can think of

Measured my Rangers stock shaft at 67 and change inches when I ordered from TW. A factory one-piece for a Bronco is listed at around 57 inches so the 10 inch difference in wheelbase checks out.

 

[TJC]

I just returned from a 500+ mile trip in my 2020 Ranger. The first trip of any distance with sustained speed of 75+ mph since installing the TW Driveshaft. 200+ miles were on Interstate highways where I averaged 75mph, and topped 80mph several times.

This was impossible to do with the stock driveshaft due to severe shudder with speeds >=75mph.
I am happy to report that the ride was smooth as silk., no shakes, shudders, or anything except smooth delivery of power all along the power curve.

I had to be very careful as the power was so smooth that the speed would sneak up on me. I'd look down and see I was travelling at 80mph! I'd back it down to 75mph and set the cruise control.

It is very nice to have a smooth running 2020 Ranger! MPG at 75+mph 24.1, at 55mph on previous trips I reached 28.4 mpg.

- Tony

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