One Piece Driveshaft

[TJC]

Ford has names or editions for the ranger. You have a Raptor, Tremor, Lariat and so on. After reading all of this thread and I mean all of it I think that this gen 5 should have had another edition called the Ranger Anxiety. Reading about vibrations, then there is fuel in oil, the charging issues how in the hell can you sleep at night! At least my tailgate goes down nice with a damper

Kudos to Phil for putting out the 4th gen Ranger (of which I am a proud owner still) that had NONE of the shakes and shudders of my 5G Ranger. It drove smoother with 150K miles on the clock than my new 2020 5G.

I have never had any anxiety, other then my wife complaining on long trips that it was impossible to sleep in the passenger seat due to the vibrations. She has had no trouble since the d/s was replaced.

Happy wife... happy life.

I buy and drive my vehicles for as long as possible. I don't make payments and I stay out of debt. My expectation is to be able keep any new vehicle long enough to amortize the cost of the vehicle to <$2K / year (including repairs but not including maintenance). I have been successful doing this for the last 30 years, and it saved me at least $100K over that time. Probably much more.

My 2005 Ranger was $19K out the door. Before I rebuilt my Ranger that run rate was $1050 per year. No major repairs during that time at all. Even after a major overhaul (suspension, entire drive train, AC, brakes all replaced) I am at $1600 per year, and each year I keep the 2005 that price goes down.

I've got ~$35K in my 2020 Ranger. If nothing major breaks I will be at the $2000 level in a little over 17 years time. According to Phil, It should be built to last 150K without major trouble.

I have never seen the need for extended warranties on any of my autos. But I have thought about it for my 2020 Ranger. I still have not pulled the trigger - waiting to see how they hold up over time. Still have 12 months and 20k miles to make the decision.

One last thought, Ford has recognized that their quality has dropped in the last 10 years and are desperately trying to correct the problem. Warranty costs are eating up their profit margins... not to mention driving away long term repeat customers.

- T

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[Shoran12]

Kudos to Phil for putting out the 4th gen Ranger (of which I am a proud owner still) that had NONE of the shakes and shudders of my 5G Ranger. It drove smoother with 150K miles on the clock than my new 2020 5G.

I have never had any anxiety, other then my wife complaining on long trips that it was impossible to sleep in the passenger seat due to the vibrations. She has had no trouble since the d/s was replaced.

Happy wife... happy life.

I buy and drive my vehicles for as long as possible. I don't make payments and I stay out of debt. My expectation is to be able keep any new vehicle long enough to amortize the cost of the vehicle to <$2K / year (including repairs but not including maintenance). I have been successful doing this for the last 30 years, and it saved me at least $100K over that time. Probably much more.

My 2005 Ranger was $19K out the door. Before I rebuilt my Ranger that run rate was $1050 per year. No major repairs during that time at all. Even after a major overhaul (suspension, entire drive train, AC, brakes all replaced) I am at $1600 per year, and each year I keep the 2005 that price goes down.

I've got ~$35K in my 2020 Ranger. If nothing major breaks I will be at the $2000 level in a little over 17 years time. According to Phil, It should be built to last 150K without major trouble.

I have never seen the need for extended warranties on any of my autos. But I have thought about it for my 2020 Ranger. I still have not pulled the trigger - waiting to see how they hold up over time. Still have 12 months and 20k miles to make the decision.

One last thought, Ford has recognized that their quality has dropped in the last 10 years and are desperately trying to correct the problem. Warranty costs are eating up their profit margins... not to mention driving away long term repeat customers.

- T

I’ve never owned a Ford until this Ranger, so this is me giving Ford a shot. I’ll put around 20-25k a year on it and by the time my kid gets it for his first vehicle it will have over 150k on it by my guess. Every other vehicle I’ve owned at 150k still felt like new. Tacomas and a Silverado all with no issues. If this truck starts having major issues at 150k when it’s time to give my son his first vehicle, then I honestly won’t buy another Ford and will go another route with my next truck. With the kind of money we’re throwing down for these trucks, I’m one and done. I realize things happen, but when I spend 37k on a midsized truck, I expect it to last plain and simple. That’s not chump change to us working class. I don’t need this truck to make 400k, but there is no way a 2022 should be having major issues at 150k, especially with proper maintenance, prices/technology these days. I’ve been disappointed to see Ford delete a number of options from these truck to save a few dollars. I’ve owned this truck for a few months and while I really like it I do have a windshield recall, driveline shudder, and funky transmission shifting none of which I noticed on a 45 minute test drive. Windshield recall popped up after I purchased it. Hoping the transmission will smooth out a bit and driveline shudder I’m too tired to deal with at the moment. I’m gonna spend the money to upgrade the suspension a bit to my liking. Even with the quirks on the truck, if it lasts me and doesn’t leave me stranded, Ill be happy.

 

[Jason B]

The low speed shudder was probably like everyone else. From start up to 20-25 mph depending on acceleration. But I didn't like it. I have never had a truck or car with a shudder like that, and the Ranger should not have it either.
IMO, it is not a design or quality problem, it is the result of crossing the line and using cheap@ss parts in an effort to save a buck.

At 75mph I had a severe shake that could be felt throughout the truck. The faster I went the worse it got! Far worse than unbalanced tires. In fact, my first thought is that all four tires were severely out of balance or the tires were flat spotted... except that it felt like it was coming from right underneath me.

I have absolutely no regrets swapping out the driveshaft.

I find it curious that I have no takers for the Ford driveshaft. I offered it up for free!

-T

IMO, it is absolutely a design issue. You could spend $1000 and have a new 2-piece shaft made by a professional and you would probably still have the shutter and vibes. Otherwise, Tom Woods and others would offer an improved 2-piece, direct replacement shaft that wouldn't exhibit problems of Ford's 2 piece.

 

[Fitzmotor]

I hate to be the devils advocate here but those who dont want to hassle with measuring or shimming driveline angles, the one piece shaft may need a driveline angle adjustment as the centerline of the pinon should be lowered as it now should point towards the transfer case not the center support bearing, (actually a little lower) even if it doesn't vibrate you could not have enough working angle and end up brinelling a U joint.

https://www.machineservice.com/tech...re-guides/universal-joint-failure/brinelling/

I know.... I'm the guy always preaching about measuring and understanding vs throwing parts at a problem, so just look at it as it's just my 2 cents, only worth a penny.

 

[Shoran12]

IMO, it is absolutely a design issue. You could spend $1000 and have a new 2-piece shaft made by a professional and you would probably still have the shutter and vibes. Otherwise, Tom Woods and others would offer an improved 2-piece, direct replacement shaft that wouldn't exhibit problems of Ford's 2 piece.

It’s just weird to me that my only vibration is at exactly 10 mph and never happens when accelerating from a stop and turning at the same time. It also only happens 3/4 of the time depending on how I accelerate. I don’t plan on taking mine in since I’m changing out leaf springs anyways and the dealership would blame the issue on that I’m sure but I may end up buying the kit and doing the shimming myself. If I find myself done with tinkering on a new vehicle I’ll probably go to a one piece shaft and find a driveline shop to install so they can check angles and adjust whatever is necessary. Reason I bought a new vehicle was hopes that I wouldn’t have to mess with it for a long time other than maintenance. So much for that lol.

 

[TJC]

I hate to be the devils advocate here but those who dont want to hassle with measuring or shimming driveline angles, the one piece shaft may need a driveline angle adjustment as the centerline of the pinon should be lowered as it now should point towards the transfer case not the center support bearing, (actually a little lower) even if it doesn't vibrate you could not have enough working angle and end up brinelling a U joint.

https://www.machineservice.com/tech...re-guides/universal-joint-failure/brinelling/

I know.... I'm the guy always preaching about measuring and understanding vs throwing parts at a problem, so just look at it as it's just my 2 cents, only worth a penny.

I am heading out this week for another 600 mile trip. When I return I will check the angles and report back. I've got a Kline Digital Angle Gauge so it should be a quick and accurate check.

 

[Racket]

I've come across angled shims that go between the springs and axle with the sales pitch to correct geometry at the back. I don't know if it would apply here lift or no lift?

 

[upnorthranger]

Is the Tom Woods one piece driveshaft compatible with a Tremor? Not sure if Tremors have a specific driveshaft, etc compared to other trim levels.

 

[Dr3wDrop]

Is the Tom Woods one piece driveshaft compatible with a Tremor? Not sure if Tremors have a specific driveshaft, etc compared to other trim levels.

Negative

 

[Jason B]

Is the Tom Woods one piece driveshaft compatible with a Tremor? Not sure if Tremors have a specific driveshaft, etc compared to other trim levels.

Tremors use CV joints . other Rangers have U-joints, so the Tom Woods one piece wont work. I think Shawn at TW said they have no plans to design a one piece for the Tremor due to lack of interest.

 

[Dereku]

Tremors use CV joints . other Rangers have U-joints, so the Tom Woods one piece wont work. I think Shawn at TW said they have no plans to design a one piece for the Tremor due to lack of interest.

Probably because they do not experience the same vibration due to the design of a CV vs a u joint.

 

[upnorthranger]

Tremors use CV joints . other Rangers have U-joints, so the Tom Woods one piece wont work. I think Shawn at TW said they have no plans to design a one piece for the Tremor due to lack of interest.

Thanks. Asking because my driveshaft needs To be replaced. Covered under warranty but part is backordered with no ETA.

 

[Rod B]

Hi guys, Shawn Wood from Tom Wood’s here. I wanted to chime in on a couple things being discussed here and clear the air a bit.

• From a previous post: “I've been waiting for them to be in stock. Now that they have them they increased the price more than $100. With shipping it's probably $800. Screw'em. My local shop is a lot cheaper and no shipping cost.”. Yes, the price went up a bit more than was originally planned. This was because we decided on a 4” diameter tube instead of a 3.5” diameter and because the cost of the required spacer for the transfer case flange came in a little higher than expected. Frankly, I know we could charge $1,000 for these and people would pay it but the $699 price is fair. We pay the shipping, so that extra $100 you are mad about is awfully presumptuous. Get one locally, or not at all, I honestly don’t care.
• The genesis of the shaft we are offering was not me trying to create a shaft for a vehicle and then making up a problem to sell the shaft. It was multiple people contacting us, sort of desperate, for a solution to the drive shaft issues they are having with their trucks. If there wasn’t an inherent problem with the stock shafts in these trucks, it would be completely off our radar, and we’d never have developed a shaft for it. We create products to fix problems, we don’t create problems to sell products.
• Critical Speed: Whose critical speed calculations are we using? https://pstds.com/critical-speed-chart https://spicerparts.com/calculators/critical-speed-rpm-calculator http://www.wallaceracing.com/driveshaftspeed.php A few months back a trainer from Spicer was here giving us a presentation, among the things he talked about was critical speed. I asked him about how different materials affect critical speed and he did not know the answer. The critical speed calculator on their website does not specify. I do know however that Spicer only uses CREW tubing. We only use DOM tubing. I don’t know if that affects the results of the critical speed or not, but I would assume that it has some effect, as would the material and grade of steel. I think that there are too many variables to say that the critical speed is always X without knowing and calculating all the other factors. But critical speed is a concern, and that’s why we have info about it and a drive shaft RPM calculator on our website. If a guy thinks he needs to drive his truck 100 mph I really don’t want our drive shaft in that truck because I believe it does become unsafe.
• I know, I know, the engineers at Ford all have God-level intellects and never make mistakes. That’s why everything on every Ford vehicle always works perfectly. I’m of course being sarcastic. There are many, many forum threads focused on the issues that are caused by the stock shafts. Despite all the best engineering in the world something isn’t right. I like to think of predicting vibrations as predicting the weather. There’s lots of science that goes into it but sometimes it rains when it’s supposed to be sunny. Now are you going to grab an umbrella or just stand there and get rained on while saying “But it’s supposed to be sunny!”? Sure, the stock shafts in these trucks are supposed to work well, but sometimes they don’t. I’d rather they did and all the people who just spent $40K on a new truck didn’t need to worry about fixing anything. But the stock shafts often don’t work well. So here I am, the guy selling umbrellas.

Bottom line, we brought this shaft to the market at the request of multiple Ford Ranger owners. It was only made available after a long development process, in which we tested the design and made subtle adjustments along the way to ensure the best possible performance. If Ford engineers were infallible we wouldn’t be having this conversation, but we are having this conversation. There’s something just not right with the stock shafts in these trucks. We’re trying to make something better, not perfect, but more right.

Not that it would be worth it for me to drive out there….but I’m curious what you would charge to drive in for the pick up and install of the shaft. Is this a possibility?

 

[navsnipe]

Not that it would be worth it for me to drive out there….but I’m curious what you would charge to drive in for the pick up and install of the shaft. Is this a possibility?

Give them a call or email. They are very helpful.

 

[TOMDEE]

I see that Tom Woods is offering a one piece drive shaft. Thoughts?

Tom Woods One Piece Driveshaft

WHAT'S THE ADVANTAGE OF THE ONE PIECE OTHER THAN LESS UNIES TO REPLACE

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