Tom Woods Driveshaft ordered and installed!

[Dr. Zaius]

I'm happy to hear that the shaft worked well for you. You know something, your post came at a funny coincidental time. Just a few days ago I was talking to a colleague about how some new products are a hit and some are a dud but we just don't know for sure until we bring the product to market. I used these Ranger shafts as an example and was saying that we may soon pull the plug on this experiment. We're still going to wait a little while and see how well these perform for people on average but we've had a couple customers recently for whom the shaft did not fix their vibrations, bringing down the average success rate. Also, when we first developed these shafts it was after hearing from people and seeing forum threads which made me think that there was a significant problem with these trucks. I thought that the few people I talked to were just the tip of the iceberg. Now, after having the shaft available for some time, I am starting to think that the 20 or so people who I've seen/heard complain of drive shaft shudders might have just been a vocal minority, not the tip of any considerable iceberg. Either that or people still have a lot of hesitancy ordering a 1-piece replacement. The point being, we haven't sold as many as I thought and probably ordered way too much inventory of parts and had too many of the flange spacer/bushings made. This one might be a dud. From a business perspective that sucks, we certainly don't like to invest money and time into new products that just sit on the shelf. But then again there is no success without trying and with enough tries comes a few failures. But then I saw your post and how enthusiastic you are about the improvement that our drive shaft made in your Truck. From a non-economic perspective, of just helping people find a solution to a problem, this becomes a bit of a quality>quantity story for me. In which when it works it works very well and people are very happy with the results. This gives me hesitation about potentially pulling it from the market.

Well, I have to say that I have a solution for you.

The only thing those extra Ranger parts need is a Group Buy to get them released out into the wild ?

I was just commenting on how I couldn't really think of anything else that my Ranger needs.

Not that my truck needs the one piece DS, but a group buy would probably turn it into a want ?

Sponsored

 

[philanderer]

Well, I have to say that I have a solution for you.

The only thing those extra Ranger parts need is a Group Buy to get them released out into the wild ?

I was just commenting on how I couldn't really think of anything else that my Ranger needs.

Not that my truck needs the one piece DS, but a group buy would probably turn it into a want ?

i might be in. if it gets the price down enough

 

[navsnipe]

i might be in. if it gets the price down enough

I'm curious what you would think a reasonable price would be for a one-piece driveshaft.

 

[TJC]

I know! I know! $699 !!!

And worth every cent!

 

[Metalshift]

A custom shaft like TW's in Canada would cost around $1150 including tax. The TW shaft is a bargain for what you get with his shipping deal if you live in the USA.

 

[scotthagg]

I paid 600 at the dealer to replace the center bearing (yeah I know it would have been easy for me) but regardless, going this route seems well worth it.

 

[RedDakooter05]

Well this may be the cause of my shudder as well.


lmao.

 

[CO2Ranger]

Well this may be the cause of my shudder as well.


lmao.

Mine felt that gummy after about 15k miles. It's just going to keep destroying those bearings and you have to replace the whole driveshaft to swap bearings. The design is awful.

Chose to go 1-piece and haven't regretted it for a second. Plus I can grease the slip yoke with a grease gun so no clunk on start and stop (though I do wish there was some sort of boot on it because that sucker throws grease everywhere).

 

[RedDakooter05]

Mine felt that gummy after about 15k miles. It's just going to keep destroying those bearings and you have to replace the whole driveshaft to swap bearings. The design is awful.

Chose to go 1-piece and haven't regretted it for a second. Plus I can grease the slip yoke with a grease gun so no clunk on start and stop (though I do wish there was some sort of boot on it because that sucker throws grease everywhere).

8k on mine. I'll give it a little more time to thrash around some. Make sure the idiots at the dealer have "proof" of a failure.

in a perfect world I wouldn't mind keepig the old shaft setup and just experiment with support bearings as opposed to dropping $700 on a one piece.

 

[Rcmoneypit]

Had the TW one piece installed for about 2K miles now. No regrets, one of the best mods I have spent money on. Not only did it solve shudder on take off my truck has had since new, it eliminated small vibrations at higher speeds I thought were coming from larger tires. I highly recommend. Unless a new carrier bearing design comes out that isn't marshmallow soft, the OEM two piece will always flop around in the carrier bearing.

 

[Wytchdctr]

Trans dipstick is like 200 freaking dollars aftermarket... this is a freaking steal.

Now..

Driveshaft... or... dipstick and pan.

Looks around for wife to see if Ill survive ordering......... all of them. (I think she senses me doing something dumb on the computer...... . .. .. . crap)



Too bad they can't make a "Make Our Trans Great Again" bundle with the dipstick you can check without needing a burn unit, a trans pan to replace that plastic crap / add some capacity, and a single-piece driveshaft.


MOTGA!


Mine started the thumping at a stop recently. A bit random for now.. but.... hoooray. Something else to be annoying. If anything Ill stop being lazy and grease it - but this tread has me thinking about going a bit overboard on the fix. Not worried about the critical speed thing because even with the limiter gone I'm not taking this thing to 200mph.

 

[DaveT]

I can't figure this out. I see so many people making changes their driveshaft. I bought a 2023 Tremor in January. It has been 100% smooth running since day one. Just like all my F-150s before. Is it just that some Rangers have shaft problems, or maybe Tremors don't have problems. As I say, I can't figure this out. I'm sure not going to spend a ton of money on a new drive shaft, when the one I have is smooth as glass.

 

[TJC]

I can't figure this out. I see so many people making changes their driveshaft. I bought a 2023 Tremor in January. It has been 100% smooth running since day one. Just like all my F-150s before. Is it just that some Rangers have shaft problems, or maybe Tremors don't have problems. As I say, I can't figure this out. I'm sure not going to spend a ton of money on a new drive shaft, when the one I have is smooth as glass.

If your truck is smooth running you have nothing to figure out.

Count yourself lucky!

None of us who spent the $$ on a 1 piece Drive Shaft wanted to. I have lots of places I could have used those $$. But driving down the road in a "vibrating BarcaLounger" is not what I had anticipated when I purchased my 2020 Ranger!

-T

 

[Dr. Zaius]

I can't figure this out. I see so many people making changes their driveshaft. I bought a 2023 Tremor in January. It has been 100% smooth running since day one. Just like all my F-150s before. Is it just that some Rangers have shaft problems, or maybe Tremors don't have problems. As I say, I can't figure this out. I'm sure not going to spend a ton of money on a new drive shaft, when the one I have is smooth as glass.

It's just variations in production.

Some have it, some don't.

Mine doesn't have it either.

But if I ever do get the driveshaft vibrations, I'll be doing the one-piece upgrade.

 

[TJC]

Trans dipstick is like 200 freaking dollars aftermarket... this is a freaking steal.

Now..

Driveshaft... or... dipstick and pan.

Looks around for wife to see if Ill survive ordering......... all of them. (I think she senses me doing something dumb on the computer...... . .. .. . crap)

Too bad they can't make a "Make Our Trans Great Again" bundle with the dipstick you can check without needing a burn unit, a trans pan to replace that plastic crap / add some capacity, and a single-piece driveshaft.

MOTGA!

Mine started the thumping at a stop recently. A bit random for now.. but.... hoooray. Something else to be annoying. If anything Ill stop being lazy and grease it - but this tread has me thinking about going a bit overboard on the fix. Not worried about the critical speed thing because even with the limiter gone I'm not taking this thing to 200mph.

My Driveshaft is installed.... Things on that front are much better.

My pan and dipstick are going in shortly (in the next month or so). Purchased them well before the recent price increases. 18K miles on my Ranger. I notice more transmission issues in the warmer summer months. During winter it is very smooth. I opted for the deep pan (1.75 quarts greater capacity) as it has been reported to lower fluid temps by a little over 10 degrees. My transmission filter from Rock Auto arrives today.

So, I have now spent a tad over $1K on a new truck that should not have left the plant with these problems. My 2005 Ranger certainly didn't need these types of upgrades.

But it is what it is....

Sponsored