'92 4WD Main Driveline Design Flaws (long)
theropod
07-20-2009, 05:23 PM
Hi All.
I have owned my '92 Ranger 4WD 2.3 for several years and the driveline has been a weak spot for most of that time. The truck has 227K and runs great, but the driveline has been replaced twice and rebuilt twice.
The main problem has been the double cardan U joint/centering assembly that connected directly to the transfer case. Other failures have been centered around the slip joint. I took special care to make sure these are lubed well and often, but they kept failing.
The latest failure put me over the top with anger. I can't afford a new truck and this repeated failure had me at wits end. Now these drivelines are not available from Ford, and they are getting almost impossible to find at salvage yards. This lead me to talk to an older man that has built drive shafts for all sorts of cars and trucks.
He told me to find a slip joint with the same U joint size yoke and not to worry about the double cardan, and I did this. He built me a new drive line around this used, but tight, slip joint. He turned the slip joint from its normal position at the rear of the drive shaft to the front, and eliminated the double cardan unit entirely.
He reasoned that the slip joint facing as Ford had it was subject to having rain and dirt driven into the female portion and reversed this issue would go away. Also he used a new tube to lengthen the driveline by the same amount as the double cardan occupied minus the single U joint yoke, which resides at the differential end.
I have tested this setup with 150 gallon load of water and at 75 MPH empty. I have traversed rough roads to make sure the slip joint and single U joints would function as planned. There are no signs of binding or noise, and is completely vibration free. So anyone experiencing these sosrts of issues with this insane driveline setup should contact a good shop to have these alterations done.
Roger Stephenson
NC Arkansas
I have owned my '92 Ranger 4WD 2.3 for several years and the driveline has been a weak spot for most of that time. The truck has 227K and runs great, but the driveline has been replaced twice and rebuilt twice.
The main problem has been the double cardan U joint/centering assembly that connected directly to the transfer case. Other failures have been centered around the slip joint. I took special care to make sure these are lubed well and often, but they kept failing.
The latest failure put me over the top with anger. I can't afford a new truck and this repeated failure had me at wits end. Now these drivelines are not available from Ford, and they are getting almost impossible to find at salvage yards. This lead me to talk to an older man that has built drive shafts for all sorts of cars and trucks.
He told me to find a slip joint with the same U joint size yoke and not to worry about the double cardan, and I did this. He built me a new drive line around this used, but tight, slip joint. He turned the slip joint from its normal position at the rear of the drive shaft to the front, and eliminated the double cardan unit entirely.
He reasoned that the slip joint facing as Ford had it was subject to having rain and dirt driven into the female portion and reversed this issue would go away. Also he used a new tube to lengthen the driveline by the same amount as the double cardan occupied minus the single U joint yoke, which resides at the differential end.
I have tested this setup with 150 gallon load of water and at 75 MPH empty. I have traversed rough roads to make sure the slip joint and single U joints would function as planned. There are no signs of binding or noise, and is completely vibration free. So anyone experiencing these sosrts of issues with this insane driveline setup should contact a good shop to have these alterations done.
Roger Stephenson
NC Arkansas
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