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4 Wheel Drive/SUVs/2001 ford f150 4x4 rear drive shaft yoke

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Expert: - 12/18/2009


Question
I have a 2001 f150 xlt 5.4L extended cab off road 4x4. I recently was changing out two of my u-joints on the rear driveshaft and needed to put some heat on them to get them out. I unknowingly melted a gasket or seal that was on a collar on the drive shaft yoke. I am assuming this collar was for dampening or ballancing. Long story short, I inadvertantly broke the collar off. After some research, I couldn't find an independant part number on this piece, let alone, a part number on the yoke itself (independant of an entire shaft assembly). For some reason I was quoted roughly $1,600 for the entire assembly. Needless to say I took my chances and put in the new u-joints and reinstalled  the shaft. I drove the vehicle up to 70mph and it has been asymptomatic. Questions: is this collar absolutely necessary and what was its true purpose? Question: can I have the shaft ballanced in lieu the collar? And finally, could I purchase only the shaft yoke in the market place.

Answer
Brad,

That's some drive shaft if you were quoted $1,600.  I would contact some local drive line shops and see what they would charge to replace the yoke.  This collar and seal is usually used to hold grease for the slip spline.

Depending on which model you have, there are a couple of different drive lines, such as a double drive line or single.

You might consider purchasing a repair manual for the truck from your local auto parts store.  They cost around $20 and are great for any repair or trouble shooting you may want to do.  It should, also show an exploded picture of the drive line and the from that you can determine the purpose of the collar on your model.

Carl

4 Wheel Drive/SUVs

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Carl Brandt

Expertise

Will discuss suspensions, lifts, lockers along with tire suggestions. Trail ratings and possible requirements needed for specific type of trails. Safety equipment and what you should carry with you. Certified off-road instructor. I am not a mechanic, and 4-Wheeling is a hobby, so if I can't answer a technical question it is due to my mechanical knowledge being related to vehicles that I have owned, or have worked on. I do not have manuals on all vehicles.

Experience

40 plus years of 4 wheeling in a variety of vehicles. At the present time, my major off-road rig is a 94 Jeep Wrangler with a spring over and a 1 1/2" suspension lift. This gives me a total lift of 7" or so. I have lockers front and rear. I have removed the track bars, and sway bar for maximum articulation. I am running a stock 2.5 ltr 4 cylinder with a Jacobs ignition along with a cold air high flow filter. It has 4.56:1 gears with a Dodge NV4500 transmission along with a 3.8:1 Atlas II transfer case. This gives me a final ratio of 105:1 in low gear/low range. Other vehicles I own, are a 96 Ford F-250 with a 6" lift, posi rear end, 36" Hummer tires, 5 speed with a fuel injected 460 ci engine, an 87 Samurai with an 8" lift, Ford 9" rear end with a spool, Chevy Dana 44 front end with an electric locker, 5.88 gears, 16% reduction in high range and a 6.5:1 low range with 35" Baja Claws, and a stock 2003 Grand Cherokee Overland. Trails I have run are the Rubicon (10 times), Dusey Ershim, Fordyce Creek trail, McGrew trail, several trails in Moab, Utah along with local monthly runs.

Organizations
Lost Coast 4x4's Cal 4-Wheel Corva UFWDA Blue Ribbon Coalition

Education/Credentials
Certified off-road instructor - Certificates in engineering/electronics

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