Resolution to Ranger drive shaft, take off, slow down vibrations/shudder.
If this can help one person, then my job is done as I have tried everything that everyone would have tried please the rest. This is long and drawn out but here to help those that continue to be annoyed.
Each vehicle has its own characteristics, and many have different ride heights. No one fix will always work on another vehicle.
Mainly felt once the ride height has changed, this will change the angles of the universal joints. Some will never show symptoms, some can be fixed with centre bearing spacers (generally the same as spinning centre bearing 180 degrees, but a pain to do with a long-range tank) and some will require centre bearing spacers and castor wedges to correct the pinion angle.
Early PX2 Rangers tended to be the worst and Ford did release a kit for the PX3 to help resolve the issue although it is only a castor wedge kit with varying degree wedges.
My model is an Oct. 2015 and exhibited the behaviour as soon as a lift was done, it may have even had a slight feel before it was lifted.
6 years later and it is resolved 100% after I had numerous revisions of drive shafts built to my specifications.
Trails over the years... Some changes would give temporary relieve like a Panadol but always come back.
Centre bearing spacers, all heights checked. FAIL.
Centre bearing spacers and castor wedges. FAIL.
Varying degree of tyre pressures. FAIL.
Varying degree of compression on the rear shock absorbers. FAIL.
Measurements take with a digital angle device.
Specific software to calculate what degrees a 2 piece shaft angles should be. Correct again. FAIL.
Custom one-piece tail shaft with universal joint on each end, 3-degree castor wedges, ran this 10k through the desert in January. Worked well but was resonating so FAIL.
Custom one-piece tail shaft with universal joint on one end and double carden on the other, 3-degree castor wedges. Resonating was worse, double carden is not the best solution, so FAIL.
Last week I decided on a new build.
Back to an original 2-piece drive shaft and fit a CV to replace the front universal joint (No it cannot be done to replace the centre bearing UJ). Custom transfer case flange grafted from a Ranger spline and a Nissan GTR flange, 3-degree pinion wedges left in place. Centre bearing UJ and pinon angles were 100% equal, so I got lucky. (SUCCESS)
Have driven 100km today from 40km side streets to VMAX, somewhere, and it is smoother than the first day I drove it. Every shudder, vibration is gone, this issue is 100% resolved.
Some will use 2 piece with a double carden but feedback was that some still had a slight issue even after it was done. Get rid of the one universal joint with a CV and you only have 2 universal joints to work with, get the angles the same and live in peace.
For me I had enough parts to play with, for those that want to go with it, drop the shaft and remove the transfer case flange, put it in high 4 for a few days and drop the parts off at GJ Drivelines in Keysborough. They will need a head up first to get a CV flange to graft. They have been with me the whole time over this project and although rolling their eyes at times, built what I spec'd without question. Gave an update to them today so they are aware of the outcome and what needs to be done for a 100% fix.
I like resolutions and not half arse jobs at the end of the day, cost was not an issue a resolution was the issue.
I have a single piece with double carden if someone wants to purchase. Although it resonated on my vehicle it may not on yours.
Enjoy
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