I went out today and installed the replacement 8.8 with 3.73's and I also installed the CHE rear control arms.I have yet to drive the car,and pics will be posted here later.As soon as I put the old diff. in the garage and shut the door,it started a light rain.I got it done just in the nick of time.I'll test drive the Sport after while and also post how it feels.I've had 3.55's for a long time,and I've been wondering if 3.73's will be that much of a difference over them.One way to find out.I also have been wondering the difference the car will feel with the tubular control arms over factory.
those che's make the car feel really stiff. your gonna love them
You may notice some difference in the rpm, and first gear. Now is the vibe gone?
I don't know if there's any difference yet.I haven't driven it yet.I will this evening and let you guys know.
Keep the rubber side down vinnie! lol. Have fun though.
No problem with that !!! It's no fun when the tires are facing the sky.I know that from experience.
your killing us with suspense go drive it already!!! lol
alright,give me a few minutes.I'll be back with a report................
waiting patiently :D:D
O.K.,I went for a drive....I can tell a little difference as far as the gears go.Pulls a little harder from :"Go". The nose of the car comes up real nice. The rear of the car does feel a little more stiff than before.I like it.The CHE's were well worth the swap,and really worth the cost since I got them new on Ebay for a song (not litterally...I didn't sing until they showed up at the door.LOL)
Bad part...I STILL have that friggin' vibration.May be my busted A$$ motor mount.If it stops raining,I'll swap it out tomorrow and see.I feel it through the drive line,even when I threw it in neutral (around 60 or so).May be the drive shaft.I'll turn it half a turn and see if that helps as well.It is time for an aluminum shaft.
Even with the vibration,the Sport is still awesome.
I knew you would like the CHE's they are an awesome addition I cant wait to feel what a 5.0 and 373's are like. Good Job Vinnie :D
Thanks a lot. I'm having aches in my arms.It's been a while since I got to do some serious wrenching,and I'm out of practice.I did get the work done in 3 1/2 hours.Not too bad.LOL.
thats about my average for differential swaps.
I was in no hurry,just enjoying the 71 degree winter weather and sunshine.It did start raining literally the minute I was done putting things away.I did good.I'm REALLY hoping the busted motor mount is what's causing my vibration.Oh well,nothing I can do about it tonight,so,off for more forum festivities !!!
I bet you still didn't open the box of air tools.... did ya. :D
I'd like to pass on that question at this time,but thank you for asking,and we appreciate you and those like you who ask pertinent questions that i refuse to answer due to the fact that the answers will probably incriminate me.
LOL.. so what your saying is...... I'll be quite happy with everything I've done to my car in the last 2 years?
EXACTLY !!!! See you DO understand.
Well,I removed the driver side header,lifted the engine a few inches and swapped the motor mount.Tomorrow I'll see if the vibration is less than it was.If not,I'll unbolt and turn the driveshaft 1/2 turn and see what happens.Either way,the mount was swapped and that's one more task covered.I need to check the tranny mount as well.I forgot to do that.
Well at least you know it's not a bent axle:hick:
I have no idea what it is.Here shortly,I'm going to give the driveshaft a turn and go from there.There's nowhere around that can balance a driveshaft,so,I'll have to wait to tend to that.At that time,I'll get a Crown Vic driveshaft and have it shortened and balanced.For now,I'm scratching my head and wondering.
Keep after it, youll get it eventually. Mine has the same thing.
Im assuming the motor mount didnt fix it??
You would be assuming correctly.Other than turning the driveshaft,I have yet to find another answer.I've changed the following......
driveshaft
u-joints
tranny
harmonic balancer
axles
differential
front and rear suspension
wheels and tires
I think I'll go have the rear tires re-balanced today after I turn the driveshaft 180 degrees..Can't hurt.
Vinnie,
Have you checked the drivetrain angles? Since you've replaced so many parts, I'm wondering if something isn't square. Is there a reputable shop there that can measure body and pinion angles? Maybe the car got hit and repaired before you bought it, or something else that would cause a misalignment (bushings mounted upside down/backwards)?
i had a 4 wheel alignment twice after suspension work,no change.The car has never been wrecked.That's why I bought it.I don't know what bushings it could be,all of the new ones are in the tubular control arms.I'm wondering if the driveshaft needs that ring on it that it came with.I may take the Sport to a shop and have them check it for me.I'll give myself a couple of more days of labor on it to figure it out.I'll swap the u-joints on the other driveshaft and see what happens again.It does this after 55 mph and up,in or out of any gear.
Ever had the d/s balanced?
No.I know I need to,BUT,there's nowhere around that does that.My plan,is to get a Crown Vic cop car aluminum driveshaft and have it shortened and balanced up in Oklahoma City (about two hours from me) and install it.It can't hurt,and it will probably still be better than what i have.
Cowl shake??, .... I dunno.
I'll figure it out eventually.Once I get the funds to get the parts I need for other things,I'll take it to a guy I know who specializes in Fox Stangs and owns a big auto mechanic shop and let him give me his opinion.I HOPE it's not the T-5.
A shot in the dark, but you've chased your tail pretty hard so far:
I had a driveline vibration caused by an improper angle of engine in relation to the transmission. The engine sat low on in the K-member, tilting the tail shaft of the trans up, causing an improper angle on the driveshaft. Raised the engine and that took care of it.
I had the driveshaft balanced twice before I checked the angles.
What about the differential bearings,axle and carrier?
Thunderjet302 had a bent axle once, he said he had a vibration from it...might look into that, too.
Just a thought, We all lower are cars, Lowering it is not changing the height of anything except the body, The engine is still in the same spot, and tranny. unless the k frame was changed. I have the same vibe, not serious, but there. I put it toward stiffining the body up. It is annoying because you think it shouldn't do it.
I have CW mounts, they give a little vibe by themselves. Your best bet is to get the driveline balanced, then go from there. I haven't done that yet because I use the hose clamp trick for now and it made a big difference. I had the vibe with the AOD and the t-5, You need to eliminate the shaft as a problem, since your already missing parts of it.
I'm swapping the u-joints in the extra shaft and reinstalling it.I'll grab a big clamp while I'm there.
How many do you plan on changing? If there not rusted or loose don't waste your time, seriously.
They are a little loose.It won't take 30 minutes from start to finish (other than getting the u-joints).I got nothing to lose.
Hey Kitz,respond to the drive train section on vibration.This thread needs to be closed.It's getting technical in a non tech area.
Oh moderators....close this please.Lock it.
Leave it open, just in case.
O.K.,if Kitz says so.LOL.
Does not pinion angle change when lowering a vehicle?
Vinnie, does it vibe if you coast? (not in gear)
Yeah I had a bent passenger side axle shaft. I have no idea how that happened either. It vibrated like crazy above 65 mph and the axle was ever so barely bent. It was a beotch to get out too. That thing was stuck in the bearing because it was bent.
My axles slide in or out of the differential easily.I'll check the old ones first.The replacement axles had no issues in or out either.Still,maybe there's a small bend,but what are the ods of bent axles in two diffs?
Yes,once the vibration starts at around 55,it vibrates in any gear,neutral,it doesn't matter....just over 55mph.
Odds can be pretty good if it's the rear pass side. A lot of people clip curbs by accident when turning corners. I do it all the time in my van. by accident of course.
Thunderjet's was also the pass. side
Just for fun take the driver's side axle from the other rear and swap it into the passenger side rear on the car. See if it still vibrates.
Too late for now to change axles......I got off work at 3:00 today,went to the store to get medicine for Gayle,and when I got home,I swapped the 3.55 8.8 back into the Sport using the axles from the 3.73 rear.I'll test it tomorrow.It will probably still vibrate,but at least I could do 70-75 before it started with the 3.55's.If the vibration starts around 70 with this diff,I'm starting to think that the drive shaft need balanced,or,I just need to get the aluminum shaft shortened and balanced asap.We'll see what happens tomorrow.
I have been doing a LOT of thinking about this,and I vaguely remember someone saying when he went from 2.73 gears to 3.73's,the driveshaft gave him issues,and when he swapped it out with a new one,all of the vibrations were gone.I'm finding it hard to believe that two diffs from nice cars and two drive shafts from good cars are all bad.I believe it's either the driveshaft doesn't balance out good with the lower gears,or,the bushing in the T-5 tail shaft.
With the T-5 though,I'm starting to doubt there's an issue,because,it was doing fine until 70 to 75 with the 3.55 rear,and now,with the 3.73's,the vibration is starting at 50-55 mph.I'm going to put $5.00 on the driveshaft needing worked or replaced.
why would the DS vibrate diff in 2 rears if the DS is the same.. then it would point to the rears vibrating at diff speeds, and not the DS.. does this make any sense?
I was thinking maybe the difference in the gears and the speeds that the driveshaft is spinning.With the 3.73's,the D.S is spinning faster.....
....Now,everything I'm talking about is merely a hopeful guess.I'm going to call a driveshaft place in Oklahoma City Monday morning (I'm glad I took an OKC phone book from the hospital when I was visiting my grandmother last year.LOL.).I'll ask them what they think about the matter and explain the gearing and all and hopefully they can fix me up.....for a decent price.I think it's about $90.00 to shorten and balance an aluminum D.S.
Well, you were going to do it anyway. If it still vibrates..... I would swap the pass side DS
I think I'm done until I get the driveshaft for the Sport,that may answer a lot of friggin' questions.I really don't care what the problem is as long as I know what it is.It's the NOT knowing that i hate.
the drive shaft speed isnt going to change with a different gear ratio in the rear. your tires arent turning the driveshaft. its the other way around.
i cant believe you took the time to swap complete rearends, rather than drive to the nearest driveshaft shop and have them rebalance it.
The nearest driveshaft shop is about two hours away,and I don't have the time to leave for Oklahoma City any time real soon.It only took a little over an hour and a half to swap them.No big deal.It's not a huge job.Also,I'm not having the stock steel drive shaft re-balanced,I'm going to an aluminum driveshaft.If I had a shop closer to handle the D.S,that would've been great. "ABC Driveshaft",a business here in town will make or shorten a steel driveshaft for a car,but,they don't balance them (what's the point then?).The owner siad if the driveshaft is straight,it shouldn't need balanced.I disagree with that.So,Oklahoma City is my closest option unless I can locate another place.One way or another,I'll have an answer Monday about the driveshaft.
Only one place within 300 Miles up here will do it, and they want $143. Just FYI.
My friend had an Explorer aluminum drive shaft shortened and balanced (same place I'll go) for $86.00 in and out,and his has been great,and they did really nice work.There are u-joints that can adapt the stock yoke and driveshaft end to the bigger Crown Vic shaft.It's just getting the time to make the trip.Hopefully soon.