Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

Technical => Drivetrain Tech => Topic started by: Nate on July 16, 2005, 02:54:34 PM

Title: new driveshaft aluminum
Post by: Nate on July 16, 2005, 02:54:34 PM
ok, so... as to the airostars what year and how much to shorten with t-5? anybody got pix, mine finaly went and im look'n for a under 200$ sollution.
Title: Re: new driveshaft aluminum
Post by: Haystack on July 16, 2005, 02:55:30 PM
I thought the ideal cars were later crown vics.... I would think that they would be slightly better.
Title: Re: new driveshaft aluminum
Post by: 30thtbird on July 16, 2005, 05:23:23 PM
during my trip to the junkyard today,my brother and i saw an aluminum driveshaft lying beside a lincoln towncar.that sucker was a monster!must have been 5 or 6 inches across.made the damper an the front yoke look small.we started looking under arostars, but didnt seem to be able to find an aluminum shaft.probably our luck that they were all too early to have them.
Title: Re: new driveshaft aluminum
Post by: slamedcat on July 16, 2005, 05:29:47 PM
Quote from: Manson
ok, so... as to the airostars what year and how much to shorten with t-5? anybody got pix, mine finaly went and im look'n for a under 200$ sollution.


My 95 Aerostar has an aluminum drive shaft. Yes it is huge, but it is also hollow. As for how long I would the shop measure it twice and have them cut it once.
Title: Re: new driveshaft aluminum
Post by: Thunder Chicken on July 16, 2005, 11:16:28 PM
They're all hollow. A solid shaft wouldn't be as strong (unless it was about 4" in diameter, in which case, aluminum or not, it would weigh a ton)
Title: Re: new driveshaft aluminum
Post by: Nate on July 17, 2005, 01:25:14 PM
just did some research, i can also get one off a early 90s ranger long bed. their sopposed to be 55" and we need 48-52" apairently. so im going to look this thursday at my junkyards...
Title: Re: new driveshaft aluminum
Post by: Chuck W on July 18, 2005, 12:27:21 PM
IIRC the "proper" length of the Tbird d/s is 47" u-to-u. 
With the Ranger one, you may need a different rear yoke and/or a conversion u-joint depending on the .

On my Ranger, when I installed the 2001 aluminum d/s, I needed a conversion u-joint to adapt to the smaller  needed to mate to the 7.5 (which is the same  as needed for a Tbird(used an old TBird  actually).

On my Scorpio, I used the Aerostar d/s in it.  It had the proper  to mate to the 7.5/8.8 diff. in the TBirds/ Mustangs.
Title: Re: new driveshaft aluminum
Post by: Nate on July 18, 2005, 06:44:55 PM
so what your saying chuck is that the ranger one will probley need a different rear yoke or an adapter, and the aero star one will needs special u joints, different size than ours,...  im shooting for ease of instalation.  i guess the aerostar would be my best bet then without haveing a adapter. im going to have to look into this more.