Should I replace missing front drive shaft?

[sulaco83]

Somehow I overlooked the fact that the 98 5.0 AWD I just bought is missing the front drive shaft. Figured it out pretty quick after she rolled away while I was in the diner having lunch.

Half the reason I bought the thing for was to drive in the snow and off road. Now I would be willing to bite the bullet to try to replace the shaft, but I have no idea why it was taken off in the first place.

Is there any way to know if the transfer case or the front differential are bad before I start throwing money away?

I saw the other thread with some people that have removed them, but I didn't see anyone who had tried to put a new one in.

 

[jremington59]

Supposedly if it creeps it's still working properly. But who knows. I think the main reason people leave them out is the cost. When mine crapped out I went to Ford and got a 800 dollar quote for a new one, lol. If your local used parts/junkyard may have one. If you want it for snow you better put one back on. And they are good in the snow.

 

[delexploder]

Not really, if you put the front shaft in and your t-case is bad its not hard to replace and im sure you can find one and I have a few if you cant

 

[sulaco83]

A few extra transfer cases? I will try to find a shaft but if that doesn't do the trick I will definitely let you know!

 

[imp]

Supposedly if it creeps it's still working properly. But who knows. I think the main reason people leave them out is the cost. When mine crapped out I went to Ford and got a 800 dollar quote for a new one, lol. If your local used parts/junkyard may have one. If you want it for snow you better put one back on. And they are good in the snow.

Missing something here: If vehicle creeps in Park, with the front D.S. remmoved, this tells you NOTHING about the condition of the transfer case, does it? imp

 

[delexploder]

No because if you remove it on a good case it will creep downhill in park, gotta put in a driveshaft and see what happens, and yes I have a few ....of just about everything.

 

[jremington59]

If you can't find someone to build you a front shaft let me know and I'll see if I can find the receipt. I think he charged 240 delivered.

 

[jremington59]

Missing something here: If vehicle creeps in Park, with the front D.S. remmoved, this tells you NOTHING about the condition of the transfer case, does it? imp

Doesn't the viscous coupler also shift power when the rear wheels start spinning?

 

[Attacking Mid]

You can order one from Advance Auto Parts for about $200. You can also find a 30% coupon code (max savings of $50) to bring the cost down to about $150. The website indicates they're only available for "ship to home", so you can't just run to the store and get it.

I just ordered one after getting the joints and planning to rebuild my existing shaft - only to discover Midas had apparently put the wrong (longer) shaft on it for the previous owner. The shaft only lasted about 37K miles, and I'm surprised it worked for that long. Hopefully it didn't cause any other damage by having the long shaft in there for that length of time. It was a bear to get the shaft out due to being nearly an inch too long for the vehicle.

AA lists two shafts - you need the shorter one for a 98 5.0 AWD (I have the same vehicle).

AM.

Edit - the Advance Auto shaft didn't work out as hoped. It's a poor quality Chinese import shaft. The U-joint had to be replaced immediately due to poor packaging, and the CV boot failed within 30 days which fried the joint. AA was very accommodating in accepting the return for refund. I now have on order an OEM shaft from automotivepartsunlimiteddotcom.

 

[bill06447]

If you go to eBay stores there is a rebuilder, detroitaxle, has rebuilt Explorer shafts for $90 net. Sweet deal considering that the CV joint itself will run you $80 retail. Return core shipping label is included. They have both 22" and 23" shafts available. Even if you're shaft is missing $140 isn't a bad price. I haven't purchased from them yet but they seem to do a big business and majority of the few complaints listed appear to be customer error related (isn't that a surprise :/ )

Bill

 

[sulaco83]

The guy I bought if from actually returned my phone call (surprisingly). He said doesn't seem too interested in giving me my money back but is going to call a mechanic today to ask about getting it fixed. I am keeping my fingers crossed he will try to do the right thing but my guess is that when he hears an estimate that will be the last I hear from him!

Thanks Bill for the tip on the ebay guy... that does seem like a nice deal on the shaft especially since it includes the CV joint. I am just really hoping the problem isn't with the TC or the front diff!

 

[delexploder]

If you were a little closer id say come over and I would let you pop in one of my spare shafts so you can see what you need, if you even need anything other than the shaft,

 

[sulaco83]

I want to pull the trigger on one of these remanufactured drive shafts. Seems like I'm going to be missing some minor parts though. I'm not exactly sure what I need because they were missing to begin with. First off, I need bolts for the joints. Anyone know what size? Also I guess there are some sort of caps that go over the u-joint? Where can I get those??

 

[imp]

Doesn't the viscous coupler also shift power when the rear wheels start spinning?

The viscous coupling delivers power only to the front driveshaft, at all times. The "power split" front to rear depends on how much difference exists in wheel speed between front and rear. On hard pavement with all wheels turning equal speeds, the power sent to the front wheels is a little less than that to rear. The difference shows up as heat generated in the coupling, just like in a torque converter.

Look at it this way: A 2WD with rear wheels driving uses all the power necessary to keep the vicle moving delivered to the rear axles. Same thing is true for a 2WD with front wheels doing all the driving. So, logically, if both ends are driving, each SHOULD need 1/2 of the total power needed. Suspension and deflection of mounting parts makes it not quite exactly so, since rear wheels PUSH the vehicle forward, and front wheels Pull it forward. Deflections in suspension parts explain why, standing still, front wheels of front-wheel drive vehicles are usually pointed slightly outward from one another, i.e. "toe-out". As the tires bite into the pavement, driving forces bend the suspension ever so slightly, pulling the wheels toward one-another, thus causing a slight "toe-in" while driving. imp

 

[delexploder]

In the awd full time case it acts more like a backwards limited slip, its locked until it gets in a bind then slips instead of letting the bind break something

 

[sulaco83]

So theoretically if the front connector of the TC is turning when it is in drive with the brakes applied does that mean the VC is probably working okay?

 

[delexploder]

Its a good sign but you won't know till you put it all under load.

 

[sulaco83]

In case anyone was still interested, I wanted to let you know that putting in a new front shaft seems to have done the trick. Judging by the grease slung in a circle around the area of the CV, I'm pretty sure the old boot must have gone bad and they just never replaced it. Got a rebuilt one from detroitaxle on ebay for $149. Great deal but for some reason they left the old u joint connected minus 2 of the caps and then painted over the clips so it was a **** to get off. Seemed sort of odd they didn't just take it off or include a complete joint. Anyway, it's done now so thanks for everyone's help

 

[delexploder]

Awesome

 

[sulaco83]

Looks like the problem isn't solved after all! AAA just had to give me a tow back home. I was driving down the highway when the truck started shaking violently. I pulled over to the shoulder to see that there was smoke coming out of the CV.

Now I guess the question is was it a problem with the remanufactured driveshaft or could it have to do with the transfer case? One thing I did notice that seemed strange but could be normal is that the CV was at a slight angle to the shaft. Is that whole assembly supposed to be perfectly straight under there?