Drive Shaft troubles

[00dawg]

My ranger is parked while I try to find a part for the drive shaft. It is a 88 XLT model with the extended cab and 2.9 L V6 2wd. I have had the truck for about 12 years and she still is a good truck. The problem I have is there is a piece of thick rubber that connects the rear flange of the transmission to the drive shaft. The transmission and front drive shaft both have flanges. There seems to be 6 bolts holding it together. Three go from the transmission to the rubber and 3 from the rubber to the drive shaft. All of the torgue of the engine is trasmitted through this rubber issolator.

I can not find this thick rubber issolator. I have checked with all the majior parts houses and they dont have it. The shafts they do have dont come with it from what I can tell. I have talked to a driveline shop in TX that says the they replace the output shaft of the transmission and put a yolk end on the drive shaft. I would rather not have to cut the shaft to replace a $10 piece of rubber. I have considered having an aluminum part made to match the two flanges and bolt it back together but it would probably need hardened steel inserts to keep the bolts from eating through the aluminum.

Does anyone know where I could locate a part? Is there an easier way to fix it other than cutting the shaft. Anyone else have this fail and how did you fix it.

Thanks
00dawg

 

[Rick]

Have you tried the bone yard, or are those too far gone?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Contact Torrie @ WWW.FastPartsNetwork.Com. Here is the contact us link from their website: http://www.fastpartsnetwork.com/content/view/23/34/. You could also send KBabiak a PM or an email. Here is his information: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175722. Try posting this in the parts wanted section too.

 

[Rick]

You think he can get them for a 20 year old truck? If he has them, let us know...

 

[BrooklynBay]

This link has a list of vendors which sell hard to get, and obsolete Ford parts: http://www.fmanet.com/obsoparts.htm. Try the first link in the list. It is Green sales company. I've purchased some parts from them a while ago when the local Ford dealers told me that the parts I needed for my 88 were obsolete.

 

[Rick]

I just added that link to our resources page. Good find.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I came across that link a few years ago when I was searching for some obsolete parts. Where is the resource page where you posted this link? I checked the link to the parts page on the home page, but I didn't see it listed there.

 

[00dawg]

Well thanks for the help guys but to no avail. The rubber isolator that came stock can not be bought anywhere and was never sold as a ford part. After checking with a few junk yards and then with some axle shops I even had a hard time finding a new slip yolk. So after talking with some other engineers here and off road enthusist I spent $10.28 in new bolts and fixed it. I decided to align the two flanges and use the metal spacers from the isolator and bolted them together. I put red lock tight on the nuts to keep them from backing off. So far after a few days I see no noticable change in twisting or how tight the joint is. I figured if the 3 bolts were hitting each other before after the rubber ripped then if they didnt shear then a nice tight joint with the 3 bolts should hold. I will keep a good eye on it. I dogged it pretty hard the first night to try and make it slip and I could not. Vibration is gone only a little around 55 but I never stay there long. My old engine dosent have the torque it used to so seems like its going to work.

Later
Dawg

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for the update. Did you take any pictures of the old part or of your finished set up?