F150 driveshaft replacement

[terry274]

I have a 2005 Ford F150, 144'' wheelbase. (8 foot bed) The truck has a severe shake over a wide range of speed, between 35 and 70 mph. After ruling out the tires I discovered the two piece drive shaft has a center support with a rubber mount surrounding the bearing. The rubber has collapsed, allowing the shaft to move around. No problem I thought, just need to replace the center support.
Then things went bad. Very bad. The drive shaft in not serviceable, it must be replaced as a complete unit. The cost from a dealer is over $1,000. Yes one thousand dollars. I can get one built by a drive line shop for $700, shipped. I intend to call a local shop Monday morning and see what they can do.
Has anyone else been through this? Why would Ford build the truck so that the entire drive shaft has to be replaced, rather than the individual parts?
Does anyone have a recommendation? I live in middle TN, near Nashville.
Thanks,
Terry

 

[NHGUY]

Supposibly the 2004-Up Ford u joints are not replaceable,but Ford offers a special "service kit" in order to replace them.Just buying aftermarket u joints wont do it. What is going to happen when these make it to 20 years old (if they do) and Ford no longer supports parts for them? Planned obsolecence is getting worse,with all the electronics and non serviceable parts.Sure ensures future sales for the manufacturer,but really,if someone gets burnt by a brand...will they go back for more? Thats a sure way to kill owner loyalty.

 

[97f150]

I have a 2005 F150, supercrew shortbed with the 2 piece brain flatulence Ford had in mind for a drive shaft. Google Tom Woods drive shafts. I read about them on one of the Ford sites I frequent a couple years ago and they come highly recommended. I priced one out and it came to about $500 or so with free shipping, and these are serviceable. I will check into them when the time comes for my truck.

 

[yonyon]

This isn't something that's really going to be a problem when Ford decides to obsolete the part. By the time they do that there will be at least one aftermarket alternative.

 

[Trav]

Ford isn't the first and only one to do this sort of thing.
As someone posted maybe Ford has a service kit for it. PM bdcardinal he is a pro Ford parts man, maybe he knows something.

 

[bubbatime]

These got to be cheap at a junkyard, no?

 

[eljefino]

I was looking at a 1987 Volvo 240 for a daily driver and the seller was a little lot crazy. He ranted about the new "ford volvos" and how if you need a driveshaft for one of THOSE the U-joints are part of the shaft, and $1000. He gleefully reported that joints for a 240 are about twelve bucks.

 

[Bluestream]

Originally Posted By: terry274
Why would Ford build the truck so that the entire drive shaft has to be replaced, rather than the individual parts?
Terry

one answer comes to mind:$$$$$$

You can find a used one I am sure, also a good driveline shop would be ablr to rebuild the one you have,,,

 

[bdcardinal]

I have sold a few of those driveshafts. Most have been under warranty, because when it is customer pay the customer usually has to have CPR done after they are quoted. If you PM me your VIN I can look and see if there is a service kit for your specific application. Sometimes you can look up the components the shaft is built with if you know where to look.

 

[01rangerxl]

I've heard of clunking slip yokes and such, but this is quite a severe and expensive driveline failure. I'm sure at some point the aftermarket will have repair parts, but until then that's a really [censored] situation for truck owners just out of warranty.

I really appreciate the one piece aluminum driveshaft in my truck, with u-joints sold at every parts store in North America.

 

[MNgopher]

The bad news is that Ford reinvented the wheel on the U-joints on the 2004 F150's. The good news is there are more than enough of them out there that the aftermarket is already making parts for the replacements. However, they are kits, and not just a U-joint part, and they cost plenty more than just a U joint. Even the replacement single piece driveshafts went back to the usual u-joint.

Can't comment on the two-piece units though. Best bet may be to work with a local driveline shop.

 

[cronk]

I had a complete 2 piece drive shaft made for my chevy 1500 for LESS than $400 at Fleetpride.
Look for a Fleetpride or drive shaft shop in your local area, bring them your old one, they can probably repair it or build a new one much cheaper.

 

[artificialist]

There are certain shops that call them drivetrain shops and they make new driveshafts, usually they serve 18 wheelers, but you can get customized stuff from cars and pickup trucks, so a little research can go a long way to save you money.

GM also made some trucks where the 2 piece driveshaft must be replaced as an entire unit. I am not sure if Dodge, Nissan, or Toyota does that in any of their trucks.

 

[Jim Allen]

Well, my '05 F150 regular cab longbed has a regular steel driveshaft, one piece with "normal" 1350 u-joints... from the factory. It's one of those 8200# GVW trucks, though, with a 10.25 rear axle.

 

[edwardh1]

what does Toyota do?