Driveshaft problems

[mobilemech]

dana 80 out of a dodge has 8x6.5 bolt pattern, up to around 2002 or 03, may work to get you back to the 8x6.5 you need to match.

 

[ken74amx]

I'd rather have the 10 bolt so i can run a big truck wheel. Just have to figure out if I can use the 450 front hubs on the 350 spindles.

 

[towcat]

Towcat that's the plan. I found a yard with a few of them. The timing is good. The last time it blew I took it to a Driveline shop n had the shaft completely re done. The yoke gets destroyed because the joint explodes. Its a stupid strap type yoke! Towcat what size joint does the dana 80 use? And yes i have the 450 driveline brake and it's operational. If it uses a bigger one then this might be the answer I'm looking for. The next issue would then be the ten lug wheels.

i don't know the p/n due to the fact I am spoiled by my driveline guy. i get stupid low prices due to the volume of work I bring his way. as a result, I never asked for p/n's but I can post pics between the two. it's significant!
it's unfortunate you're so far away, I'm in the process of killing off my F450 fleet. I have three rears going to the mill at the end of the month.

 

[towcat]

I'd rather have the 10 bolt so i can run a big truck wheel. Just have to figure out if I can use the 450 front hubs on the 350 spindles.

the wheel bearing part numbers are the same but I think you may have a problem with the offset

 

[ken74amx]

I wonder what shipping would cost. The guy i found has a couple of them and he wants 6-800 each!

 

[mobilemech]

they do make a wheel adaptor for 8x6.5 to 10 bolt

 

[ken74amx]

I know they do but the DOT inspectors don't like em. Plus that is just something else to go wrong. I like simple.

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

I wonder what shipping would cost. The guy i found has a couple of them and he wants 6-800 each!

need to come to TN? I have an 80 out of a superduty I would sell for half that.

 

[Agnem]

Post some pics.

 

[Black dawg]

Post some pics.

or how about a video? *** do you tow? the stock u joints are big enough, if your joints are smaller than that, why not "upgrade" back to stock.

are you sure the shafts are phased correctly?

 

[ken74amx]

The joints are stock. I won't use first gear because it just blows the driveshaft apart. I normally will tow anything I can put behind it. During the winter its my custom 8 place snowmobile hauler. During the summer its my race trailer or camper. But I'll normally hook to anything. This issue is making it useless though. I made three trips north this winter without a single issue. That's 5 guys in the truck and about 18,000lbs in tow. I'll post carnage pictures tomorrow. I'm gonna have a completely new shaft made and I'm thinking I'm gonna swap to a Dana 80 or a eaton diff.

 

[gonecrazyi]

That's strange. I've been pulling over loaded with my truck for 6 years and have never replaced a rear joint. That's pulling 35 ft trailers loaded to the hilt with sod or vehicles with 38 inch tires hammering it everywhere. I do go through carrier bearings though.

 

[ADV]

i have a dana 80 rear from a 1988 fsuperduty. i have front axle and springs and maby drive shaft. i am in wisconsin around sheboygan if you are interested. John

 

[OLDBULL8]

Could it be this?

http://www.driveshaftspecialist.com/HTML Measure/UJ ID Guide.html

In defense of Ford I can see a (possible) reason the Big Cap was used. All of these yokes use a U-Bolt to hold the U-Joint in place. With a U-Bolt you can apply enough force to distort the U-Joint cap slightly. Then the needle bearings do not rotate and you will ruin a U-Joint in less than a 1000 miles. Torque load is 15-18 lb.ft. With the thicker cap it was harder to distort the cap. You can not get a torque wrench to the nuts. So pull it snug and a bit more. STOP. Do not tighten as tight as tight as possible. For security use a little Blue Lock-Tite on the threads.

 

[ken74amx]

Well I didn't get a chance to take pictures yet. I'll try to get some up tomorrow. As for the torque I only tighten by hand with a 4" shorty wrench. I've checked multiple times n one handed with no leverage is 18-22ft lbs. Like I said I've been doing this day in n day out for 15 yrs now. I've never seen this issue except when we dropped a 800 HP small block in my friends blazer. His u joints couldn't handle the power either. We had bigger aberrant made with larger joints and hasn't blown one yet. That was 10 years ago by the same shop that built mine. I have at least 10,000 miles since the last set broke in my truck. I maintain my truck as its a money maker but I'm not nice to it either. Either way something isn't right. I looked up all the u joints and it turns out the ones for an auto trans are smaller than a manual. This might be my issue. The auto always slowly applies power as a manual applies it as fast as u let it. I've driven stick all my life n I can say I don't slip it much if at all from a stop. When rolling I never use the clutch again. My last truck I got almost 300,000 miles on the clutch before I replaced it. Oh yeah I have a solid flywheel in the truck. One reason it was designed to have a dual mass was to dampen the load on the drivetrain on engagement. I feel this is also a factor in my problems.