Rear Drive Shaft on 1988 Ranger XLT

spivey6690 · Sep 6, 2014

Shaft flew off yesterday. Whoops. It's slightly bent. Already have new U joints. Here's what I'm looking at:

Front:

Rear:

What do I need for that front part? I'm a bit surprise that is bolted together and not just a single machines piece...

adsm08 · Sep 6, 2014

If it is bent, even just a tiny bit, and you use it without having it re-tubed you can expect that to happen again.

spivey6690 · Sep 6, 2014

Thanks! Should that front yoke have those bolted brackets on it? Seems like it should just be a solid piece to me, but what do I know. Looks like that contributed to the catastrophic failure because two are sheared off.

adsm08 · Sep 6, 2014

That is the factory configuration. It's a two-piece drive shaft, and that is how they did it.

The broken bolts are what we call "consequential damage," meaning they didn't break to cause the problem, something else broke them when it failed.

In this case I would say your center U-joint locked up.

spivey6690 · Sep 6, 2014

I think you're right. Any idea what that part is and where I could find one?

black_demon69 · Sep 6, 2014

spivey6690 said:
I think you're right. Any idea what that part is and where I could find one?

look for a drive shaft shop in your area they should be able to fix it all and have ready access to parts

adsm08 · Sep 7, 2014

Yup, driveline shop is the best bet. That's what I did last time that happened to me. New tube, new yokes and joints and a balance.

Andy D · Sep 7, 2014

That U-joint musta been clanking for awhile before it let go. That is beat up. I would pull the front part and then go looking for better stuff.

spivey6690 · Sep 7, 2014

Is there a single-piece drive shaft that could work?

black_demon69 · Sep 7, 2014

spivey6690 said:
Is there a single-piece drive shaft that could work?

that would also be something that a drive shaft shop would be able to tell you and possibly fabricate a custom shaft for you...

spivey6690 · Sep 7, 2014

Yeah I was just hoping to save money at the junk yard.

adsm08 · Sep 7, 2014

Andy D said:
That U-joint musta been clanking for awhile before it let go. That is beat up. I would pull the front part and then go looking for better stuff.

Not necessarily. I had one let go like that at about 80 MPH once. The only warning I had was a few seconds of vibration first. By the time I felt it and could start to react it was done.

spivey6690 said:
Is there a single-piece drive shaft that could work?

Yes, you can get one from a 98+, and it can be used, but it will need some work. The rear flange will need to be changed out for one that is the same as the front flange.

SenorNoob · Sep 7, 2014

Or change the pinion flange/entire rear axle to match. :icon_twisted:

Rear Drive Shaft on 1988 Ranger XLT

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