Drive shaft replacement.

[Mad Max]

New to this group and I’m sure this has been discussed to death but I’d like to share what I did. My ‘08 ST Limited developed a growling vibration. My transmission guy told me it was the U Joints in the unserviceable drive shaft. I can’t believe they even make those but I found that unacceptable and wasn’t going to replace it with another unserviceable one if I could help it. Did a lot of research on line and blogs like this ( that is how I found this one). Low and behold I found a YouTube video of a 2008 Sport Trac drive shaft. You can search YouTube for it. It is from a company that builds high performance drive shafts for cars and trucks. It is called Tulsa Drive Shafts. They redesigned the shafts with replaceable U joints. Very high quality for about $650ish before tax, free shipping. I called them and talked to the owner and discussed some of my concerns. Super nice guy. I ordered the shaft and it came. The box was torn in two but the shaft un damaged. I have limited mechanical skills but after a few YouTube videos I dove under the truck. I was concerned about a few things that turned out to be not too bad. Most difficult was getting the bolts loosened. All in all it was not that hard and I took my time to not screw up. Had a little difficulty finding the Torque specs for everything but was able to locate with a friends help. Best of all I was able to do it all by myself and saved about $700 I think. I highly recommend Tulsa Drive Shafts. Check them out if you have the same issue. Max

 

[Todd Z]

Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble but this is nothing new. There is fort Wayne, doorman, Colorado ( who sucks) and many others making shafts for the 4wd. 2wd is serviceable.

also the rear joint and front CV head IS serviceable IF you know what to do with the proper tools. you can also do the carrier bearing on the 4wd, BUT again specialized tools.

 

[Mad Max]

Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble but this is nothing new. There is fort Wayne, doorman, Colorado ( who sucks) and many others making shafts for the 4wd. 2wd is serviceable.

also the rear joint and front CV head IS serviceable IF you know what to do with the proper tools. you can also do the carrier bearing on the 4wd, BUT again specialized tools.

Not worth it to me. Not my skill set, not the right tools, not worth the time. The one I got from Tulsa Drive Shafts is extremely high quality and I’m thrilled with it and I could do it all by myself. If someone else has all it takes to do the replacements then more power to them. Just thought I would share what I did as an option.

 

[Gary Glass]

That's great...I just went through all that myself another one of ford engineers... better ideas...like having no dip stick to check the transmission fluid...

 

[Mad Max]

That's great...I just went through all that myself another one of ford engineers... better ideas...like having no dip stick to check the transmission fluid...

That one drives me insane. You have no idea what you have….fluid low? Fluid burnt? How many miles on that fluid? You can’t tell. I’ve decided I’m taking mine to my transmission guy and have him drop the pan and do a full service. Then I’ll have him put it through it’s paces and tell me what he thinks of it. I’ve talked to him about it. Funny, my Grand Cherokee doesn’t have a dip stick either. I think that is common now….so stupid. MM

 

[Gary Glass]

Yes ... I've been told several vehicles don't have dip sticks so you can check the fluid. So... you have got to go to a transmission shop or even more expensive a Ford dealer to check the fluid. If a quart is needed...what's it going to cost to have a quart put in??? I'm thinking at least $100 ... probably more. That's ridiculous. I just had mine rebuilt... after first trying one from a used yard...it lasted almost a year or 8,000 miles. I had my mechanic pull it out and I took it to a shop I trust. He bench built it for me and he did all the updates. That was$1700 then I had to purchase several quarts of fluid so my mechanic could fill it up after it was installed. The fluid was STP synthetic. That's all they will use after one is rebuilt. Fluid cost me another $170. My guy went ahead and replaced the rear main seal while transmission was out. I think my mechanics bill was $750 . Best I remember the whole transmission job ended up around $2600... I'm very happy with the way it is now... they all did nice work... Of course then the carrier bearing went out...and I found another one of Ford's better ideas. Mine is a 4x4 AWD and they can not be replaced...only cure was a new drive shaft...my brother has a nice lift and he n I did the drive shaft install ourselves... thanks to the lift it was pretty simple...I ended up getting one for $225... I certainly hope that's it for a while...

 

[Mad Max]

Yes ... I've been told several vehicles don't have dip sticks so you can check the fluid. So... you have got to go to a transmission shop or even more expensive a Ford dealer to check the fluid. If a quart is needed...what's it going to cost to have a quart put in??? I'm thinking at least $100 ... probably more. That's ridiculous. I just had mine rebuilt... after first trying one from a used yard...it lasted almost a year or 8,000 miles. I had my mechanic pull it out and I took it to a shop I trust. He bench built it for me and he did all the updates. That was$1700 then I had to purchase several quarts of fluid so my mechanic could fill it up after it was installed. The fluid was STP synthetic. That's all they will use after one is rebuilt. Fluid cost me another $170. My guy went ahead and replaced the rear main seal while transmission was out. I think my mechanics bill was $750 . Best I remember the whole transmission job ended up around $2600... I'm very happy with the way it is now... they all did nice work... Of course then the carrier bearing went out...and I found another one of Ford's better ideas. Mine is a 4x4 AWD and they can not be replaced...only cure was a new drive shaft...my brother has a nice lift and he n I did the drive shaft install ourselves... thanks to the lift it was pretty simple...I ended up getting one for $225... I certainly hope that's it for a while...

Well, you are lucky to have a tranny shop you trust. Hard to find. Seems like most shops tell you you need a rebuild no matter what the problem is. I think you got a great deal. When I blew up the transmission in my 2000 Explorer I was told it would be $5000-$6000 to rebuild without them even seeing it. Spend $5000 on a vehicle that would be worth about $1700 when done? I think not. That is when I bought this 2008 Sport Trac Limited 4WD. I love it! It has a few miles on it but then so do I. There are things that need fixing but I’m getting to them one at a time. Next is the passenger side blend door actuator for the Dual Automatic Climate Control. Looks like it’s going to be a bear. The part came today ($20 on Amazon) so I’ll get into that. There is an excellent video on this site about that if you need to do one. Can I ask where your transmission shop is? I’m in Pasco, WA. MM

 

[Gary Glass]

Probably a little too for you . Maybe someone else could be helped with these guys...shop is called... Silk hope transmission...in silk Hope n.c. it's just a few miles east of siler city n.c. its a father son shop and I was very happy with their work. They are very Christian like people and I feel like they are quite honest...sorry it's so far away...you keep looking and asking questions. I'm sure you will find a great shop too...

 

[Mad Max]

Probably a little too for you . Maybe someone else could be helped with these guys...shop is called... Silk hope transmission...in silk Hope n.c. it's just a few miles east of siler city n.c. its a father son shop and I was very happy with their work. They are very Christian like people and I feel like they are quite honest...sorry it's so far away...you keep looking and asking questions. I'm sure you will find a great shop too...

Yep. A bit far, about 3000 miles. I think I’ve found one local, time will tell. Thanks for the info, it’s been fun chatting with you. MM

 

[Gary Glass]

Good luck with it. BTW. My truck is a2008 4x4 AWD limited 4.0 V6 engine also...mine is white with two tone tan interior...it's equipped with lots of options...it's a beautiful little truck... don't really seem like a small truck to me . I don't understand why it is no better on fuel mileage...bout 14 mph and best I've seen was 17 mpg . Don't know why it's so bad on fuel...

 

[Mad Max]

Sounds like a pretty truck. Mine is a 2008 Limited 4.0. Burgundy colored with a black and tan two tone interior. I suppose all Limited’s are leather. Mine has 173,000 miles. I get better on the mpg. Driving it back and forth to work I average between 16.8 and 17. Mixed city/highway with lots of stop lights. I drove it to Spokane and back once and averaged 20.6 mpg. Not too bad really. MM