2005 GT driveshaft

Laga

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Is this amount of movement/play
acceptable? The car has 55K miles. There is a occasional small clunk on the highway which feels like excessive gear lash but is not constant or continuous.
It has Edelbrock SC, cam, headers, Lito tune for E85.
 

Racer47

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no thats not good. if i still had my stock driveshaft, i'd send it to you for the cost of shipping. someone around here must still have a stock one laying around, they are not worth much
 

Dino Dino Bambino

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Looks like the center carrier bearing is toast. It's a good excuse to upgrade to a lighter, one-piece aluminum driveshaft.
 

Laga

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no thats not good. if i still had my stock driveshaft, i'd send it to you for the cost of shipping. someone around here must still have a stock one laying around, they are not worth much
Thanks. If going to replace, I’ll go one piece!
 

ghunt81

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If you're interested in a DSS, there's a place on ebay selling them for $663 with free shipping, I bought mine from there and I think they still have a couple left. Just search for the item number.
 

Laga

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If you're interested in a DSS, there's a place on ebay selling them for $663 with free shipping, I bought mine from there and I think they still have a couple left. Just search for the item number.
I`ll check now thanks!!!
 

Deerhunter4

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I just put the Ford Racing one piece aluminum on mine. Made a huge difference. My stocker had 150k miles. So much smoother clutch engagement and no clunking.


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Laga

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Did anybody do the install themselves?
It doesn’t look that difficult, but it’s hard for me to crawl under a car.
 

GlassTop09

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Did anybody do the install themselves?
It doesn’t look that difficult, but it’s hard for me to crawl under a car.
Yeah I installed my Ford Racing 1-piece aluminum driveshaft myself on jack stands. The installation isn't hard at all but it does depend on the type exhaust equipment\DS safety loop equipment you have installed as to how much extra work you'll go thru when installing it AND if you have any physical ailments that will make it harder on you to do this while laying on your back vs standing up...…..which I do have so I can relate to what you're implying.

Example: In my scenario I have a Blowfish Racing Remote Shifter Bracket installed which also serves as a front SPI-certified DS safety loop & a Pypes Super Bomb catback exhaust system which has the 2 mid mounted M80 mufflers at the rear end pinion area. This wasn't an issue in removing the OEM 2-piece DS due to the flexible center section but I had to remove 1 side's M80 muffler section to gain enough area to raise the 1-piece DS high enough to get in the last 1' thru the Blowfish bracket due to having to get around the pinion flange which I couldn't do w\ both M80 mufflers installed. If I still had the OEM catback exhaust installed I wouldn't have needed to remove anything...….. I also took the time since I had the M80 section removed (which included the over axle section which also gained access to my BMR adjustable UCA) to check\reset pinion angle at the same time since the FR 1-piece DS uses Spicer 1350 series U-joints at both ends to ensure this was set correctly at the same time..... And yes I was hurting some afterwards from all the contorting I had to go thru to get all done & installed properly (have arthritis & carpal tunnel for several years so no fun afterwards).

The DSS 1-piece version w\ the rear end pinion CV joint makes this part a much better, easier installation overall IMHO.

If you have access to a lift it's gonna be a better experience overall...……..but I think you already know that.

My 2 cents provided.....……….
 

RED09GT

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I did my shaftmasters (shaftmasters makes the Ford Racing one as well) on jackstands. It was reasonably easy.

My center bearing was in similar shape to yours, lots of side to side play and howled like mad going around a left hand curve at highway speeds.
 

Deerhunter4

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Did anybody do the install themselves?
It doesn’t look that difficult, but it’s hard for me to crawl under a car.

Same here. I installed mine in my garage with car on jack stands. I watched some YouTube videos beforehand just I’d have an idea of the best process. It’s not bad at all. Probably took me an hour give or take once I had it up on the stands.


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Laga

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Thanks for the info. Since the car is still up on stands and DS will be here this week, I’ll give it a shot. Thank god for Youtube.
 

ghunt81

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I did mine on jackstands (with the exhaust off the car since I had also just finished a clutch job) it was fairly easy to install however the problem I had was that I either had to have the car in gear or have the parking brake set to torque the bolts on the flanges. So I had to put the shaft where I wanted, shimmy out from under the car, set the brake, shimmy back under the car, torque the bolt(s) I could reach, shimmy back out and take off the brake, and repeat. It was a pain in the ass but a good full body workout, would definitely be easier if you had someone to put the car in/out of gear for you.

Also worth noting, I had to chase all the threads on the axle flange to clean out old loctite, it was making the flange bolts for the DSS difficult to turn in to the point where I was afraid of stripping threads and it definitely would have skewed torque readings. The transmission flange seemed to be OK.
 

Laga

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I did mine on jackstands (with the exhaust off the car since I had also just finished a clutch job) it was fairly easy to install however the problem I had was that I either had to have the car in gear or have the parking brake set to torque the bolts on the flanges. So I had to put the shaft where I wanted, shimmy out from under the car, set the brake, shimmy back under the car, torque the bolt(s) I could reach, shimmy back out and take off the brake, and repeat. It was a pain in the ass but a good full body workout, would definitely be easier if you had someone to put the car in/out of gear for you.

Also worth noting, I had to chase all the threads on the axle flange to clean out old loctite, it was making the flange bolts for the DSS difficult to turn in to the point where I was afraid of stripping threads and it definitely would have skewed torque readings. The transmission flange seemed to be OK.
I’m glad you told me this. I can work on the ground, but it’s the getting up from the ground that’s difficult for me. 14 surgeries in the past 16 years. That’s what 35 years of concrete work will do to your body. I’ll recruit the wife to help. She’ll be happy to help if I tell her we’re saving money doing it ourselves.
 

Racer47

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Getting the flange bolts loose is the biggest pain. Have her sit in the divers seat, put trans in neutral, turn the shaft where you can get at 1 bolt, have her hold the brakes or use the parking brake, loosen that bolt, then release brake turn shaft and repeat. That alone will make the job much easier.

Don't take all of them completely out. Leave 1 only a couple turns loose, then pry on the flange to get it loose. That last bolt will keep the shaft from falling on the exhaust or your hands. Do the same at both ends.
 

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