busted half shaft

slowpoke

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im sure not due to the power since i dont think i have enough yet, the right side(passenger) half shaft has alot of play in the first knuckle right right before the shaft itself. autozone guys told me flat out that theres is not what i want. they feel theres are to weak for any sc t-bird. im sure that some of you have dealt with this before, by any chance would anyone have some part numbers or contacts that i could use to get a mid-high quality half shaft?
 
No matter where you get a shaft it's going to be a reman Ford unit so it doesn't really matter as long as you get the SC specific axle.
 
im sure not due to the power since i dont think i have enough yet, the right side(passenger) half shaft has alot of play in the first knuckle right right before the shaft itself. autozone guys told me flat out that theres is not what i want. they feel theres are to weak for any sc t-bird. im sure that some of you have dealt with this before, by any chance would anyone have some part numbers or contacts that i could use to get a mid-high quality half shaft?

Are you sure its not a Hub bearing ???

- Dan
 
Is the car off the ground or on the ground? CV joints are different than say a U-joint. Their design allows for movement in some axis, and not in others. I'm not sure from your description where the movement is occurring from, but in general, with the car on the ground, you shouldn't be able to pull the shaft fore and aft. There might be some movement towards the diff.
 
ok at the pumpkin you have the ring gear for abs and the large hub piece, that will turn alot before the shaft going to the wheel will turn. once the shaft starts to turn theres a clunk, from watching it i can tell the universal swivel in there is sloppy and clunking. i can even feel the clunk when i wiggle it. i checked the driver side and there was no clunk coming from it. so it is for sure located at the half shaft at the first swivel joint. the second swivel near the hub has no play in it. this was checked with the car about 2ft off of the ground.
 
So while not broken, that sounds worn out. time to be replaced. with that kind of play, you could easily break it.
 
what if any are my choices for a new shaft, by what Dave says(and he's usually right) theres not any real choices. it would be great if someone knows of any high end and/or heavy duty shafts that i can get?
 
Old 10-15-2005, 10:37 PM
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Go ahead guys, like I said anybody can break anything. Within reason axles don't break unless they are subjected to extreme shock loads. Rich, nothing you do with your 800+hp monster applies to the 250-300rwhp cars that busted shafts at the shootout. My point was and remains that people who break things are abusing them and need to rethink what they are doing. This applies to you as well.

Gary Kuhn and I have proven that axles will hold up decently at over 400rwhp if treated right. Others have proven that 250rwhp is plenty to break axles, transmissions, etc. if abused. That's just how it is.
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this is to true, im sure mine went out while attempting to solve my wheel hop problems. for the most part the wheel hop is fixed but now time to fix what all broke fixing the wheel hop.
 
Stephen,

Raxles used to sell an upgraded replacement shaft, but years ago Ford stopped supplying them with stub shafts, and now the made in China junk they use, makes them weaker than stock shafts. I've seen several failed Raxle halfshafts, and wouldn't use them in my cars if they were free.

Just go to Autozone and get a factory replacment. I'm still using the original halfshafts in both my SCs.

David
 
ok, i called autozone and they have them. $89.99 with $20 core. 1 problem though, they say it states only 1 size for both sides. mine has a 1.2inch on driver side. 1.5inch on the passenger side. they cant tell me at autozone what size theres is. the part number is 8397. does this sound like what you have as a part number?
 
ok, i called autozone and they have them. $89.99 with $20 core. 1 problem though, they say it states only 1 size for both sides. mine has a 1.2inch on driver side. 1.5inch on the passenger side. they cant tell me at autozone what size theres is. the part number is 8397. does this sound like what you have as a part number?

You probably aren't going to be able to find the Fat shaft versions. They aren't any stronger, they just have a larger mass on the center shaft portion to help reduce wheel hop. Standard shaft version works on either side.

David
 
The main issue with reman axles, particularly in our application is that you need to inspect the spines on the stub shafts. Some folks have reported getting ones with damaged splines, or worn splines.

also, the only abuse I've been able to pin down is wheel hop. If people drive through wheel hop, something is gonna break. I'm not sure what others would call abuse. I guess dropping the clutch at the starting line to try to drop your 60' time could be considered abuse? But for others, that's what you gotta do.
 
ive been practicing with the line locks so i shouldnt have to drop the clutch(or atleast not to much) and 1 other form of abuse that im guilty of but only did once, i dropped the clutch hard at 50mph, roasted the tires and scared the poo right out of myself. i dont plan to ever do that again :)
 
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