Aluminum driveshaft from Ford Aerostar?
- Thread starter ForceFed70
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I've been running one since 2002. Paid $20 for it at the JY. It cost me $100 to have it shortened/balanced and $30 for new Spicier joints.
BTW: Starting in '91, they have correct yoke to fit T-5/Toploader.
Don't understand why more people aren't using them when compared to the much more expensive commercially available alternatives.
BTW: Starting in '91, they have correct yoke to fit T-5/Toploader.
Don't understand why more people aren't using them when compared to the much more expensive commercially available alternatives.
reenmachine
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
Well, what's the diameter and wall thickness of these shafts? I don't ever recall seeing an Aerostar with a lot of horsepower and torque. Has anyone looked into if these shafts are strong enough to handle what you're putting through them?
68converted
Member
Hate to toss in a wrench, but of the three driveshaft shops I tried, not one would even touch the driveshaft. The wall thickness is way to thin for them to make a good weld. Ford does it with very high tech robots. I had mine built, 3" with a thickness rated for very high hp setups. This thing is soo light, about a third of the original and perty. I paid $200. To have one shortened and balanced with the appropriate joints would have cost $125. Just made sense to go brand new.
Aerostar's with the larger engine only made approx 150hp and 225 ft/lbs depending on the year(Some more some less).
That's not alot of power, but remember that the Aerostar was ford's "Workhorse" minivan, it had a fairly hefty tow-rating for a minivan and the driveline to support it.
I'm going to give it a try... we'll see how it handles approx 300hp. I won't be doing any nitrous launches anyway...don't have the traction for it with 275 street radials and limited slip.
That's not alot of power, but remember that the Aerostar was ford's "Workhorse" minivan, it had a fairly hefty tow-rating for a minivan and the driveline to support it.
I'm going to give it a try... we'll see how it handles approx 300hp. I won't be doing any nitrous launches anyway...don't have the traction for it with 275 street radials and limited slip.
I had my driveshaft built from scrach(bought the car and it didn't come with one) and the guy at my local shop said not to go with the aluminium when I asked him about it. He said that the 428 would probably snap it. Seeing you have nos It might apply to you too. Go with a custom AL one for strength if you go that route but I would stick with good ol' steel. It would have been in the guys benifit to sell me an AL one because he could charge more but he insisted that an AL would not hold up.
Kevin
Kevin
reenmachine
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
There are aluminum driveshafts out there that will take a gazillion horsepower. It's very, very commonly done.Sicarius428 said:
reenmachine
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
69gmachine
Member
Another thing to consider with aluminum is that they dent easily compared to steel from road debris. The local shop here talked me out of one saying he replaces them all the time. Throws them in the trash, as they cannot be repaired. He also wasn't willing to shorten one for the same reason as mentioned in a previous reply. Ultimately I went with a light weight chrome moly shaft. A bit pricey, but it's balanced to rev to 7K, and is lighter than a stock steel shaft, although not nearly as light as aluminum.
There is a benefit to aluminum not mentioned here, and that is aluminum has a natural frequency resonance that is way higher than steel, so it tends to dampen harmonics in the normal driving RPM range. Since the OEMs use aluminum, the risk to road debris can't be too high, but some people are just lucky. I'm definitely not one of them.
There is a benefit to aluminum not mentioned here, and that is aluminum has a natural frequency resonance that is way higher than steel, so it tends to dampen harmonics in the normal driving RPM range. Since the OEMs use aluminum, the risk to road debris can't be too high, but some people are just lucky. I'm definitely not one of them.
