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In another thread, I listed my problems of a Hurricane IRS based on a T-Bird IRS. I was having issues of the half shaft shuddering on tight turns or axle articulation. More research returned more info.
1) The inner tulip allows for 2" of movement - total. To check this, I was told to remove the axle nut, then press the stub axle in to the limits on the differential. I had .470 on the drivers side and .620 on the passenger side. Both were less than should be.
2) just by coincidence, I saw a thread on the FFCars forum of a member whose halfshafts were too short. He posted a picture showing 
the end clip damage. It was pointed out the halfshaft was assembled incorrectly.
3) further research I learned the Ford method of install was to put the trilobe on the shaft, install a .060 diameter wire in the end groove, then push the trilobe over the wire clip, trapping it in place, then adding a square constant section ring outside the trilobe to lock it in place. That put the trilobe almost flush with the end of the shaft. Some aftermarket manufacturers modified this by cutting their splines to a given depth, then putting the trilobe on and then installing a snapring to keep it in place. Depending on the design parameters, this could make your halfshaft an incorrect length if you designed for one style and installed the other style
but it presented a novel fix for my problem - if I removed the square ring and snapwire, Push the trilobe onto the shaft so it bottoms out on the splines, then install a snap ring to hold it on, it would be moving the trilobe away from the differential about .250 - enough to relieve the bottoming issue I was having.
I put this into place and my bottoming issues dis-appeared. but the nagging question, is am I setting myself up for future problems? How does one know the amount of load placed on the retainer rings and spline ends when the vehicle is moving. Granted, all pieces are free to travel and the bearings of the trilobe are designed to allow for free articulation. But with torque applied the axle at the same time it is trying to move, there has to be some amount of drag.
Any suggestions or ideas?
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Paul,
Your wandering into an area I have never been. I'm having a little bit of a problem following your assy. If you get a chance can you post a picture detail? Anyhow it's great you found a solution and thanks for the update. I had wondered what your outcome was more than once. So the pic is not yours?
Ralphy
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PaulProe wrote:
I put this into place and my bottoming issues dis-appeared. but the nagging question, is am I setting myself up for future problems? How does one know the amount of load placed on the retainer rings and spline ends when the vehicle is moving.
Yes, there will be some loading, but I think you're on the right track. Worst case I'd think you need thicker snap-rings or a spring-washer to preload the whole thing.
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Spoke to Lee at the DriveShaft Shop and he said they don't use the Ford method of assembly, but use the spline to serve as the outboard stop then use a standard snap ring to hold the trilobe on - same as what I am doing.
Also pulled the halfshafts this weekend to take a look at them. 500 miles and everything is fine. NO issues, no wear marks or snap ring issues.
Keep your fingers crossed
Paul
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Years ago when I was still involved in sand drag racing I had a rail with an IRS . This was a single seat, long travel suspended vehicle that weighed in at around 1000 lbs with a roots blown intercooled 400 hp Ford/ Yamaha SHO DOHC V6. It used a Subaru WRX transaxel and Toyota supra half shafts to turn the 16" wide by 32" tall paddles. It had a wheel travel of 24 inches at both front and rear. The long travel made it a tough suspension to absorb the half shaft plunge. As I recall the full travel required nearly four inches of axle plunge which is why I used the Toyota half shafts. The inner CV's were of the tri-lobe design very similar to the ford units. Like the ford design they used a formed wire ring to trap the CV in the trilobe bucket. However I had to remove the outer snap ring on the axle to obtain the required plunge. This allowed the tri lobe bearing supports to float roughly an inch on the shaft with out trouble. Once I had the plunge set right so there wasnt any bind on compression or full droop they wound up being one of the most trouble free aspects of the vehicle.
Although I described it in past tense I still have the thing under a lean to on the side of my shop. The trans axle's I could afford wouldnt hold up for long, and I couldnt afford the ones that could.
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Using explorer hubs,axles.8.8 anyway to shorten axles with minimum machine work?
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Just came across this info from the Factory Five FAQ.
Last edited by Ralphy (8/07/2012 6:14 pm)
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Just came across this info from the Factory Five FAQ.
That came in handy today, as I'm sorting out what to do for axle shafts in the '64 and started dismantling a '91 'Bird manual transmission "fat shaft" to see if I can figure out how it was made.
I've got one pair of '94 Lincoln shafts, one pair of '89 'Bird SC automatic shafts, and the aforementioned asymmetrical shaft. All have the 28-spline inner drivers.
I can put together the old 'Bird 28-spline Trac-Lok and run some combination of the existing shafts, it'd really be too weak for the engine but it'd at least get the thing drivable that way. Or I can bite the bullet and spend some money, get the 31-spline Truetrac and a set of '03 Cobra axles, which should be just about strong enough for most everything I plan to do with the car. And if I did hit wheel hop with that combination (possible, but less likely with the automatic) then I could play with the asymmetrical shaft arrangement.
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I thought about you when I saw the page. Glad it helped!
Ralphy
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