Technical Caution for drivers using Auto restorations T5 Kit

After careful thought and consideration, I have decided to remove the entire kit and install a Mitchell transmission. Down the road I may consider a Mitchell overdrive as well.

Thanks to everyone for their opinions, suggestions, advice and well wishes.

 

Glad to see this post. I am also glad I went with Crazydaddyo's 4X4 t-5 conversion for the torque tube.

 

Please post pics, so others can remedy there's faulty set up, there migth be some non-HAMBers that finds this informative.

 

I studied the pic it when he posted it before and it must work because he is using it. The u-joint would eliminate the lever effect.

 

A single U-joint, ahead of the fixed Ford ball, will absolutely not eliminate the trans tail from moving up or down, as the rear end moves in an opposing direction.

You would need a short driveshaft with two joints.



The Ford ball is a fixed pivot point, and mounted solid on a crossmember....just like a see-saw pivot. The rear end when raising up, makes anything on the opposite side of the ball, move down.

It's moving the trans, each time the rear moves up or down.

 

F&J pointed out something I was thinking about on that design also. The torque tube doesn't change travel length with suspension movement, like a normal driveshaft does, so how exactly does that design work? I've also noticed that that is a very short torque tube, you can see where the rear flange mount bolt is casting a shadow on the floor from the picture flash, does that come into play on the design?. Logic and physics tell me it wouldn't work as designed from the photo. The only way I could see that design working is if the trans was pushed all the way back to where the U-joint was located IN the fulcrum and not in front of it.

 

Correct, I'm guessing the builder would have tried that, but as you probably know, the modern joint and it's modern yoke, simply cannot fit into the Ford ball. The Ford joint is so much smaller, so that is how Ford did get the U-joint in the same pivot point as the ball.

I suppose getting the new joint as close as possible to the Ford ball, would help, but there still will be increased wear of the bushing in the T5 tail that supports the yoke. Also there would still be some increased loads on the U-joint, not only the needle bearing surfaces, but there will be forces trying to push out on all four U-joint cups. The cup was not designed to take that type of load, so there is very little "bearing surface" in the deep end of the cups. Most likely the inner cross will get slop, and will run out of round IMO


one thing we can't know about that setup, is if there is some sort of bushing inside the front part of the Ford torque tube? If there isn't, then that Ford inner shaft must be deflecting, rather than running true.

 

one thing we can't know about that setup, is if there is some sort of bushing inside the front part of the Ford torque tube? If there isn't, then that Ford inner shaft must be deflecting, rather than running true.
i would guess this is how they get away with it.

 

Great observations guys. I love being wrong, that way I learn in the process.

 

once you build countless things that don't work right, you tend to get a bit better at noticing other things that won't work right

 

Sometimes it's what you don't see is where the problem solving starts. My guess, being what we don't see in the pic is that, in the clamshell is the original ford u-joint attached to the driveshaft and a stub shaft attached to the modern u-joint connected to the ford u-joint making a redundant u-joint but if it's in phase would cancel out vibration and let the suspension move. This is just a guess..A Double Cardan U-joint.