I'm trying to find a rear drive shaft and/or U-joint, can these be separated and reattached or is it better to just replace the entire thing? I was hoping someone could point me to a place I might be able to buy one. And also what years does it fit? I have a 2004 coupe.

 

There are no "U-joints" on our cars, the driveshaft has 2 "flex disks" and a center support bearing.
You should find what you need at any salvage yard that has a XF, not much demand for this.

EDIT: I am totally wrong in the above statement, as Jim pointed out, there IS one U joint in the middle by the support bearing.

 

NeedsWings among others sell flex joints and support bearings, better put new ones in as those flex joints get cracked.

 

Agreed. I was referring to the rear drive shaft with the salvage yard reference.

 

sorry guys there is a u-joint in the middle of the drive shaft, next to the support bearing, i have replaced mine to a stronger one,,
find a drive shaft/axle/ rear end shop they can replace it ,,,it is a hard u-joint to find. I will see if i still have the part number. nope no p/n,, remember the srt6 drive shaft is different from the limited drive shaft (they don't interchange)

you can see the two notches on one of the shaft and one notch on the other,, those have have to match or the shaft is OUT OF BALANCE

 

Well I'll jest be durn, never too old to learn something new ! Thanks Jim !

 

Going to join George on this learning curve, I didn't know there was a U-Joint there either!

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I talked to a driveshaft shop last fall, we took some measurements and did some research, and they came up with for $300-$350 they would take out the 2 piece driveshaft and flex discs, center bearing, make the mount for front and rear to install 2 common u joints and single piece steel driveshaft.
So would habe a single driveshaft, no flex discs and no center support bearing.

 

I am not a mechanic or anything like that so my silly question is why would we want to change the driveshaft?

 

If changed, and a single piece driveshaft is installed, gets ride of flex discs for solid u joints, gets rid of the center support bearing, and lighter, less rotational mass.
Mb liked the rotational mass in ours, hince why they used such a massive flywheel.

I don't know about you but I like the idea of a chunk of steel holding my driveshaft on alot better than a piece of thick rubber.
Have you ever seen a flex disc in a truck, hahaha
Flex discs are alot cheaper to manufacture and install at factory, doesn't mean they are the best.

 

because that slip and ujoint is a weak point. once you add hp ,in our drive train that is a place to start,, the pic is of my spare, just in case,, but i have found with my 599 hp our stock drive shaft is just fine, it just needs to be checked and maintained, in 6 1/2 years with the V8 i only replaced it once. , if you here a knocking or high pitch squeal,, (on hard take off) then check your drive shaft.
Note:because of the bearing it is hard for anyone to shake the shaft and find it bad. i had three mechanics say mine was fine,,including myself, then i took it out of the car and found it bad. jim

 

Here is one benefit to 'flex disks' in a drive train, vibration/noise reduction. Now I am not offering this is why they were designed into this system, but it makes a lot of sense. I would not think it was cost driven because there is a lot more cost the way it is (U-joint and everything else involved from the transmission tail to the bell housing), so if not cost then why? Only answer I can come up with, is vibration/noise. Am open to others opinions about why it is the way it is...

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Because it is a R170 platform carry over, and that platform was designed on a Tuesday.

 

rotflmao!

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Here's a explanation of why a "guibo" is used in a driveshaft assembly:

"A giubo (/ˈdʒuːboʊ/ JEW-boh; etymology: giunto Boschi), also known as a flex disc, and sometimes misspelled as guibo, is a flexible coupling used to transmit rotational torque between the drive shaft and the companion flange on mechanical devices, such as an automobile engine.
The giubo is made from flexible synthetic rubber and is designed to allow some angular misalignment while reducing driveline vibration in mechanical power transmission applications."

Not bad for a South Carolinian!

Design approach has been around for awhile. When I had the 3 Merkur XR4Ti's, the driveshaft had a guibo in it. Only issue was Ford wouldn't sell you the guibo. You had to buy the entire driveshaft from them. And so like the Crossfire Owners, the Merkur Owners Group learned where to get the guibos & how to disassemble & re-assemble the driveshaft. We usually replaced the center support bearing while we were down there.

 

Not bad for a Carolinian? Even though you had the right spelling in the blurb you found you still misspelled it before and after the blurb. LOL

 

Yeah, I get that a lot...


Dave, he meant me... LOL

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I might as well be consistent with most everyone else. I can't recall the last time I saw the guibo spelled correctly as giubo.