I was crawling around under my new 05 Screw and noticed that the drive shaft looked alot like it was made from aluminum and not steel (meaning bright shiny metal with no rust).

I went and got a magnet, and sure enough it must be made from aluminum cause the magnet did not stick to it!

If so, I wonder if Ford shifted over to aluminum shafts on the 05's in response to the vibe issue? Apologies in advance if this has already been discussed.

BTW, my truck was built in January of 05 at the KC plant.

Buck
Atlanta

 

pics?

 

Wish I could post a pic, but I got no digital camera.

 

Very interesting. If in fact the 05's do have an aluminum DS, I wonder what the weight difference is between the 04 and 05 DS.

 

do you know the build date? i have a 2005 and it has a steel shaft. 10/21/2004 is my build date. if they are putting aluminum
shafts in, it's hush, hush. there are no customer service campaigns or TSB's that discuss aluminum drive shafts. i have a month subscription to motorcraft service. you can even look up VIN #'s on OASIS. i haven't seen anything. you may have gotten lucky!

 

Hmmmmn! Ford's cure for driveline vibe? I wish I had seen this post prior to the auto show...I would have checked it out. I'm sure we'll get some confirmation (or not) soon from others on this board. If true, it's a significant change.

 

Yes, the build date according to the sticker on the driver door is January 05. Man, I have a real fresh truck!

I went out and checked again with another magnet just to be sure, that drive shaft is made from aluminum, not steel.

 

if it's there, it's there! sounds like a smart move by ford. why put 3 or 4 steel shafts in, pay labor and rental car costs. just put a light weight aluminum shaft in from the get go. they save their money and we are happy campers, too.

 

ford just replaced my steel driveshaft with an aluminum shaft. they also replaced my chrome xlt wheels with aluminum 17" fx4 wheels and i don't have a vibration or steering wheel nibble anymore. it rides great now! other replacements include steering rack, and both front hubs.

 

What noww??You guys are actually saying that Ford has an original aluminium driveshaft ?That is just what i am looking for.Any part number???Specs??

 

Ryan...did you experience both the nibble AND driveline vibes or just one of the two. In what order did your dealer address the issue(s)? At what stage of the fix were the vibe issue(s) resolved?

 

Deepblue:

I am not sure if this is the part number, but there is a sticker on the driveshaft that reads: 5L34-4602-XC.

 

must be a new development. i'm kinda sad. i gotta 2005 with a steel shaft and now they are installing aluminum?? ah, it's about time for a service visit.

 

Thanks henry now i will do some searching

 

Curmugeon, the last stage of aluminum wheels, and of course road force fixed everything. they drove it with just the new driveshaft and said they didn't notice a big difference but once the wheels were put on it was like driving a caddy. they actually ordered new steel wheels previously and that did very little. i guess the aluminum ones are as true as you can get. they also installed the frame dampener during a previous visit which only helped the bed shake and vibration at 55 mph. let me know if you need any other info.