I have recently noticed what seems to be a common problem with the 2001 Lightning driveshafts. It seems there is a clearance problem with the rear yoke section, on trucks that launch hard. I first noticed this on Spiro's 01 shaft when he broke it at the WFC. But recently, several other people have reported to me the same thing.

What seems to be happening, is on hard launches, axle twist rotates the rear end upwards, throwing off the driveshaft angle. This is nothing new, but what seems to be happening with the 01 shafts, is that when this occurs, the ears of the steel yoke that bolts to the rear end, contact the end of the driveshaft, cutting into the soft aluminum end cap. I've seen this on several 01 shafts so far, but not on the steel ones. This will lead to eventual driveshaft failure.

I guess this would be a good time to plug our PSP Caltracs, which will eliminate the axle wrap and move the instant center for better traction. I strongly suggest putting a set on if you have an 01 shaft and use sticky tires for drag racing. Anyone interested can contact us for more detials.

Just some heads up for those using this driveshaft. It's not a design flaw, or poor quality, it's just a problem that happens from using these trucks for more than what they are intended for

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Perfect for you huh?

Seriously thanks for the heads up, I haven't gone to a track yet but I know I will.

Question:

What is considered a hard launch for this to happen? Stock or with tons of mods?

Aren't these trucks made to just shoot off really fast, that much HP and Torque, shouldn't they be made to handle that power and launch hard?

[This message has been edited by captainoblivious (edited 06-06-2001).]

 

I would say just about a stock L would be able to wind up enough to tear it up.

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CaptianO, it's not that the truck can't handle it, just that the stock suspension and driveline were not designed to be launched with slicks. If you never put a slick on the truck, you'd probably never have this happen as you'd just fry street tires. But put a slick on and launch the truck, and you now are twisting the axle and the leaf spring to the point where the driveshaft angle is way out of whack.

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SAL - TEAM PSP
web- www.powersurgeperformance.net
E-mail sales@powersurgeperformance.net
tech@powersurgeperformance.net
F-150 Online Supporting Vendor

 

Makes sense, Thanks.