ohnoesaz

Awesome product. Took 14 hours to install as opposed to most people's 2 hours, but it was worth it.

Good points:
-Lowers neededRPMs condsiderably, can now cruise in 4th at 55mph at comfy 1900-2100 RPM
-More 'jump' when gas is pressed at higher speeds
-More acceleration from dead stop
-The "THUNK" when shifting is completely gone. Car and tranny sound almost.... like a high-end sports car.

Good or bad point-
-More ride harshness and noise. Not an insane amount, but definately more. If you're an old guy who enjoys country rides with his grandkid, then look the other way.... If you're a muscle car enthusiast, you'll love it.

Bad point:
-Less vehicle dampening. Ford spent more money to put that heavy2piece on for a reason... Because the internals need a place to vibrate their extra power to. Will it break things now? Probably not, but for someone like me who already has motor mounts and torque limiters, a lightweight 1 piece DS may be too much stiffness in the driveline... I'll just skip the UDPs install to play it safe.


Things to look out for during install:
-Use 12pt 12mm socket for the front removal and front and back reinstalls. I stupidly started with 6pt 12mm and stripped a bolt... Luckily when I got a 12pt 12mm it grabbed fine. Dont make the mistake I made!

-Remove out the rear
-2005's: There is a black brace below the stock shaft. This must be unbolted and moved out of the way, but not completely removed.
-Its heavy! Prepare to struggle as you pull it out.
-The middle DS bolt holes/support will get in the way during removal, make sure you position themvertically. You'll know what I mean.
-Get a gear puller!
-IMPOSSIBLE for me to remove flange without puller. Once I used a puller to remove the flange, it gave hard resistance all the way until the end. Im puzzled as to how some people say they pulled the flange right off, perhaps its because their car is newer? Not sure, but my car only has 14K miles... Play it safe and rent a puller.

-If its hard to get off, then it will be just as hard to get the new one on. Get gear oil because I lost over a quart! The instructions say get the new one on quickly, but thats impossible if it just won't go on period. So get more gear oil just in case.My puller did not have the ability to install, so I had to just put the pinion nut on and push the new flange down with that..
-New flange's seal has about 1mm space between it and the differential. Someone's install pic showed that too, so I let it go. After a 45 minute drive I did not see a leak, yet.

-You need to raise the rear considerably to get the new DS in. Don't expect to get it in sitting on the lowest jack-stand setting.
-You must insert from rear and slide forward.
-Make sure DS is compressed in length before trying to raise it.
-2005s (and maybe others): The black brace thing is pretty pointless, but to reinstall you'll need to lower the car in order to get the DS to raise up and give room for the brace. Get brace in place, lower car back down, and reach under and ratchet the nuts on the brace.


And don't expect to get it done quickly like everyone else!!!!! You may get lucky though...

hammeron

nice write up and i'm glad everything
worked out for you in the end. i may do
this mod, at some not to distant juncture

pachary

Ohno,

About that black brace.......if you need to lower the car to get the shaft up higher in the tunnel, then later if you jack the car up the driveshaft will probably hit the driveshaft. I guess the shaft may be strong enough to be ok, but I would call Spyder about it to be sure.

Paul

MustangEsq

Great writeup, very informative. I was planning on doing this one in my driveway, but it looks like it will be worth paying for the insyall here!

Stkjock

the only thing you should do in your driveway is legal briefs!!!!



I may order mine Sunday!!

Timmay!!!

Glad you got it installed. I haven't been as lucky so far with mine as much as others have beenbut you may what to check you pinion angle and make sure its good. My car feels pretty smooth up until about 100, then I get some vibes. I've tried different pinion angles but I'm going to try a new pinion flange as soon as it gets here and maybe that will fixvibes along with the leak I have.

ohnoesaz

interesting. im not dropped like your sig suggests you, so im hoping not to have a prob... good luck with your DS though

MustangEsq

All I know is that when you stayed home, the market went up. You go to the office, the market plummets! Maybe YOU should be workin from the driveway!!!

I'll probably order mine in a month...vacation with the family in a week...bachelor party in AC Aug 17-19...cash is gonna be light...

jwgroovin

A pretty interesting mod, isn't it?

I'm very surprised at your report of more ride harshness and noise. This mod actually SMOOTHED out my drivetrain so much it felt like a different car the first two days. You are right about improved responsiveness (it leaps when you mash it, doesn't it?) and the change in sound--my deep gurgle sure mellowed out some and I'm not sure I like that, but I haven't heard it from the outside yet with someone else driving it. Maybe that's just the impression from inside the cockpit. Prior to the install, it was pretty hard to chirp beyond first gear on my Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires, but today I chirped the first 3 gears without trying.

I'm checking next week to see if the Spydershaft canhelp improve my ETs at the track, but overall I'm already quite happy with it.

John

ohnoesaz

jwgroovin, interesting you say it smoothed out your ride. I wonder if I'm loose on something somewhere? Hope not... Keep in mind I have motor mounts and torque limiters, so the 2pc driveshaft was one of the last pieces on the car that could take away vibration... I hope thats why Im feeling more road feel and noise.

Either way I love the harshness, thats why I bought this beast!