NOTSTOCK

Ok, so you may have read a couple of my posts in response to the new shaftmasters one piece aluminum direct bolt driveshaft. I just finished the install and I must say...I love it. Now I will detail an issue I had with the install, but that is not to bash shaftmasters but to inform the group. Had I been expecting this from the start it wouldn't have been an issue.

I ordered the hurst billet short throw shifter with the optional black ball from Brenspeed and the Shaftmasters DS the same day. I was really happy with the help from David at shaftmasters, the price, and shipping speed. Brenspeed was also fast and very helpful, as usual.

First I would say that if I had to do this all over again I wouldn't change a thing. Doing the shifter and DS at the same time made the hurst go in so much easier.

I should note that I did this job myslef without a helper. So I started with getting the car up and secured on jack stands. Then I unscrewed the stock(polished aluminum in my case) shift ball. I popped out the interior console that surrounds the shifter. Nothing to unscrew, just pulled up on the trim by the boot and the rest started coming up. I unplugged the light and traction control panels and then pushed the piece to the passenger seat. I did have to cut the boot away from the plastic piece that hooked by the ball. I also pulled the rubber boot out from around the stock shifter and placed it on the floor. There was a lof of dust like lubricant in the boot that made a mess, but will be easily cleaned up.

Then I got under the car and started to remove the DS. Unbolting the transmission side first is important because otherwise the axle side will rotate. Of course, you will have to set the parking brake, then release and rotate numerous times throughout this. Having a helper would have made this process easier, but I managed. After the front I did the back, then unbolted the mid section support. There are two bolts that come out with it. Removing this beast was not easy. I did use wood to support the weight over the exhaust. As I slid it back I had a problem clearing my exhaust as it is larger than the stock. It wasn't that bad though and the stock shaft was out.

I took a break from the shaft and focused on the shifter. Doing almost all of it from beneath the car was easier. The hardest part, that took the most time, was removing the foreward most bolt that attaches the shifter to the transmission. I also had to lower the transmission support bracket to get it low enough to take out the bolt from the stock set up. The rest of it came out as the directions stated. So putting the new billet up from the bottom was easy. The foreward bolt went in much easier too. After everything was done on bottom I went back topside to put everything back together before putting the new shaft in and taking away my work space. I followed the advice from another MF poster and used a zip tie to attach the boot the the rubber ring that goes around the stick. No issues and everything was tightened down and closed up.

So I slid the new driveshaft up from the back and used the small wood pieces to rest it on as I got it into place. It was much easier than the stock one, but that wasn't surprising since it weighed less than half of the stock one. So this is where I got my surprise. I used the hex bolts provided since I figured that's how shaftmasters balanced it. The clearance from the bolts to the u joint was tight. I actually had to use my fingers and channel locks to get the bolt seated to almost the bottom before I could get an allen wrench in to torque it down. It was more difficult because I didn't have the right size allen wrench at the time because I purchased the bit for my torque wrench as mentioned in Taco Bills thread. Like I said, I got it done today with no other issues, I was just caught off guard with the clearance issues and wasn't able to finish right away until I got the right tool.

After getting the axle portion tight, I contected the u joint to the tranny side and had no issues. I did use the thread locker on all bolts, especially since I couldn't get an accurate torque because of clearance issues.

I dropped the car back down and test drove it. I can't say enough good about the two components. The really compliment each other! The car winds up faster and the shifting is so smooth with no rattles! It really feels like a different car! The shifting clicks into and out of gear. I don't know why Ford doesn't build them like this from the factory. It's the way a sports car should be!

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volcomchester18

Nice, I have been wanting to do at least the DS. I have heard the Hurst shifter amplifies tranny noise, is this true. I dont mind some noise, but some people say it gets really noisy.

foolio2k4

Hey it looks very good. I also ordered it during the group buy. Unfortunately mine wont get here until tuesday

I have a couple question since you've done it.
you bolted up the axle side once you got the Alum DS in?

the hex bolts are only tightened with the allen head? thats the reason for the loctite?

NOTSTOCK

I don't think it's noisy at all. In fact, the only noise is the clicking in and out of gear. I think it sounds awesome. Making sure the boot is properly sealed must make a difference. It has a lip on the bottom of the car and a lip on the inside of the car. To make sure it's quiet I pushed it all of the through to the bottom, the pulled it back up gently until just the upper edge was in the car. All is quiet and no rattles. No regrets.

NOTSTOCK

I did use loctite as mentioned in other threads. Also because there isn't a good way to get it any tighter than with the allen wrench. The stock bolts also had loctite on them when I took them out. The reason I bolted up the axle side first is because the parking brake holds the back in place for torquing it down. If you did the front first the whole assembly would spin. Now I did have the 5-sp in neutral so it was quicker for releasing the brake making the change, and then resetting it. I don't know if leaving it in gear would have made a different outcome. Hope that helps!

Blair

Congrats on the new mod and welcome to the 2010 driveshaft club!

WeinerDog

I missed the group buy? Last I read the Shaftmaster guy said no to a group buy. Sigh.

6+6 Stang

yeah but 499 free shipping (shaftmasters) if you join the mustang collective forum and give them you screen name 499 good price.

Galactic

499 is for a v6

6+6 Stang

i did not see price jump on new adapterless shaft last one i was lookin at was the 4" w/ adapter, david you not doing the 4 " anymore?