Like many, I am experiencing excessive gear whine with my 4.10's. But as a bonus, I'm also getting a decent amount of vibration on deceleration. I didn't have it prior to the gear install. I'm thinkin' it's the gears. Must be the gears, right? Maybe not. Yesterday, we pulled diff. cover to re-check to backlash. It varied between .007 and .011. After approx. 500 miles the gears look fine, but man do they howl. But, are they the source of my vibration?

I've been working with George Reggio @ Maryland Performance Center for my tuning, dyno and gears. George is terrific and he has about seen it all. His jaw went slack when he saw how complex the two piece shaft is on these '05's.

He checked my drive shaft and found it to be .010 out. By rotating it 180 degrees, we got it down to .005. Driving home last night, I notice that the vibration is now about half as much. Hmm. :scratch: By going from 3.55's to 4.10's, I have increased the speed of the drive shaft, but not dramatically.

His suspicion is that Ford has gone through much effort to address some type of major vibe/noise issue with this elaborate and expensive drive shaft set up. I respect his opinion, but I'm not convinced that it's the shaft. I suspect the gears, which we will be swapping soon.

He asked me to post this up, interested in what others are experiencing with 4.10 and higher gear swaps.

Vibrations? Opinions?

 

Read this thread....His installer seems to find a "sweet spot" settings. Have your guy set everything exactly like Fidele's and see if your issues go away. http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index....opic=29641&hl=

 

Thanks for your reply, David. I have followed your progress since early on and respect your opinion on this matter. I take it that you've not had any drive shaft concerns or problems? You've certainly had your share of gear/differential grief. However, your driving patterns do differ ever so slightly from mine! At this point launching at 5000 on DR's and running consistantly in the high 12's is just a fantasy for me. A good one! I'm still working up the nerve to power shift something other than 4th gear.

Fidele's post did give me some hope that I'm not married to this problem. Others have also cured their noisy gears with a re-install or gear swap, but it's my vibe that has me concerned. Like I said, I think my vibe is gear related. My installer is convinced that the drive shafts on these things is a point of concern.

 

The drive shafts in these cars a actually pretty good. ALOT of people thought the 2 piece was going to be weak or cause issues. I thought it was going to be the first thing to break. It's held up to numerous 6000 rpm launches, breaking 2 differentials. I believe some parts of either the yolks or companion flange are water filled. I, personally, think the driveshaft is not your issue at all. What it is...is a mechanic that has installed a bazillion gear sets that has come across something new and very sensitive to settings. Just search the different forums and see how many people have had this same issue. I truely believe there is a "sweet spot" as far as pinion depth/crush and backlash. Some think there is a carrier/differential issue. The guy that does my rearend (in my car) was a know it all, old shool, can't tell him something he didn't know type of guy. It took me about 2 weeks of politely, strategically, convincing to get him to realize that the 05 is not like previous models. He's had a change of mindset. This has helped him in his business by being open to learning and expanding his business by being knowledgeable of the 05's. I don't know how your guy is. I would just (non-agressively, and humbly) say that there is quite a few people that you know that have had the same issue. Some have found an ideal spec for setting the rearend up. Take those specs to him and ask him to do it again. A great mechanic won't charge you and make it right. He'll take it as a learning curve and be able to do his next 05 in confidence. I think the driveshaft is an easy excuse. JMHO

 

Clem...i didn't have driveshaft issues...mine was gear related. When my installer unhooked driveshaft for the first time...he marked it's position..and put it back in same. I also asked him ...after we got gear noise,if he thought i should have driveshaft balanced. He did not believe that was problem. Anyways...long story short,we wound up putting in new gears ,with his settings,and problem is 90% better. I still have a slight whine on deaccel,around 60mph down to 50mph. I have got the Ford Axle damper kit(part #5r3z-3c246-a) which is for vehicles built through 11/04...which mine is. It consists of two hunks of cast iron...that are mounted to LCA bracket,and rest up against housing. Pretty primitive. The Right side one is larger than the left. I have not put them on yet...will try to do so Sunday...just to see if they do anything at all. They were abot 40 bucks with my discount...free if you want to bring in to dealer,using TSB/warranty. I just avoid dealers at all costs if i can. I have always had my driveshafts balanced in my old muscle cars....and they were always off from factory. I will probably have the Mustangs done this winter....just for the heck of it(can always improve on something!). Good luck!....I got spanked by a Lancer Evo tonight. He had a bigger turbo and some spray...so i didn't feel too bad! LOL Fast little car!