Okay, so after a two year wait I have finally installed my Shaftmasters 3.5" DS, BMR double adjustable UCA, and BMR front DS Loop. First, many thanks to TacoBill for his excellent write up! Being my first DS, it took waaay longer than necessary, but I had a lot to learn:

1.. The UCA does not come out easily, even on a lift and with air tools--the **** bolts are wedged in between body molds! So removing and replacing the UCA took almost 2 hours of trial and error.

2. The BMR polybally UCA is a nice piece, but getting the **** polyball in and wedging it inbetween the UCA mount under the car is a form of medieval torture--and apparently my UCA mount does not want to come off the car unless I drop the tank.

3. If you have your mustang on a lift at 5'10" and you are 5'8", the NVH blocks on the rear axle are at 5'7" and your head will make contact with it repeatedly.

4. The 3.5" DS fits perfectly in the DS tunnel, and mates up great with the adapter, however, you must constantly raise and lower the car to set the parking brake in order to rotate and lock the shaft down to loosen and tighten bolts. Apprently, the e-brake is not quite 41 ft/lb strong because I twisted the shaft while trying to torque bolts. You will have to put it in gear/park to really hold for tightening or breaking loose

5. There must be a special Ford tool for torquing the DS bolts becaue I had to use a rube-goldbergesque contraption of extensions and swivels to try and lock these down. WTF?

Okay so nopw its in, I got it up to 100 and its really improved the acceleration of this beast. Its almost like I have no control of how fast it gets to 60 from a dead stop. And smmoth while I'm driving. But as many have said before, there is a reason Ford went with a heavy DS--to mask all the assorted noises this car makes! I had the shaft professionally balanced before install and did my best to ensure i followed TacoBill's instructions as close as I could (let's face it, few of us are perfectionists like Bill), and I was able to torque the adapter bolts with an air wrench, so it is pretty flush.

So now I hear a rubbing, mostly when I'm turning, and I think it might be hitting the BMR DS loop, bt there's so many other clunks goign on who knows. One problem I have is the tailpipes hitting the cross member cause my car is slightly lowered. I have an angle finder so I'll check the DS orientation, but most things Ive read say you shouldn't be out of angle unless you are Mexican lowrider low--which I might be depending on your POV. Anyhow, can any of you gifted Pony drivers give me input on how your car felt after DS install and what changes if any you had to make?

Much appreciated!

Darth

 

I share your pain! But try doing all that on jackstands -- double difficult. And I never got the bolts to proper torque, couldn't figure any way to do it, though on a lift might have. I just tightened as tight as I could/felt comfortable with -- I've sheared many a different bolt, so figure my hand torque ain't too bad.

I also noticed more noise, though less driveline slop made up for it. Don't have any particular suggestions, unforunately, other than check that angle.

I now have a horrible squeak I'm suspecting are my springs -- I've replaced every other piece looking for the problem (UCA (have now done that twice, the 2nd time w/ the Metco piece was much easier), LCAs, just put in Koni rears to replace the Tokico (was positive they were the source, they weren't), and the AR bar).
Overall have a better rear suspension now, but still squeaking!!

 

I did the 4" DS in my driveway on jackstands, no issues. The Steeda adj UCA was done on the lift, you have to loosen the bracket to get it in there and yeah, hitting it with an air gun is tight. A little NVH from the UCA but not bad, dont have a loop and heard issues with the BMR loop rubbing. Why did you have the DS balanced when it comes balanced? Tried indexing the DS? unbolt it and rotate the flange 180 and bolt back up. Did you check the angle of the DS at the yoke and rear flange as well as the differential prior to and after the upgrades? A couple degrees off can cause vibration.

 

Womprat,
I'm not having any vibration, just rubbing that i have to get under it to figure out what's hitting. I bought the DS over 3 years ago while I was overseas and had to ship it twice. I needed to make sure it hadn't been banged out of balance. Turns out it sure was, got it spin balanced up to 14K at a local shop and they had to weld on weight to get it stable. I was really commenting on the amount of rub noises and clunks i get now, probably an inevitable consequence of the 1-pc. I didn't check any angles and i think i need to put the shim under my BMR as others have done.

 

Update! Removed the BMR driveshaft loop and no more vibrating/grinding! So, for those wondering, if you have a pro-chamber installed, you may not have enough clerance between the H-pipes for the BMR cross member to fit without rubbing on the exhaust. That was the source of my filling-rattling grind that made me think I'd lost one of my engine mounts! The whole operation took about 30 mins (i have access to a lift and air tools) to remove the exhaust pipes, loop, and unbolt the back end of the drive shaft and then reassemble once I got the loop off. Unlike the Metco or FRPP, the BMR has to slip over the drivshaft as a solid piece. I am sooo happy! I don't have any more scary noises and the car accelerates like a beast! I may grind down the edges of the BMR cross member and reinstall later, but I'm just gonna enjoy my carfor now