Rusting drive shaft & rear axle housing

[FORDMON]

Has any one rust proofed or painted your unpainted not even primed or coated with any to slow down rust promotion on our driveshafts & axle housing. And would righting FORD decision not to paint them ( whats up with that ? ) Hurt the value of a KR by choosing to stop the RUST?

[stewarbc]

Grabber has done it as well as many others....sounds weird but do a search on rusty butt.

 

http://www.teamshelb...l__+rusty +butt

[sheppd01]

I painted my rearend. Didn't touch the driveshaft though.

[Grabber]

Has any one rust proofed or painted your unpainted not even primed or coated with any to slow down rust promotion on our driveshafts & axle housing. And would righting FORD decision not to paint them ( whats up with that ? ) Hurt the value of a KR by choosing to stop the RUST?

 

 

I treated my driveline:

 

http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php/topic/25332-painted-my-drivelineno-more-rust/?do=findComment&comment=374605

[Grabber]

Here is my thread on the pumpkin: http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php/topic/11229-i-am-going-after-my-rear-end-rust/?do=findComment&comment=215711

[2010KonaBlueGT]

Has any one rust proofed or painted your unpainted not even primed or coated with any to slow down rust promotion on our driveshafts & axle housing. And would righting FORD decision not to paint them ( whats up with that ? ) Hurt the value of a KR by choosing to stop the RUST?

 

 

LOL.

 

Run a search and I think you'll find about a million threads on this. Search for "Rusty Butt"....

 

 

Phill

[Torch40]

LOL.

 

Run a search and I think you'll find about a million threads on this. Search for "Rusty Butt"....

 

 

Phill

 

 

You'll even see the same answer repeated in the same thread... B)

[glroy]

Has any one rust proofed or painted your unpainted not even primed or coated with any to slow down rust promotion on our driveshafts & axle housing. And would righting FORD decision not to paint them ( whats up with that ? ) Hurt the value of a KR by choosing to stop the RUST?

 

My suggestion would be to sell that rusty thing and get a 13; painted pumpkin and cf driver shaft. I will take that rusty old thing off your hands for 15K.

[FORDMON]

Wow, Thanks for all the help I followed the threads and now I have been enlighten, Great Job by all, especially Grabber well I better get my "rusty butt" to work

[FiaCobra]

I did my rear. Couldn't take the rust.

 

http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php/topic/11229-i-am-going-after-my-rear-end-rust/page__st__200

 

Page 11

[Cali_KR]

30 years from now, that rust will be "patina" and it will be sought after...I can hear it on Barrett-Jackson now...lmao

[Torch40]

30 years from now, that rust will be "patina" and it will be sought after...I can hear it on Barrett-Jackson now...lmao

 

Factory original haha

[Robert M]

I searched but this is the only thread I could find, sorry to bring it back to the top..........

 

My question is.....Are the harmonic weights on the 3.73 Ford axle assy. the same as those installed on the 3.31? I would thing they are different, but I can't find any pictures of close-up comparisions.

 

Here is my 3.31 before I installed them on my restored 8.8 axle assy.

 

 

and then a picture of them installed on the axle assy., right and left

 

 

and then just before I rolled it back under the car............

 

 

 

I know the Bullitt Mustang also came with a 3.73 8.8 but I could not find any of those axle pictures either. Are the cast weights shown in the first picture different on a 3.73 axle assy.?

 

 

Thanks, R

[sheppd01]

Look the same to me.

 

[oldlugs]

Funny; my first mods to both my '08 Bullitt and my KR, were to delete those weights. Right about 9# of unsprung weight removed for free.

[Robert M]

Look the same to me.

 

 

Yes they do look the same. Thank you for the picture.

 

The reason I asked is because I recently saw these 2011 GT500 take-off parts and I knew it was not a 3.31 car that these came off of since that year came with at least 3.55's............

 

 

Neither of the weights shown above look like mine.

 

 

R

[Robert M]

Funny; my first mods to both my '08 Bullitt and my KR, were to delete those weights. Right about 9# of unsprung weight removed for free.

 

 

I know, I know............If I had not gone to the extent of bringing my axle assy. back to original assy. line condition before the metal rust pitted, including replicating all assy. line markings and paint daubs with correct Markal paint markers, I would not have re-installed those weights, but to be correctly restored, they have to be there.

 

 

 

R

[Ford Fest]

Robert M,

 

Did you do a thread on your restoration? Would be very interested in it.

[Robert M]

Robert M,

 

Did you do a thread on your restoration? Would be very interested in it.

 

I did a thread somewhere, let me look for it.

 

 

R

[Robert M]

Here is a thread I started over on the 2007-2012 SuperSnake forum, Wow, it has already been 1 1/2 years ago, actually about 2 years ago!

 

There are many details included in this thread if someone decides to go to this level with their axle rust removal............

 

http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php/topic/74180-88-axle-restore/?hl= axle restoration

 

^^^^^^^Like I mentioned in this thread...............the key is to get rid of the rust before pitting occurs. Once the metal pits it will be very difficult to achieve the original smooth/bare metal appearance with only a clear spray top-coat.

 

Once the axle has been sprayed a color or rust seal/coated, it will be difficult to remove the spray/color without also removing all of the original Ford assy. line markings, so a decision has to be made before the project begins, which direction and/or level are you going to go with the axle?

 

 

R

[Robert M]

Over on SVTPerformance.com there was a question last week about a panhard relocation bracket possibly getting in the way of a catback exhaust, I had my car up on Race Ramps because I had just installed the 2011-up UCA and UCM on my 2008, so I snapped some pictures for the person who asked the question............

 

 

 

 

^^^^^It is Soooo Nice not seeing rust under my car!!!!!!

 

 

The two pictures above are a little incentive to those who are on the fence about their "rusty axle" issue.

 

 

 

 

 

R

[mmitcgell]

That looks really good ! I like the bare metal look.

 

What LCA are those?

 

 

So the axle weights are worth taking off? I've changed to 3:73 gears and thought about removing them. No negative effects?

 

Thanks.

[Robert M]

That looks really good ! I like the bare metal look.

 

What LCA are those?

 

 

So the axle weights are worth taking off? I've changed to 3:73 gears and thought about removing them. No negative effects?

 

Thanks.

 

^^^Thanks!

 

 

For the weight factor it is a positive thing to take them off, many have removed them without any affect from what I have been told, and read.

 

Those LCA's are the "CS" Shelby version that are available through Shelby Perf. Parts.

 

Here is the view from the other side...........

 

 

^^^^These are the most recent design, there was a solid version also that was available a couple of years ago, but I think is now discontinued.

 

Shown below is the OEM LCA on top, then the solid CS LCA that I believe is no longer available and then the CS LCA that is currently available and installed on my car........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

R

[Ford Fest]

Robert,

 

Why the 2011 and up arms? I've been looking at replacing mine for no reason other than they just look great, IMO. However, I was looking at the ones for a 2007-2009. I've been toying with the rusty project for a while and would like to tackle it over the winter. The main thing needed for me is changing the gear do to a horrid whine. I'm very nervous to pull the rear as mine too has modded suspension. I'm concerned that I will mess something up during the process. I have about zero knowledge to do the job, but I have a friend that is extremely knowledgable. My local Ford dealer will do the gear swap as they have a tech that is very experienced. The tech would prefer to have the rear pulled to make his job easier. I would really prefer to have Ford try to correct gear whine without pulling rear. If that was the case, I would try to fix rear rust without dropping the rear.

 

Any advise?

[Robert M]

Robert,

 

Why the 2011 and up arms? I've been looking at replacing mine for no reason other than they just look great, IMO. However, I was looking at the ones for a 2007-2009. I've been toying with the rusty project for a while and would like to tackle it over the winter. The main thing needed for me is changing the gear do to a horrid whine. I'm very nervous to pull the rear as mine too has modded suspension. I'm concerned that I will mess something up during the process. I have about zero knowledge to do the job, but I have a friend that is extremely knowledgable. My local Ford dealer will do the gear swap as they have a tech that is very experienced. The tech would prefer to have the rear pulled to make his job easier. I would really prefer to have Ford try to correct gear whine without pulling rear. If that was the case, I would try to fix rear rust without dropping the rear.

 

Any advise?

 

The 2011-up that I am using on my 2008 is the upper control arm (UCA). Ford made some very big changes to this suspension piece for 2011. The arm is longer and the hardware is larger.

 

My progression is shown below. The 2011-up unit was upgraded considerably by Ford.............there was a reason for the complete redesign..........

 

The OEM 2008 UCA, the 2007-2010 BMR UCA, the OEM 2011-up UCA and the 2011-up BMR UCA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As shown above, there are many differences between the 2011-up UCA's and the B4 2011 UCA's.

 

>>The rear gear change............I had a friend install the True-Trac in mine while the axle assy. was out of the car. What suspension setting are you worried about? Once things are adjusted and the adjustment points tightened they should go right back together the way they came apart. I took the brakes, axles and anything else that was not needed to deal with the differential and hauled the housing to my friends shop, he thought it was Great, he was able to work on the True-Trac install as well as re-setting the gears on a bench instead of on a lift under the car.

 

>> The rust issue...........It really depends upon what level of "de-rust" you choose to do, to do it as I have done it really needs to come out from under the car. I de-rusted everything on the axle assy, even inside of all of the brackets. If you do it in the car then there will have to be some tape work done to keep overspray from getting on things that should not have spray. By the time you properly tape everything off, the axle could be out on the floor, but then the fun just begins, it is much quicker to spray the axle than it is to completely de-rust it. The main thing is time, do you want to spend hours de-rusting before the restoration begins? or do you want to spend a few hours and get it done with a spray can? <<<These are the questions. De-rusting my 8.8 took hours because the Navel Jelly is a Very Slow process............

 

 

R

[Ford Fest]

I wasn't sure if I by pulling the rear I would need everything readjusted after it was reinstalled. Meaning, pan hard bar, sway bar etc. My 40th has the Eibach suspension, guessing similar to your SS before modded. As I mentioned, I know nothing about this stuff, just what I have read.

 

Wow, there is a massive difference in the UCA change. I noticed the BMR is adjustable. Why is that piece adjustable? Is it adjusted once everything is installed? Did you have to make any changes for the 2011 UCA to fit or was it a simple drop in piece?

 

At the end of the day, the only mod I truly need is to change the gears to get rid of the whine. The other stuff would be just for fun as I don't really hammer on much. But, if these mods might help it actually hook it would be great to feel the actually power of the car. Don't get me wrong, it's great that the car has the power to break the tires loose at 40+mph, but that's all you feel. What kind of money should I expect to put out to replace the UCA and LCA? I've seen several different brands listed, CS, BMR, Steeda. How about the differential cover, replace it as well?

 

As for the rust, I'm the only one that sees the rust, but it does dig at me everytime I remove the wheeels.

 

I truly appreciate your advice and sharing the details of this process. I'm sure I will be reaching out to you once I get started.

[Robert M]

I wasn't sure if I by pulling the rear I would need everything readjusted after it was reinstalled. Meaning, pan hard bar, sway bar etc. My 40th has the Eibach suspension, guessing similar to your SS before modded. As I mentioned, I know nothing about this stuff, just what I have read.

 

Wow, there is a massive difference in the UCA change. I noticed the BMR is adjustable. Why is that piece adjustable? Is it adjusted once everything is installed? Did you have to make any changes for the 2011 UCA to fit or was it a simple drop in piece?

 

At the end of the day, the only mod I truly need is to change the gears to get rid of the whine. The other stuff would be just for fun as I don't really hammer on much. But, if these mods might help it actually hook it would be great to feel the actually power of the car. Don't get me wrong, it's great that the car has the power to break the tires loose at 40+mph, but that's all you feel. What kind of money should I expect to put out to replace the UCA and LCA? I've seen several different brands listed, CS, BMR, Steeda. How about the differential cover, replace it as well?

 

As for the rust, I'm the only one that sees the rust, but it does dig at me everytime I remove the wheeels.

 

I truly appreciate your advice and sharing the details of this process. I'm sure I will be reaching out to you once I get started.

 

 

Yes, I have the Eibach coil-over option. If you are removing and re-using the same parts during the axle R&R everything should go right back in place with the same settings as when the axle was before the removal.

 

The BMR UCA is adjustable for tweeking the pinion angle. The oem rubber in both the 2011-up and B4 2011 UCA is more like a marshmellow, it allows forward and backward movement as well as side to side. <<It is more forgiving if the pinion angle is not exactly where it should be. The BMR UCA is more solid with the poly bushing so to get the pinion to the correct angle they offer an adjustable UCA. <<BMR also offers a poly bushing UCA in non-adjustable.

 

Depending upon what brand you buy, you could have as much as $800 in those pieces, maybe a little more but it sure takes the marshmellow rubber out of the rear suspension. When I replaced my oem LCA's with the poly CS/BMR units I was very surprised, I didn't even notice a difference in NVH, but the car felt more solid (not as much flex) in the rear.

 

The oem 2011-up UCA is not a direct fit to the 2007-2010 GT500, the UCM (mounting bracket) hits the lip of the fuel tank so it requires a small amount of modification to the oem bracket but it is no big deal. The 2011-up GT500 fuel tank is different from the 2007-2010 in this area for this reason. The BMR 2011-up UCM does not have the same shape as the oem and it fits without modification.

 

The rust...............I know, no one see's it , but like I said, once the bare metal begins to pit, the only way to get the pitted pieces smooth will be with filler. If you have to use filler, then the correct original bare metal finish option goes away because clearing the bare metal will also show the filler in the pits. <<The pitting will be accelerated the more the axle is exposed to water/moisture...........Another drawback is that if the axle has filler in the pits, then something like sandpaper or steel wool will have to be used to take the filler down to the surface, this creates scratches on the axle tubes which will also be visible with a clear bare metal top coat.

 

I found the easiest way was to pull the axle out, leave the brake calipers hanging in the fender wells with tie wraps and the brake system sealed so it is not constantly dripping/draining while the axle is out, and put the axle on a pair of jack stands so it can be rotated for de-rusting at any position, that made the job much easier. <<I was able to sit on a low stool right down at the floor level, or even sit on the floor and work on it as I had/made time. I tie wrapped soft cloths to the saddle area of the jack stands to minimize any metal to metal contact with the axle tubes while rotating the axle into the position needed.

 

 

 

 

R

[philip 87]

Looks amazing!

[FiaCobra]

I took off those weights when I painted the rear but saved them as they're "original" equipment. Try finding those items 30 years from now.....lol

[Ford Fest]

Robert,

 

I started the rear resto project today. You're correct, it is a slow process. I started with the weights today as I thought this would give me some practice and their finish is more forgiving. I would like to know a little more about your process. How long did you let the naval jelly soak, multiple coats, rinse between coats (with water) etc.