Towing a 1983 F250 with automatic transmission

[Oldtruck]

I Will be towing a 1983 F250 pickup and will need to remove the driveshaft prior to transporting. I have not been under the truck and not sure what is required to remove the driveshaft. Any information and guidance will be much appreciated!

 

[Fellro]

2 u-bolts over the ujoint if I recall. Should be a Dana axle on that one. Grab some duct tape to hold the ujoint together. Just take the nuts off, pry the joint forward to get the u-bolts out if they aren't rusted in.

 

[Sparky83]

And if the bolt heads are weakend you may need a small saw to cut off the heads and retainers. Just be careful not to cut the ujoint caps if your planning to reuse the ujoint. The retainers and bolts are like $10-20 to replace. If you gotta cut them the fun parts getting the rest of the bolt out. Luckily when i had to cut the rounded heads off the rest came out with a pair of vice grips

 

[Oldtruck]

Thanks for the replies! I would like to confirm if the drive shaft is a one piece or two piece shaft, and if it is two piece, does the rear shaft have a slip joint at the carrier bearing. I have removed drive shafts before but have never worked on a two piece drive shaft. I am trying to figure out what I need to take with me to ready this F250 for the return trip home.

Thanks again for your help!
Ray

 

[d-kuzmen]

Thanks for the replies! I would like to confirm if the drive shaft is a one piece or two piece shaft, and if it is two piece, does the rear shaft have a slip joint at the carrier bearing. I have removed drive shafts before but have never worked on a two piece drive shaft. I am trying to figure out what I need to take with me to ready this F250 for the return trip home.

Thanks again for your help!
Ray

If the truck is 4 wheel drive you could just throw the transfer case in neutral.

 

[Oldtruck]

The truck is two wheel drive.

 

[Fellro]

What cab length? Extended cabs have 2 piece as do crew cabs. My 86 4wd is a single, and I believe the 2wd standard cab is also a single. If a double, the carrier bearing is stationary so the slip joint is behind it. Also, it is good practice to be sure to mark the ujoint alignment before removing in that you can take like a can of spray paint and paint one side of the driveshaft and pinion yoke to be sure you get it back to the proper phasing with the rest of the driveline.

 

[Oldtruck]

Thanks! So if everything breaks loose it should be a easy removal.
thanks again!
Ray