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drive shaft/transmission

16 years ago

Hi Everyone,

Please advise since I need to understand these things.

This evening, the brakes on my college son's 98-F-150 went out. Thank goodness no injuries or another car involved. In an effort to stop the truck, he used the emergency brakes (parking brake?)and the drive shaft broke. He thought the transmission was toast. The tow truck driver said a broken shaft doesn't necessarily mean a wrecked transmission. Is this likely?

Tow truck also took the truck to their repair shop. Is this customary? My son is young, and I don't know cars. I'd like to give him the best advice I can.

Thank you all in advance.

RM

Comments (7)

mikie_gw
16 years ago
Fix the breaks, find a driveshaft .. try it.

Hard to imagine the emerg brake would cause a busted drive shafrt though ... did he also slam it into a funny gear to try to stop ?
jemdandy
16 years ago
"... drive shaft broke..." I'm wondering if it was broken U-Joints instead.
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timbulb
16 years ago
Sounds like the son is covering up a little wreckless joy riding.
jemdandy
16 years ago
"... broken driveshaft ..."
Oooh... Did he slam the tranny into park while the truck was moving? (This assumes he has an automatic transmission.)
author62
Original Author
16 years ago
Hi Tim,

Yes that did cross my mind. He is afterall, a young college kid away from home and maybe too afraid to tell us what really happened. However, he was two blocks from his house which is on a busy city street. In fact the tow truck driver gave him a ride home. Well at least that's what he told me...
jemdandy
16 years ago
There is a way in which a driveshaft can be severly damaged: The front U-joint breaks dropping the front end of the drive shaft onto the street while the rear end remains attached. The front end of the shaft slides to the side and is run over by the rear wheels. Lots of damage in this scenario, not to mention potential contact with the vehicle in the adjacent lane. To guard from this hazard, install a catch loop under the drive shaft. Its purpose is prevent the front end of the drive shaft from falling onto the roadway.
DNT1
16 years ago
The answer lies in a inspection of the passenger side rear tire on this truck, take a good look at that and compare it to the other tires on this 98 PU and report back.

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