I recently noticed the u-shaped dampner under the differential housing was snapped in half on my 95 GT. A new one cost $150. Does anyone know the importance of this, or if welding it would be sufficient?
I would think that the piece could be welded back together. I know alot of people just take these things off to save weight. $150 for a new one is pretty absurd, and you could also call around the the local salvage yards to see if they have one.
I think it isn't metal, it feels like it is a composite material that is good at dampening vibrations. Get one from a junk yard or try to glue and stich it together with epoxy glue. Probably best to get a used one.
I think that what u are refering to is more comonly known as the dog bone. Im not exactly sure this is what ur talking about but pretty close. It's purpose from the factory is to remove harmonic vibrations caused by the stock rear-end and DS. You can just chuck it, i think a lot of people just rip it off anyways to save wieght. You really dont need it if you have a nice set of aftermarket gears and alum DS that are better balanced. Good luck hope this helps
If you have stock ratio gears in your stang you may want to keep the dog bone on there. If you have aftermarket ratio gears in your car throw that heavy junk of metal in the garbage and get rid of some useless weight. It serves absolutley no purpose when a numerically higher gear is used.