U-Joint Replacement (1 Viewer)

[Oaxaca80]

Any input would be great.

I have to change my u-joints.

Can I use a large C clamp in place of the SST shown in the FSM? Would a bench vise be better. I have the c clamp but not the vise.

Any experience here???

Thanks,

 

[Rookie2]

Run a search using keywords Universal Joint or U-joint and see what comes up. Seems like someone went through this a few weeks ago, and I thought they were able to do it with a C-clamp, but don't remember exactly.


Rookie2

 

[cruisermaine]

I went through this a few weeks ago. Had help from a fellow lister who'd done it before and the trick was a two arm gear puller. I should have snapped some pics but didn't think of it at the time.

 

[landtoy80]

I replaced all of mine. It was a real PITA.
I had a hard time getting them out. Had to cut them out.
Getting them in was worse. I had two get screw up and had to replace them.
My problem was with the caps. They were tooo tight. I had to remove some material from one of the driveshaft (the hole where the cap goes).
When removing the caps, some came out cockeyed and scraped metal from the hole, making it even harder to get the new cap in.
I tried the hammer method, socket and vice method and tired a u-jont remover and had bad luck with them all
I hope you have better luck than I did.
Clean up your yoke splines and make sure you put it back together the same way. Something about being either in or out of phase??? I just did it per the FSM. I hope the manual was right.

Next time I will either get new driveshaft or get used driveshaft as mine are no longet replacable.

 

[Landpimp]

hamer, vice and socket(s) is the way to go , I don't think a C-clamp wil have enough force to pop em out.

make sure when putting back together you don't get one of the needles under the spider.........if it isn;t going all the way in......take it out and check it.

 

[Rich]

My thoughts are to buy a proper ujoint tool. Balance the tool cost against the savings of paying for the labor. If you don't want to buy the tool, they can be rented from tool rental stores and borrowed from some auto parts stores. I presume if you do the borrow thing the parts store is going to expect you to buy ujoints from them.

If you go the rental route you need to ensure the rental tool is still in good shape. In the past I have had several experiences where the rental tools were already knackered. These days I only rent extremely expensive tools that I only need for a single use.

 

[landtank]

I did the joints with cruisermaine and they aren't that bad. Like he said we used a 6" two arm gear puller, grabbed onto the side of the yoke and then pushed the joint out through the otherside. The trick is that once you have the puller in place and tightened down hit the opposite side with a hammer to help break the cup free. Once the cup is free the press right out. Took maybe 10 minutes to clear each joint from the shaft.

 

[cruisermaine]

Mark,

Listen to Rick, go get a 2 arm gear puller and you will find it a fairly easy job.

 

[Safado]

Mark,

Listen to Rick, go get a 2 arm gear puller and you will find it a fairly easy job.

Any pics of the device you used?

 

[landtank]

It's an OTC 2 arm gear puller, check your local auto part store.

 

[Oaxaca80]

Gear puller sounds like the way to go, especially since I am buying either a puller or a vice.

Any thoughts or insights on the installation side (I'll keep the needle in mind ) ?

Also the old axiam, "If it don't fit ; Don't force it!"

Thnaks guys, the operation is planned for Friday evening (19th) as that is the day my parts arrive. Will let you know how it goes...

 

[Ian Rogers]

why do you need a gear puller. to gut them out just beat the shi* out of them. This is how i do it and it works on the fj40 and my Ford Ranger. to put them back in I like to over grease them this way the needles will not fall into the center, press the caps on with a bench vise.

 

[landtank]

You don't need a gear puller, however beating them senseless is fine just don't miss and bugger up the shaft. Any distortion in the shaft whether with the bore or the alignment between the two will really add some time to the job.

 

[nyk438]

I replaced all of mine. It was a real PITA.
I had a hard time getting them out. Had to cut them out.
Getting them in was worse. I had two get screw up and had to replace them.
My problem was with the caps. They were tooo tight. I had to remove some material from one of the driveshaft (the hole where the cap goes).
When removing the caps, some came out cockeyed and scraped metal from the hole, making it even harder to get the new cap in.
I tried the hammer method, socket and vice method and tired a u-jont remover and had bad luck with them all
I hope you have better luck than I did.
Clean up your yoke splines and make sure you put it back together the same way. Something about being either in or out of phase??? I just did it per the FSM. I hope the manual was right.

Next time I will either get new driveshaft or get used driveshaft as mine are no longet replacable.

The driveshaft being out of phase isn't a big deal. Just means it's not lined up and will casue the truck vibrate and will give you a lot of noise when driving down the road at 50+ mph.

 

[Oaxaca80]

Got 'er Done!

Thanks for all the input. Got them change without any problems. I picked up a twoarm puller but didn't use it. I just tapped the caps out with a big brass punch and reversed the process for installing. Everything went smooth. I wasn't able to gauge whether I have the required .0050" axial clearance as per the FSM but I'll live. Thanks again for the help. There is a u-joint writeup in the Tech links section.

 

[Lars]

ITEM# 38335-0VGA at Harbor Frieght is a good little tool. Makes quick work of ujoints.

It is often on sale for less than $30