Tight u-joint?

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
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Now re-assembling my driveshaft. Got the first U-joint installed with very little problem - ended up using the thinest (Copper colored) snap rings as the Spicer documentation said I probably would as the other two sizes wouldn't fit when attempting to install on both sides.

Anyway, the U-joint doesn't turn easily. It doesn't take a huge amount of effort, but it doesn't move freely by any means. I'm pretty sure I didn't mess up the needle bearings, everything felt good going together and looks right. So - do I need to take it back apart to check, or is this something that will work free after a few miles?

Please advise...
 
Now re-assembling my driveshaft. Got the first U-joint installed with very little problem - ended up using the thinest (Copper colored) snap rings as the Spicer documentation said I probably would as the other two sizes wouldn't fit when attempting to install on both sides.

Anyway, the U-joint doesn't turn easily. It doesn't take a huge amount of effort, but it doesn't move freely by any means. I'm pretty sure I didn't mess up the needle bearings, everything felt good going together and looks right. So - do I need to take it back apart to check, or is this something that will work free after a few miles?

Please advise...

Did you use a press to install the caps, or a hammer and socket?

If a press, it's probably bound up. It'll usually free up by giving it a couple of good whacks to the yoke with a BFH while holding the shaft in one hand (not against a work bench or floor so as to deliver all the energy into bending the yoke ear...you're just trying to give it a good shock).

Alternate possibilities is a needle bearing out of place, or an extra one of those little black washers inside the cap, but when I've done that I can't even get the cap deep enough to seat the ring.
 
Did you use a press to install the caps, or a hammer and socket?

If a press, it's probably bound up. It'll usually free up by giving it a couple of good whacks to the yoke with a BFH while holding the shaft in one hand (not against a work bench or floor so as to deliver all the energy into bending the yoke ear...you're just trying to give it a good shock).

Alternate possibilities is a needle bearing out of place, or an extra one of those little black washers inside the cap, but when I've done that I can't even get the cap deep enough to seat the ring.

Hammer and socket to install, press to remove as it wouldn't budge otherwise. Found out the reason - some hand fist had beat on it with a screwdriver and bunged up the metal on the inside surface at the edge.

I'll go beat on it some more, and report back.
 
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Shit. Ok, I'll pull it apart again - it'll be a TON easier this time!

Capt. Sum Ting Wong

Did you bend the ears?

I sincerely don't think so. I don't know how I could have with the care I used on removal, even with the (ball joint) press. There was never any squeezing between the two ears - UNLESS - the "I pressed on it" carrier managed to hang up enough to do it. It was mother fucking TIGHT. I had to use a 30 inch breaker bar to get the thing to press out and there were a couple of loud bangs as it did so.

Here's the pix thus far:

DSC01882.JPG

Bunged up from somebody's screwdriver at the 5 and 7 O'Clock positions. Both sides had this problem. Ignore the white that looks like a crack - that's from a cleaning pad. Maybe the old carrier hung up on this when pressing it out and tweaked the ears?

DSC01883.JPG

I filed off each bunged section.

DSC01884.JPG

Here it is installed. Yes, that's a plastic end washer from one of the "other two" that fell out when I knocked it off. Its now back in position and all needle bearings are fine.
DSC01885.JPG

Snap ring installed.

Anyway, I went out and took it apart again - which was SUPER easy now. All needle bearings are where they belong, all looks well. Should I attempt to re-assemble? Or should I try to beat the ears apart before doing so? Or what...?
 
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Put it back together and run it

Thinking it'll loosen up over time? That was kinda my thought as well, but as I've never done this job before, blah, blah, blah - its a BFD! It really isn't "that tight", but its certainly considerably tighter than the carriers are on the un-installed parts.
 
Thinking it'll loosen up over time? That was kinda my thought as well, but as I've never done this job before, blah, blah, blah - its a BFD! It really isn't "that tight", but its certainly considerably tighter than the carriers are on the un-installed parts.

Probably. But if it doesn't and you need to redo it in a couple years, so what?
 
Worst case, it will tell you before it blows.

True enough, just like it did this time. I don't know if you saw it or not, but here's the pix of the old joint:

DSC01865.JPG

It had managed to slag down the needle bearings, melting them into a kind of metal sleeve!

Its now back together again, and I've convinced myself that it'll be OK. It didn't tighten up until the very last taps to get the 2nd snap ring in place. That tells me that the tightness is coming from the nylon thrust washer in the end of the carrier, not from a misalignment problem. The nylon washer will wear in to where it needs to be.

Thanx to everyone who helped handhold the clueless N00B here! {BOW HERE}
 
True enough, just like it did this time. I don't know if you saw it or not, but here's the pix of the old joint:

View attachment 430005
It had managed to slag down the needle bearings, melting them into a kind of metal sleeve!

Its now back together again, and I've convinced myself that it'll be OK. It didn't tighten up until the very last taps to get the 2nd snap ring in place. That tells me that the tightness is coming from the nylon thrust washer in the end of the carrier, not from a misalignment problem. The nylon washer will wear in to where it needs to.

Thanx to everyone who helped handhold the clueless N00B here! {BOW HERE}

What did that sound like to drive? The worst one I ever had, the needle bearings were approximately 100% iron oxide and not one bit of grease to be seen. It sounded like a sack of rabid hamsters under the bed of my pickup.
 
What did that sound like to drive? The worst one I ever had, the needle bearings were approximately 100% iron oxide and not one bit of grease to be seen. It sounded like a sack of rabid hamsters under the bed of my pickup.

No sound, just vibration. No grease, just iron oxide dust and that melted into a sleeve bearing assy.
 
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