Front driveshaft / yoke next steps

[didge00]

Hi everyone, first time long time.

I have an '04 6-cyl 5-speed. I bought it a couple of years ago and have been slowly picking away at it to get it back on the road. Low miles (54k!) but harsh New England has taken a toll as far as rust is concerned. I'm investigating a driveline shake (not death wobble) that was newly introduced after I did a fair amount of work: front diff pinion seal, steering box, front and rear diff flush (which required the tank coming off because thanks rounded off diff cover bolt), trans fluid, fuel tank bolt replacement, and some unrelated stuff. The shake comes at very low speeds (< 5 mph) and I haven't gone much faster to see if it goes away. So I figured I would first check things that spin fast at low speed, and decided to start with the driveshafts. Maybe they were out of balance. I also went with the front first since I'd taken the diff end off to do the seal. The front came off fine but thanks to the rust I could not get the 8mm bolts out from the back of the yoke on the transfer case. Tried the usual suspects to get them out - heat, PB, impact on a billion extensions and swivels. No luck. I was so determined to take that driveshaft off that I took apart the cardan joint figuring I'd just replace whatever afterwards. Well, it wasn't the front driveshaft causing the issue but now I'm wondering what my next steps should be to get the rest of the shaft off and then new parts on. I don't mind replacing parts (including the shaft itself) given how rusty everything is. Attached a pic of the damage I did. Suggestions on how to clean up my mess? TIA.

 

[macleanflood]

Might have to torch the driveshaft centering yoke off and replace it.

I would have started with checking air pressure and balancing the tires. How old are the tires?

Hate to see what the frame looks like.

-Mac

 

[didge00]

Pressure is good and I can't imagine they would be so out of balance that I'd get that kind of shake - plus I'd driven it previous to the work being done and it was fine. This wasn't a out of balance shake, it was pretty aggressive. Frame is in surprisingly good shape. There was a small patch put on the passenger rear during previous ownership but otherwise solid.
Are those bolts threaded the whole way through the yoke? I could grind off the heads and drill them out, just making sure it's the best option.

 

[JKP]

The tcase side of the yoke is just a through hole. Threads are in the driveshaft side.

The bolt head size is actually 5/16, 7/16 if you have Tom Woods bolts.

 

[CharlesHS]

IF you heat up the bolts you will probably need to replace the transfer case yoke seal.
IF you can see the bolt end hole on the remaining section of the driveshaft; drill them out to remove the driveshaft part from the yoke.
You should be able to use the bolt heads to spin the remainder of the bolts out of the yoke since they are not torqued.

 

[sierradmax]

4-1/2" grinding wheel and start cutting where the 4 joints where the shaft meets the yoke. At some point, you'll cut all the way through the bolts and be able to easily remove what's left of the driveshaft. If you're not comfortable cutting that close, stay 1/4" away. you can always go back with a dremel and a smaller cut off wheel, cutting what's left.

 

[GATORB8]

The tcase side of the yoke is just a through hole. Threads are in the driveshaft side.

This, Worst case, grind the heads off and pull the bolt shafts through the yoke.

 

[CharlesHS]

This, Worst case, grind the heads off and pull the bolt shafts through the yoke.

IF the bolt shaft is rusted inside the yokes flange hole as we suspect; then grinding the heads off the bolt shaft will not provide you the ability to free up the bolt shaft.
Leaving the head on bolt shaft and drilling out the threaded section to remove the remaining section of the driveshaft gives you the ability to twist the bolt shaft since the threaded section is no longer torqued. You can even drill the bolt shaft to further remove the tension on the sides of the yoke flange.

 

[GATORB8]

IF the bolt shaft is rusted inside the yokes flange hole as we suspect; then grinding the heads off the bolt shaft will not provide you the ability to free up the bolt shaft.
Leaving the head on bolt shaft and drilling out the threaded section to remove the remaining section of the driveshaft gives you the ability to twist the bolt shaft since the threaded section is no longer torqued. You can even drill the bolt shaft to further remove the tension on the sides of the yoke flange.

Fair point, guess I assumed the heads were already rounded off like I'm sure my dumb ass would have.

 

[didge00]

A bit of a necrothread at this point but wanted to say thanks for the suggestions. I tried drilling the bolts out but snapped a drill bit in there so basically I reinforced it haha. Ended up taking the grinder to it and have a parts order coming for the yokes, ujoints, that rubber washer that I barely noticed fell out and a new output seal since I'm already there. Once that's back together I'll be able to rinse and repeat to see if it's the rear shaft causing the shake.