Did you recieve other retainers? Spicer usually sends quite a bit of varying thickness. Though I've never had to use any others besides the copper colored ones
Replacing U-Joints: Do You Prefer a Hammer or a Press?
- Thread starter jjvw
- Start date
TJ Rubicus
TJ Enthusiast
Brianj5600
TJ Expert
I used a hammer and a 7"x7"x24" block of wood with a hole bored in it to push the cap out for 30 years. I have a press now and have not had any problems. I have had some stubborn ones. I just double and triple checked that it is supported and not pushing on an ear. I've had 2 that scared the crap out of me when the let go.
BlackJeep23
Member
I just did an axle u joint. Could not get a big enough gap for one of the retainers for the life of me until we realized we needed to allow the whole u joint to shift so we put a large socket under it to allow it to slip back a little, one small tap and the retainer went in easily.
Single jack was missing in action so a full sledge used as a single jack was required for removal.
Single jack was missing in action so a full sledge used as a single jack was required for removal.
Big hammer a couple of Craftsman sockets and a block of wood. I used to change joints in the gravel driveway all the time when I had my F-100 Camper Special with a 460. Just beat it like it owes you money.
I've replaced 3 driveshafts worth of U-joints in my life, so hardly the expert, but this has been my experience:
The first was in my '02 F-150. I used a combination of a ball joint press and a bench vise. One had gone completely dry and the needle bearings had lost about half their mass to red powder and sounded like a paint can shaker full of meth addicted squirrels. 2 u joints took me most of an afternoon. The second was the original rear driveshaft in my TJ. Again, I used a ball joint press and it took me about 2 hours to do 2 u-joints, and I had to beat the piss out of the yoke ears at the end to get the u-joints to move freely. Last year I paid a shop $60 to replace the u-joints in my front axle shafts because I was in the middle of an axle swap and regear project and too busy to mess with it if it was going to go like the driveshafts I'd done.
Then, thanks to some forum posts, I learned about the hammer method. In February I did all 3 u-joints in my TJ's front driveshaft in about 25 minutes with a couple of sockets and a 3lb "Engineer's Hammer".
I'll never go back to the press.
The first was in my '02 F-150. I used a combination of a ball joint press and a bench vise. One had gone completely dry and the needle bearings had lost about half their mass to red powder and sounded like a paint can shaker full of meth addicted squirrels. 2 u joints took me most of an afternoon. The second was the original rear driveshaft in my TJ. Again, I used a ball joint press and it took me about 2 hours to do 2 u-joints, and I had to beat the piss out of the yoke ears at the end to get the u-joints to move freely. Last year I paid a shop $60 to replace the u-joints in my front axle shafts because I was in the middle of an axle swap and regear project and too busy to mess with it if it was going to go like the driveshafts I'd done.
Then, thanks to some forum posts, I learned about the hammer method. In February I did all 3 u-joints in my TJ's front driveshaft in about 25 minutes with a couple of sockets and a 3lb "Engineer's Hammer".
I'll never go back to the press.
I have tried multiple methods, all successful thus far and generally I use my BFH for removal. Faster and no harm done. I do find virtue in using my vise to aid in reassembly. I will wager most pros use a hammer most of the time. Three crisp blows and you have popped a cap out, even one that has been in for a decade.
I used the press or vise method twice and it took me hours each time. Both times, the u-joint was binding once it was all put together and I had to beat the yoke with a hammer to get it to loosen up. For whatever reason, the hammer method hasn't resulted in binding.
I had binding on one pair and it was easy to loosen it up by hitting it with a hammer. @Jerry Bransford posted this in another thread and it was helpful.
I replaced a centering yoke yesterday and used an 8oz ballpeen with socket. Worked just fine. In the past though I have used a balljoint clamp with finesse.
I believe part of why my front axle u-joint failed is because I probably bent something and it wasn't sitting quite right ever since. So I've used the hammer approach since learning about it.
That's my preferred method too. It's too easy to bend an ear with a press.
Pro Tip: when you use a hammer don't miss & smash your index finger like me. I hit it so fucking hard I was hesitant to take my glove off & look. Now when the temp gets under about 50 degrees I can't do anything outside without gloves because my left index finger turns a death-like grey color & stops working.
I asked my doc about it, he said "oh yeah, you probably just crushed the artery in it. It won't get better. As a matter of fact as you get older it might get worse, if it does we'll have to take it off"
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I asked my doc about it, he said "oh yeah, you probably just crushed the artery in it. It won't get better. As a matter of fact as you get older it might get worse, if it does we'll have to take it off"
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