Replaced the u-joints...which may have turned into a thing. I had 2 friends helping. A while back I picked up a used Harbor Freight 12 ton press, so you already know where this is going. They were excited about using the press for this job, and I'm like I don't think we need the press for this, the 3 of us had already done several u joints with a vice and a BFH. Also, I must've said 5 times about how I've heard horror stories of guys bending the ears when using a press.
So me and one guy are working on one side, and sure enough, my other buddy is over there using the press to push it out. Or trying to, anyway. He wasn't able to get it out and once I saw him trying I pulled the plug on that operation, but it might've been too late. I should mention that these guys are XJ owners, and as you probably know XJ owners aren't known for their attention to detail.
Anyhoo, it got late so we stopped and I started back in the next morning. Sure enough, the side he was working on, the U joint would not slip in. Recognizing that I was probably already F'd, I was able to tap the u joint "a little" to get it to clear and then push in the end caps. Haven't given it a test drive yet, but naturally I'm pissed that my normally reliable help didn't follow my directions, and nervous that my axle isn't going to run right. I never know how freely new u joints are supposed to turn, but this one feels tighter than I think it should. I knew I would upgrade to chromoly's at some point, but I figured it would be after I broke them on the trail, not because of a friend who couldn't follow directions.
I'm sure a bunch of people will be all "I don't let unskilled friends touch my jeep" yeah, whatever. Half the fun of working on them is spending time with friends and learning new stuff, so I guess this is the price we occasionally have to pay. But I am pretty irritated at this one. Will report back after the test drive.