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I've got my half shafts & half shaft flanges all blased & cleaned ready to install the U-Joints. U-Joints were delivered yesterday from Corvette World. Ready for installation. Are there any special tools needed to press the caps in place. Is this a do-it-yourself project? What is the proven procedure? I have searched the archives but can find nothing that spells out the exact steps.
Don't know what level Mechanic you are Rory, so hopefully I won't tick you off
If you don't have a press or large vise, your going to have to resort to the old method of tapping (more like driving) the caps in place.
It starts by pulling the two affected caps off the u-joint and placing the u-joint into the saddles.
Then setting a cap on the outside of the saddle, start the u-joint back into the cap as far as it will go until it bottoms out on the inner shoulder of the saddle, then tap the cap into the saddle just until you can get the internal snap ring in place NO FURTHER!
Then do the same thing on the opposite side being extreemly careful not to displace any of the needles in either of the caps.
Whatever way you go, you should definately either use an old flange or make a 1/4" plate drilled out to bolt up at all four hole locations on the flange so that you don't collapse the saddles together while pressing/hammering the caps in place.
Either way you have to be really careful about binding the joints up in the saddles so be patient, they will (should) go in really snug.
PLUS you have to be paranoid about contaminating the joints.
That's the readers digest version Rory.
If you have the time and a couple of bucks to spare, take them to your local machine shop and have them install them. Half the time and zero worries. PLUS the work will be guaranteed. It won't be that expensive.
Add one comment, Never Seize sure does make things easier to assemble, Just a very thin coat on the bearing bores on the yoke will take a lot of the work out of assembling and (heaven forbid) disassembling
You can also check out the April 2005 issue of Chevy High Performance for an article on u-joint replacement for some pictures. The tip to use a brake hone to clean up the cap area of the u-joint is one I might use.
Chuck,
Is there any truth to the myth that U-Joints can be installed backwards? I have heard that you install U-Joints with the zerks pointing toward each other, then my question is what about the ones without zerks?
There are U-joints that have their caps off the centerline of the X (though not corvette that I know of), so which way might they face, assuming they will fit either way?
Mike
I was told to install the zerk in a quadrant that is under compression when the u-joint is under load. The thread acts as a stress riser and will cause, help, whatever, the u-joint fail if the area around the zerk is in tension.
I have replaced a number of these U-Joints both on the prop shaft as well as on the half shafts. It can be done by the uninitiated, but go slow & gather info as you are doing. My advice is soak the trunnions with blaster penetrating oil & clean up the area in the vicinity of the clips (especially on the ID) after removing the C clips. Spray on some more penetrating oil & start to press out the U-joint while evenly supporting the surrounding yoke (use the correct size socket for suppport). Do not beat them out or beat them in. I always used a press, or a large vice, or a robust C clamp. I also push the opposite trunnion with a socket that is of a slightly smaller ID than the other trunnion. When you go as far as you can, the trunnion will almost be outside the shaft so use a channel lock or similar plier to twist & pull it the rest of the way. Next support the other side & with the larger socket & push the 2nd trunnion out the other direction. Clean up the ID's of the shaft with a light crokus cloth so that the installation of the new U-joint will go smooth. You can also lube it with a light grease. When you get the replacement in, the shaft has to be gently struck on the side with a mallet while supporting the machined end of the shaft. Here you are carefully driving the trunnions into the clips (make sure the clips are fully expanded into their recesses so they are locked). This last step generally ensures the spiders rotate freely in their respective trunnions. It is a step that is important to a good installation. Check for non binding by rotating the spider. It is also very important to get high quality U-joints. If you don't (there is a lot of junk out there) Look for brands like Dana Spicer. You can end up with an imbalance. This is especially true with the prop shaft. The OEM U-joints did not come with grease zerks, if you want zerks, get them on the ends of the trunnions & not the spiders as here they are stress risers. Good Luck
I'm no expert on u-joint geometry but the practical part of me wants to say that it wouldn't matter which way a u-joint was installed, with or without zerks as far as "stress issues go.
I'll go out on a limb here and say if there was even a remote chance of stress issues around the zerks, then every joint would have a big ole warning sheet packed with it telling you exactly how to install the joint.
Joints CAN however be installed with the zerks pointing in more advantagous positions for grease gun access.
Now let's see how much trouble I got me and my big mouth into
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