U-Joint Replacement

||I need any helpful tips on changing the U-joints on my 01' Supercrew.

U-Joint replacement is best demonstrated, and hard to describe. I'd recommend you pull the driveshaft, then get them changed out by a pro while you watch.

Texas Parts Guy

It's fairly simple if you have a BIG vise. You take two sockets. One bigger in dia than the u-joint, and one slightly smaller in dia than the u-joint. You place the assembly in the big vise, and use the smaller socket to push the u-joint out from the other side, into the larger socket. BTW, make sure the lock C clamps are out first...:/ To install is the reverse. Make sure if a bearing cap falls off, that the needle bearings are straight up and down stuck on the sides, when you push it back together. Make sure none have fell over. You don't want a needle bearing to fall over, and still be that way, when you press the cap back on. It will keep you from pressing it on, as it jams it from going all the way on. If you don't have BIG vise, it's possible to beat the things out, but I don't recommend it unless you just feel bored, and have lots of time to kill, and would like a miserable afternoon.... It's a pain. I bought a BIG vise, just for the purpose of changing u-joints. Got it used for $40, which is not bad for a big vise..Not sure the spread on mine, but it's 7-8 inches at least. Just wide enough to do it...BTW, make sure the zerk fittings are in an accessable position when you install the bearings. You don't want them at an angle you can't fit a grease gun to...Also, make SURE you index the driveshaft with chalk marks, and put it back on the exact same position. Index the spline teeth if you need to. Most are two piece shafts. Phase can be one of two ways. "180 degrees apart" You want it back the same way in case the shaft has been balanced. Most repair manuals cover this. And most recommend the vise method I described... MK

Thanks Mark, I appreciate your time!

On Wed, 26 May 2004 01:39:58 GMT, Octo wrote:

||On 24 May 2004 23:25:45 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@wt.net (Mark Keith) wrote: || ||>Octo wrote in message news:... ||>> I need any helpful tips on changing the U-joints on my 01' Supercrew. ||>> ||>> TIA ||>> Octo ||>

||>It's fairly simple if you have a BIG vise. You take two sockets. One ||>bigger in dia than the u-joint, and one slightly smaller in dia than ||>the u-joint. You place the assembly in the big vise, and use the ||>smaller socket to push the u-joint out from the other side, into the ||>larger socket. BTW, make sure the lock C clamps are out first...:/ To ||>install is the reverse. Make sure if a bearing cap falls off, that the ||>needle bearings are straight up and down stuck on the sides, when you ||>push it back together. Make sure none have fell over. You don't want a ||>needle bearing to fall over, and still be that way, when you press the ||>cap back on. It will keep you from pressing it on, as it jams it from ||>going all the way on. ||>If you don't have BIG vise, it's possible to beat the things out, but ||>I don't recommend it unless you just feel bored, and have lots of time ||>to kill, and would like a miserable afternoon.... It's a pain. I ||>bought a BIG vise, just for the purpose of changing u-joints. Got it ||>used for $40, which is not bad for a big vise..Not sure the spread on ||>mine, but it's 7-8 inches at least. Just wide enough to do it...BTW, ||>make sure the zerk fittings are in an accessable position when you ||>install the bearings. You don't want them at an angle you can't fit a ||>grease gun to...Also, make SURE you index the driveshaft with chalk ||>marks, and put it back on the exact same position. Index the spline ||>teeth if you need to. Most are two piece shafts. Phase can be one of ||>two ways. "180 degrees apart" You want it back the same way in case ||>the shaft has been balanced. Most repair manuals cover this. And most ||>recommend the vise method I described... MK || ||Thanks Mark, I appreciate your time!

Good explanation, Mark. I'd add a few cautions:

- I have destroyed a good vise doing this the first time, back in my mis-spent youth. If you have to add leverage to the vise handle, you should break the cups loose with a hammer first.

- Some U-joints are glued in, rather than snap-ringed. You have to break these loose with a hammer. Even a press doesn't like these. If you are lucky, the replacement joints will have inside snap rings and the yokes will have machined flat surfaces on the inside.

- If it has inside snap rings, sometimes they are hard to see. Be sure they are out before hammering.

- Cleaning the yokes and their grooves makes a big difference in ease of reassembly.

- Mark mentioned getting a needle bearing out of place. This happens a lot, and you don't realize it until you *almost* have the cup to where the snap ring will go on, but it won't quite make it. Stop, and remove the cup. You WILL find a needle bearing laying flat in the bottom of the cup. Try it again.

- Grease fittings. You can get a version of most joints that has the grease fitting in one of the caps. Those are the easiest to get to.

- If you have the type that is in the cross, there are needle-nose adapters that will get to them. You use the point of the "needle" to depress the ball in the grease fitting, then pump the grease. Have fun Texas Parts Guy

I really appreciate all the help. Looks like I've got plans for the weekend now.

On Wed, 26 May 2004 01:39:58 +0000, Octo rearranged some electrons to form:

You can also rent (for free) a press from AutoZone that does the same thing, if you don't have a big vise.

David M (dmacchiarolo)

I just happened to do another one today..Last one out of three...."I have the typical two piece shaft" I'm glad thats over..And wouldn't you know it, the one that was causing my rumble turned out to be the last one I changed... Typical...Seems to be much reduced in a quick test across town. Also, I noticed whoever installed the previous one didn't press it in all the way. It was off center a bit in the yoke. The cup on one side was nearly flush with the yoke end...Couldn't even put a clip on it that way. That might have been enough to cause a rumble in itself, if it threw the balance off enough. The ones I've been doing take a lot of power to push them out. I hammer the vise handle...:( But that's why I recommend a BIG vise. Most big old vises can handle it, but the smaller weaker ones probably will crater. I abuse mine. But what the heck..Only $40 I paid. It's paid for itself many times over already. Mine seems to have no trouble taking the abuse. I've also done the glued in sagonaw type you see on GM stuff. They suck. But I have a trick for those. I torch em until the plastic melts and oozes out. Then I take them apart. Sometimes the cap shoots off from the pressure, so keep bystanders clear...:/ Fire! Fire!...HuhhhhHuhhhhhHuhhhh... MK

||I just happened to do another one today..Last one out of three...."I ||have the typical two piece shaft" I'm glad thats over..And wouldn't ||you know it, the one that was causing my rumble turned out to be the ||last one I changed... Typical...Seems to be much reduced in a quick ||test across town. Also, I noticed whoever installed the previous one ||didn't press it in all the way. It was off center a bit in the yoke. ||The cup on one side was nearly flush with the yoke end...Couldn't even ||put a clip on it that way.

I bet there was a needle bearing across the end of one cap.

||I've also done the glued in sagonaw type you see on GM stuff. ||They suck. But I have a trick for those. I torch em until the plastic ||melts and oozes out.

A good smack with a BFH will break the plastic seal, then it comes out like any other. Texas Parts Guy

I didn't notice one... The cups were on all the way. The far side was in too far at the end. I think they just didn't press it all the way across. Probably from using a hammer, and gave up once it was far enough to work...It was a tight fit...I had to use a hammer to whack the vise handle to press it in..But I usually have to on most all of them...:/ MK

I tried to replace mine myself.....ended up taking off the whole shaft and running it down to a real mechanic. $40 and half a day later it was done. I had given up after two late nights in my garage trying to put the caps back on....You can use the hammer to break 'em apart, but not put them back together...lessoned learned. Here's a link to what they looked like when I broke them open.

You didnt notice the needle bearing that was crossed during the original installation, because it got chewed up.

To do it yourself installation of new universal joints, you need a vice and a hammer to get them apart. Use the vice to install the new cups. The first one is only partially installed befor adding the x. While holding the x in place I use a socket to push the freshly installed cup, way into the hole. The x should now be protruding the other side, now put the other free cup onto the x and press it together with your bence vise. Oh ya put your clip into the first one befor pressing it together. When the last cup gets flush to the driveshaft yoke. Open your vise enough to add a socket onto the top of the cup, this will now push the bearing cup all the way into the hole. It will bottom out onto the c clip you insatlled earlyier. Now install the last c clip for that side and follow the preceedure for the next set of bearing cups to be installed. On my big International I dont even have to remove the whole driveshaft to replace a u-joint, takes about 1/2 hour to complete the job.

Regards Gill