'76 CJ5 with dana 20 transfer case. The u-joint on the front of the transfer case blew out on the highway. I'm trying to replace it. I got under the Jeep a few minutes ago with new j-joint in hand. I've never done any u-joint work before. I looked closely at the end of the driveshaft and saw that one of the caps from the old u-joint was still in place. I was able to tap it out with a hammer and a punch. It looks to me like the only way to install the new u-joint would be to pull 2 caps on opposite sides of the u-joint, then put the u-joint into place and then slide the caps over the ends, through the holes in the end of the driveshaft. Well, the problem I'm having now is that those holes got slightly banged up (not too bad) so that I can't fit the caps into the holes now. I think if I could get the driveshaft up on my workbench that I may be able to do a very small amount of cleanup work with my drill to open up the holes the tiny bit they need to be opened up so that I can install the u-joint. This driveshaft is a 2-piece unit and I'm wondering if there is a way to separate the 2 pieces so that I won't have to unhook the front end of the driveshaft. Is it made to be separated into 2 pieces or do I just need to unhook the front of the driveshaft. I realize the the "right thing to do" here would probably be to buy a whole new driveshaft, but the end of the driveshaft I have really is only VERY SLIGHTLY deformed and I think I can clean it up enough to use it. Can I safely separate my driveshaft into 2 pieces and then put it back together once I get the end of it cleaned up? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.
- posted
19 years ago