replacing u-joints

[grumpyvette]

I bought and use this press, (link to it below) and so far ITS never had the slightest difficulty doing any of the jobs you listed and several more like U-joints
http://www.robhealey.com.au/Corvette/scorp/

BROKEN BOLT REMOVAL

viewtopic.php?f=50&t=729&p=1026#p1026

this is cheap and slow
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=38335

below a better tool
having access to a hydraulic press makes it a fairly simple process

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-h-frame-industrial-heavy-duty-floor-shop-press-60603.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=33497

the money saved on a single u-joint swap on a corvette will pay for the press
http://www.driveshaftspecialist.com/HTML Measure/UJ ID Guide.html

http://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/c37_u_joints.html

the local machine shop wanted $20 EACH just in labor cost too press out and re-install the U-joints, that's not including the $24 each they wanted for the u-joints and thats with ME supplying the u-joints or $24 each if they supplied the u-joints, but of course they wanted to supply the u-joints as they swear the ones they have are better quality, 9I have no idea how they can say that because they have no idea what u-joints I will buy or supply keep in mind theres 6 u-joints in a corvette, two on the drive shaft and two on EACH half shaft, and if ones bad thru normal wear and mileage then the others have significant mileage on them and should be replaced at the same time

the press cost was $129 when I purchased mine several years ago, its far more than paid for itself since then, and its far easiet to use than the screw thread hand held c-clamp type

WHY YOU DON,T WANT ZERK FITTING U-JOINTS, they TEND TO SHEAR FAR EASIER UNDER LOADS

USE SPICER SOLID U-JOINTS

TAPE TO PREVENT END CAP LOSS BEFORE BEING INSTALLED

heres helpfu info , read thru the links below

http://personal.tmlp.com/scorp/vette/images/ujoints/index.html

http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2005/december/u-joint/u-joint.asp

http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76752

http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2005/november/arms/arms.asp

http://www.micro-controls.com/article-ujoints.html

http://www.micro-controls.com/cartools-ujoint.html

http://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/html/faq.html

http://personal.tmlp.com/scorp/vette/images/ujoints/index.html
first Ill point out that the U-joints made in china are JUNK, so get the AMERICAN MADE u-joints WITHOUT the grease nipples as that design is stronger
next , many machine shops charge $15-20 to remove and instal EACH u-joint with a press, thats 4 u-joints on the half shafts and two on the drive shaft (TOTAL 6) so it can EASILLY run you $90-120 in just labor IF YOU PULL THE SHAFTS and REINSTALL THEM (99% of the LABOR) and have a shop remove/reinstall the u-joints themselfs, thats INSANE if you are doing it on a regular basis, when you can buy a decent press for about the same cost as a single series of replacements

[http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=38335

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=33497


this is a differant year but most of the info applies

http://www.micro-controls.com/article-ujoints.html

basically youll need a shop manual or similar instructions like the HAYNES manual,

you jack up the rear, place the frame on sturdy jack stands, remove the tires and youll need a long 1/4" extension with a universal and a 10mm socket to reach the straps retaining the u-joints on the inner ends and a shorter extention and box end wrench for the outer ends and the use of the floor jack to reduce the pressure on the rear suspension as you work on each side

BTW once you get familiar with the process you can replace ALL six u-joints in UNDER 4 hours, only need to do the 1/2 shafts, great youll complete that in under 2 hours with practice (WITHOUT AIR TOOLS) (under an hour WITH THEM)

 

[grumpyvette]

yes they are similar links but each has slightly differant info, yes the use of a hydraulic press is a huge advantage but a couple lower cost tools are available, just don,t get crazy and think a hammer can replace a press or a vise.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=38335

http://www.popularmechanics.com/how_to_ ... 72541.html

http://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/c976_combination_universal_joints.html

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...eck-and-or-replace-u-joints.12226/#post-59545

http://www.automedia.com/U-Joint_Replac ... 050301uj/1

http://www.automedia.com/U_Joints_-_Ins ... 010201uj/1

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/doityour ... 02602a.htm

http://dodgeram.org/tech/repair/U_joint/repair.htm

http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/ujoint2/ujoint-1.htm

 

[grumpyvette]

QUOTE"raycow "
IF you find your u-joints are held in with red plastic that appears to be glue replacing the c -clip locks on the u-joints.....
many of the older chevy's I have worked on the u-joints are fixed in there with a plastic.

You have just encountered my least favorite of GM's "better" ideas. There is an annular groove on the I.D. of the yoke and a matching groove on the O.D. of the cup. A hole is drilled into the outside of the yoke connecting with the groove. The U joint is assembled and then a molten plastic material is injected into the hole, filling the groove and locking the cup and yoke together.

You can actually disassemble the joint cold if you have a big enough press. The plastic just shears. Heating up the joint will allow you to use less force, but you will likely still need a press to do the job. The plastic is "springy" and makes hammering difficult.

The only good news is that the replacement joints use a normal inside lock ring"

 

[grumpyvette]

Had the center joint go bad on the two-piece shaft, 2009 3500HD short wheelbase chassis cab...and discovered you don't just go down to the parts house and get a replacement. The driveshaft in this truck is made by AAM and they thought it would be cool to use a 1485 series joint which is far less common than the 1480 series used in Dana/Spicer shafts.

My local driveshaft shop sells the 1485 joint for $50; it can be ordered online for around $40, but is prone to being out of stock because AAM supplies the OEM (GM and Dodge) first, then everyone else IF there's anything left over. In this case they were backordered since early April, so my only option was to go to the stealership and pay.. $120 ($130 after tax) for the same exact u-joint. The parts man actually had the gall to assert that the driveshaft shop "must have been selling me the wrong one" to let it go for only $50...

So when replacing u-joints, check your driveshaft carefully - if it has an AAM tag, you're in for fun.

Richard

I have to point out that the u-joints with internal grease fittings tend to be demonstrably weaker and that most guys who install them , rarely if ever take the effort to grease them, most of the performance u-joints are the non-grease-able permanently lubed designs
HERES SOME PRICED MORE REASONABLY, ALWAYS SHOP AND IF POSSIBLE BUY THE CORRECT TOOLS
http://www.drivetrainamerica.com/p-5840 ... 03500.aspx

http://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/c37_u_joints.html


what your going thru is hardly rare, and when you go to get them installed youll quickly find most machine shops want to charge you for both pressing them out and pressing the new u-joint in, even if they supply the u-joint or when you supply the u-joint , and in the case of my corvette theres 6 u-joints, the local machine shop wanted $25 for each u-joint plus $20 to install each u-joint with me handing them the half shafts and drive shaft, the local chevy dealership wanted a good deal more but didn,t break it down.
I quickly added up the cost and found that I could purchase the u-joints plus a 12 ton or 20 ton press from HF for what the local chevy dealership wanted for the u-joint swap out and that parts and the press did not cost a great deal more than the machine shop wanted so I decided that the hydraulic press was by far the more intelligent route to go.
think about that, replacing 6 u-joints on your corvette, at $20 each, just to install in labor cost, thats $120 for a one time labor charge on a job thats going to eventually need to be repeated, and I own two corvettes and most of my friends own performance cars that have u-joints, many have corvettes, owning a press pays for itself in no time
having access to a hydraulic press makes it a fairly simple process

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-h-frame-industrial-heavy-duty-floor-shop-press-60603.html

http://www.grumpysperformance.com/25777.jpg

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-sho ... 32879.html

 

[grumpyvette]

Here is an update on U-Joints & Shafts. I don't think I posted any 1480 pictures. These are used with Tom's 1480 12 bolt diff build. I have done a few of these lately so take a look at one against a 3" 1350 shaft. They are huge.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-and- ... rsion.html

http://www.tomsdifferentials.com/2011ca ... s14-23.pdf

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...20-ton-hydraulic-press-of-course-you-do.2735/

We have sheared solid spicer 1350 joints, in a track situation, so these we will put to the test next!:smack

 

[grumpyvette]

I learned a valuable lesson..it is better to an impact wrench to loosen outer U-joint bolts than trying to do it with a Johnson Bar.

I rounded two bolt heads, one on each side of the car. So then I was faced with "what to do!"

I got a carbide cutting wheel in my die grinder and removed the head about 95% of the depth. After that I used a 36 grid abrasive disk and CAREFULLY ground things flush until just the bolt itself was visible.

At least now I can get the flange off.

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=807&p=1177#p1177
THESE TWO PRODUCTS WORK REALLY WELL WHEN YOU REPEATEDLY HEAT A BOLT WITH A TORCH THEN RAPIDLY COOL IT WITH PENETRATING OIL,

http://www.freealloil.com/

http://www.henkelna.com/loctite-freeze-release-7008.htm

http://www.freealloil.com/

you might want to try this I found it works even better than most common penetrating oil sprays

and a 50%/50% mix of marvel mystery oil and ACETONE is also really effective
Id try several repeated cycles of using a propane torch to heat the stud and rapid cooling with
http://loctitefreezeandrelease.com/
Ive always found that heating a stuck or busted bolt with an acetylene torch then dribbling a 50%/50% mix of marvel mystery oil on the bolt to cool it several times in repetition tends to allow the penetrating oil mix to penetrate, and now that theres
http://www.loctitefreezeandrelease.com/
following up with freeze spray works even better
OR