gravismaximus

i am taking out the my current u-joints becuase they have zerk fitings and i am putting in ones with out the fittings to gain some strength there. as i was about to install the new ones today i noticed the joints have a flat side and little humps on the other side. what side should the flat side of the joint be facing. the half shaft our the yoke? thanks :beatdeadhorse:

Solid LT1

It dosen't matter, the cross forging (I hope your using forged U joints) are done in the same die as the zerk joints. You should be sure that the joints turn freely after pressing them in, sometimes you need to give a light tap to the yokes/flanges to re-spread them after pressing in the joints. Original Vettes never had zerks in them and went over 50K miles, I don't use joints with zerks in them because of the halfshafts function of being the upper suspension locating member and the high stresses involved with it's dual role function.

NHvette

Is the hump the area that the zerk would normally be drilled into ?
If so, I don't think it matters which way.

I have a question, though.
I was actually at the parts store this morning. The guy looked up the
Spicer parts numbers for my 75 automatic half shafts. He cam up with X-178 for the
greasable ones, X-178-1 for the greasable end cap, and X-178-HP for the solids.

What are the part numbers for the half shaft joints that you are installing ? (Spicer ?)

The greasable Spicers were $16, which has me thinking.

EDIT: Solid LT1 has good points there. I wondered why the solid ones were
so much more expensive. forged vs cast ? makes sense. I won't be getting greasable ones.

Thanks :seeya


[Modified by NHvette, 9:49 PM 3/31/2004]

gravismaximus

no i got these ones from summit and they are from percision aka fedraul mogle. and the part number is pcn-254 i told him when i bought them that i wanted ones without the fittings so that they woud be stronger so i hope these are the forged ones. :flag

NHvette

Thanks. Yeah - my store stocks the Precision ones.
$15 greasable $24 solid.Ouch.

Van Steel

FYI-when you press the u-joints out of the 1/2 shaft flange, you need to put something behind that flange so it does not bend.

norvalwilhelm

I now longer press any joints in or out. To remove the old universal I take the cutting torch and cut the X out of the joint.. While still hot I take the air chissel and walk the old cap off. They come easy while hot.
I then polish with a flapper wheel in a drill, debur with a file and clean the groove carefully.
I then place the shaft in the vise and and well lubing the cups on the outside use a small brass hammer and walk the caps into place.
This way the end cups don't get distorted and the universal will last alot longer.

stpman

I have a U joint tool is this good enough?

Steve :steering:

Van Steel

do you have a pic? We use a press and we have our own tool that we made


[Modified by Van Steel, 10:32 AM 4/1/2004]

stpman

Dont have a pic (can get one tonight) but it is a standard "C" shaped screw press. It's advertised as a U-joint press

Steve

Van Steel

so this tool you have, just presses the u-joints out & in, correct. your gonna have to fab up a plate to mount to the backside of the flange so the flange doesn't bend.

stpman

The Press is similar to a ball joint press.
If I bolt a piece of 1/4" or 3/8" plate the the flange I should be ok then?

Steve


[Modified by stpman, 12:39 PM 4/1/2004]

norvalwilhelm

bolt a piece of 1/4" or 3/8" plate the the flange I should be ok then?
Steve

Originally I made a 1 inch think plate with a recessed groove to match the flange. I bolted the flange securely to this plate to prevent all possibility of bending it. I used it once before going to my present way of changing U joints.
I thiink 1/4 inch is a little flimsy.

NHvette

The flange support at Eckler's ($35) looks to be about 1/2" thick.



I was thinking to remove the spindle flange and use that to support the
half-shaft flange. It's pretty beefy, but I don't think I would use it under
a hydraulic press. My HS joints came out with a hammer and sockets.

I agree with Norval ... clean the bores good - and they should tap in easily.

Even these need a little more cleaning. I did them with a piece of 400 grit and
my fingers. I was too cheap to buy the $6 Dremel flap sander. The grooves
were simply dug out with a small screwdriver.




[Modified by NHvette, 1:45 PM 4/1/2004]


[Modified by NHvette, 1:51 PM 4/1/2004]

Van Steel

:iagree: w/both Norval and NHvette.