Prop driveshaft u-joints sloppy?

Hi all, I have had my Amphi in the water just a couple times and noticed that my propellor drive shaft U-joints are loose in the shafts. The clips are in place and seated as they should be, but if you grab the shaft and pull, the shaft moves side to side. This looseness is on both shafts and all 4 joints! They are new parts from GI # 3-19-22kit. Has anyone else had this problem???:032:
 

CapnJohn

Amphi Guru & Former IAOC President
Hi all, I have had my Amphi in the water just a couple times and noticed that my propellor drive shaft U-joints are loose in the shafts. The clips are in place and seated as they should be, but if you grab the shaft and pull, the shaft moves side to side. This looseness is on both shafts and all 4 joints! They are new parts from GI # 3-19-22kit. Has anyone else had this problem???:032:

Simply, If there is any slop in there as described, the u-joints are bad. They (u-joints) are off the shelf very available parts.
 

Midwest Amphicar

Worlds Largest Amphicar Destination
The original snap rings are a bit thicker. The replacements are not exactly right. You may need to have thin round shims made. A job for Tony. Have him make extras for re sale.
 

jfriese

Active Member
It's always a good idea to save the old snap rings when changing out from original u-joints. Various thicknesses of these clips are sometimes available in the aftermarket but often the originals are a bit thicker than what you can easily find. I once bent round spacers from thin music wire (available from hobby shops) and snapped them in outside the snap rings to give them extra thickness. Do the spacers on all 4 end caps to keep the u-joint centered.

John Friese
67 White
67 Red
 

Ken Chambers

Platinum Subscriber
U-joint cups should be an interference (press) fit in the yokes so the cups cannot move or rotate at all within the bore. If the cups are loose the yoke needs repair. I recently repaired a driveshaft yoke with a loose U-joint employing a neat trick to reduce the yoke ID.

Here's the procedure. Use a battery charger to deposit (weld) tiny spots of metal on the inside of the yoke bores. I used an older style 12 volt charger containing a traditional heavy transformer. Clamp a thin steel wire, nail, oxy welding rod, etc. in some locking pliers and attach a lead to the pliers. Ground the yoke and start touching the rod to the inside of the yoke bore. Spark, spark, spark, many many times until hundreds or even thousands of little tiny pits of metal are deposited. Careful, the wire gets hot. A couple times per second will add up quickly. The result was a very tight press fit cup into the formerly loose bore.

Additionally, when a U-joint is properly installed the cups should fit snugly up against both snap rings so the joint is centered in the yoke. If the joint cups are slightly too wide, thinner snap rings may need to be used. If the joint is too narrow, washer type shims can be placed against the cups.
 
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