Hi Steve, No big deal actually to remove and overhaul your u-joints (that is if yo? have your axles out of the car on your working bench). - First mark both forks with a punchmark or similar so you now how to put them together again. - Take away the circlips - Use a socket that fitts inside where the circlips was placed, as large as possible but well inside the "walls". - With a hammer ( preferably a soft one that eliminates uneven strokes, and hitting as perpendicular towards the bearing cage as possible) and some even strokes on the top of the socket you should notice that the opposite bearing cage is moving towards the flange (down towards the bench). - When you have driven the lower bearing cage as far down as possible, you invert the axel 180? and now by hitting the fork (not the bearing case!) you drive the other bearing cage as far out as possible. -You should now be able to manouvre out the u-joint from the bearing cages and thereby separate the two axle -halves. -You now have two bearing cages driven half way out of the fork. Use a soft plier with soft grips or some soft cloth or plastic in between the grips, and take out the bearing cages. -Assembling is straightforward, no problems there: Take care when you drive home the bearing cages that you drive them carefully, make sure not to tilt them (if tilted they will jam). Also take care not to drive them home to far, just enough to fit the snaprings. When you put together the two axle-parts again make sure you follow the markings you did at the start. Then you should have no problems with misalignement and vibrations. Hope you can understand my sw-english and good luck with the work. Honestly: If you have taken out the driveshafts from your car , you should have no problems with this job. Good luck Bo the swede (painting my amphi next month) -----Ursprungligt meddelande----- Fr?n: Steven D. Reich [mailto:sdreich@pacbell.net] Skickat: den 18 augusti 2003 03:08 Till: Amphicar-Lovers ?mne: [amphicar-lovers] Propeller Shaft U-Joints Hi- Apparently there is a U-joint repair kit for propeller shaft U-joints which at ~$54 is far cheaper than a shaft assembly (~$300). I have removed retainer rings from the four u-joint ends at the prop side. Now what? How do I get it apart? There are no grease fittings, so how are you supposed to lubricate these joints? -Steve '64 red (AMPHICR) in the driveway in many, many pieces '64 red (I SWIM 2) happy to be home safely from its trip to Celina [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Sponsor THE AMPHICAR-LOVERS LIST ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before posting requests for information, please check the List Archives: http://www.escribe.com/automotive/amphicar/search.html For more information about this List and other available services visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amphicar-lovers/ To UNsubscribe from this List, just send a blank email to: amphicar-lovers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Any other issues may be addressed to the List owner (Mike Israel) at: amphicar770@yahoo.com This list is provided as a free service. Please support our sponsors at: http://www.growerflower.com/default.asp?id=41762 Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
For u-joints in general, another member suggested: >> - Use a socket that fitts inside where the circlips was placed, >> as large as possible but well inside the "walls". On the other hand, I use the just the opposite ... a large socket that fits onto the yoke ears and large enough such that the end bearing cap will fit INTO the socket (Fairly large socket). I support the cross via the other ears of this yoke by laying it on the jaws of a vice and thus when driving the vertical ears down, the horizontal ears stay put and the end bearing cap comes UP into the large socket. Years ago I used to drive the cross down as previously mentioned, but seem to have better luck lately driving the ears down and letting the end bearing cap come up instead. It'll come up enough to grap with vice grips or the jaws of the vice to wiggle it the rest of the way out. To re-install, after the appropriate pre-lubing to hold the needle bearings in place in the end cap, I first will SQUEEZE the bearing caps into position (as far as they will go) with the jaws of a vice, and then use a small socket fitting inside the circlips and SQUEEZE the caps into "final" position. I find less chance of getting them started crooked this way. Then, after putting the circlips in place, I put the yoke back on the vice as if I was going to take it apart (thus using the large socket) and tap (medium force ... ) to set the end bearing caps back out against the clips. When it is "just right", the joint will move free and easily in all appropriate directions. So, for what its worth, you have differing opinions. I'm just relaying what works for me, Your mileage may vary. Al in Tx
Re: Re: SV: Propeller Shaft U-Joints Al - I would second everything you said about U-joint removal and reinstallation. It has worked well for me exactly as you described, particularly in your utilization of the vise. However, I would add one suggestion gleaned from someone who does this procedure over and over. That is, after the new joint is installed, as you mentioned it should move freely with no indication of a bind. IF it does not, a sharp rap with a hammer (not overdoing it) on the yoke on both outer sides of the u-joint (the rap being in the same line as an imaginary line from end cap to end cap) will almost always free it up immediately. If not, it would tend to indicate that one end cap was somehow put in slightly crooked or cocked. It is prettty hard to get one in crooked very far without distorting the end cap irreparably, but stranger things have happened. This is my two cents worth. Vic "Splash" Nelson near Daytona [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Hi- Thanks, Bo. I still don't understand the mechanics, but if you hit the cap and/or yoke enough times in the right sequence, the whole thing comes apart. Now my question is, "How do you get all those little rollers back in?" -Steve '64 red (AMPHICR) still in the driveway, now in more pieces '64 red (I SWIM 2) happy to be home from Celina, but feeling negected --- In amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com, "Bo Strander" <bs@a...> wrote: > Hi Steve, > No big deal actually to remove and overhaul your u-joints (that is if yo? > have your axles out of the car on your working bench). > - First mark both forks with a punchmark or similar so you now how to put > them together again. > - Take away the circlips > - Use a socket that fitts inside where the circlips was placed, as large as > possible but well inside the "walls". > - With a hammer ( preferably a soft one that eliminates uneven strokes, and > hitting as perpendicular towards the bearing cage as possible) and some even > strokes on the top of the socket you should notice that the opposite bearing > cage is moving towards the flange (down towards the bench). > - When you have driven the lower bearing cage as far down as possible, you > invert the axel 180? and now by hitting the fork (not the bearing case!) you > drive the other bearing cage as far out as possible. > -You should now be able to manouvre out the u-joint from the bearing cages > and thereby separate the two axle -halves. > -You now have two bearing cages driven half way out of the fork. Use a soft > plier with soft grips or some soft cloth or plastic > in between the grips, and take out the bearing cages. > -Assembling is straightforward, no problems there: Take care when you drive > home the bearing cages that you drive them carefully, make sure not to tilt > them (if tilted they will jam). Also take care not to drive them home to > far, just enough to fit the snaprings. > > When you put together the two axle-parts again make sure you follow the > markings you did at the start. Then you should have no problems with > misalignement and vibrations. > > Hope you can understand my sw-english and good luck with the work. > Honestly: If you have taken out the driveshafts from your car , you should > have no problems with this job. > > Good luck > Bo the swede (painting my amphi next month)