Half Shafts

[Bob Chadwick]

Wife was out of town for the weekend. Didn't have anything to do so I jacked the car up and pulled the half shafts. You hear the horror stories on these u-joints and it's something I have been meaning to do for a while.

The hardest part, as it always is when working under the car, was to get it high enough to work on it. Once on jack stands its 16 nuts and they come right out. Didn't have to remove any other parts. The inside end goes up into the car and the bottom end drops out from the bottom.

A couple of hints. Car has to be on jack stands and not ramps as you will need to turn the wheels to rotate the half shafts to access all the nuts. Hit the inside nuts and u-clamps with Pb Blaster or something similar about an hour before starting. Mine tended to stick. Take the inside nuts all the way off leaving the u-clamps in place before taking the outside bolts off. You need to turn the half shafts to get to the various bolts and it is easier to spin the wheels than try and turn the half shafts.

I have degreased them and am letting them dry. Two coats of POR15 and a top coat and I'll take them to the shop to press new u-joints in. The shop put Spicers in the drive shaft so I'll go with Spicers on the half shafts as well.

A couple of pictures after they are already cleaned up but not painted.

[Bill75]

Hello Bob,
Real nice write-up. I'm thinking of dropping mine out and doing the same. I went on a highway trip this weekend and noticed allot of vibration at high speeds (60-80 mph) coming from the rear of the car somewhere so it's a place to start. I don't think mine have ever been off the car. What's a Splicer?

Bill

[Bob Chadwick]

Thanks for the feedback. Spicers are a brand of U-joint.

[ed_in_pa]

And they make nice yard decorations.

[68Roadster]

Originally Posted by ed_in_pa

And they make nice yard decorations.

Some do the pink flamingo's, I like the half shafts better!

[Vettehead Mikey]

There's another reason for putting the car on jack stands and not on ramps- the half shafts are the upper link in the suspension and are bearing the load of the wheels trying to 'tip inward'.

[Bob Chadwick]

Well they are certainly doing that right now.

Dropped them off at the shop. 2 of the 4 were bad. Should have them back tomorrow and in on Wednesday, or Thursday at the latest.

[Culprit]

I don't know how much a shop charges to press u-joint caps out and in, but if you have a bench vice that opens wide enough (about 8 inches) then you can do it yourself with some PB Blaster using 2 sockets - one small enough on one side to push on the cap, and one large enough on the other side to push the cap into. Of course you'll need about 3 hands. It's easy to do yourself, but I recommend buying the support to bolt the flange to so you don't bend it if the caps are stuck in there.

And even if you don't own a bench vise, I'm sure you can buy one cheaper than what you would pay a shop to do the u-joints.

I also recommend buying 4 french locks for about $1.50 each before you take the half shafts out so you can get it back together the same day. You might be able to reuse the old ones, but the tabs break off easily when you take them off.

My 2 pennies,
Culprit

[Bob Chadwick]

Already ahead of you. $1 apiece at The Last Detail.

I like ot have them pressed in and out by the shop. $125 per, including the U-joints, and includes balancing.

[mike weyman]

i took the three shafts out of mine, i pressed them in with a 6 inch c clamp. it took about an hour to swap them all out and in.if all the surfaces are clean and lightly oiled they should slip right in with little pressure. if you need to really torque them in,a pin dropped and you need to redo that cup(won't seat)

[gec]

Great thread..I was just thinking of pulling mine, I do have a vibration that was starting to worry me, I had all tires balanced last week and its better but still shaking at steady highway speeds..seems like I fix 1 thing and find something else immediatly, this things turning into a full time hobbie, my boat is starting to get jelous!

[Bob Chadwick]

Got them back today. The half shafts didn't need balancing and both were done for $150 including parts.

I'm painting them now, will let them dry and have them back in the car tomorrow in time for this weekend's Dragon run.

[Culprit]

Wish I had thought about painting mine when I had them out. There's always next time!

What did you use - black POR-15 or something similar?

[Bob Chadwick]

I am gradually painting my underside satin black. I start out with the gray POR15 and add a top coat or two of Rustoleum. Not as neat as with the frame off but a man has to live within his limitations.

[Bob Chadwick]

One side is in. Just need to torque it down. 60 - 90 foot pounds on the outside. The inside calls for 14 - 18 foot poounds but there is no way to get a torque wrench in there.

Had problems with the other side, the one I did first. The end of the half shafts that connect to the outside are a solid unit. The inside end has two u-joint caps that are loose and held in place by grease and removeable tape.

When you undo the half shafts the trailing arm pulls slightly out leaving a slight space. I Bolted the half shafts to the spindle. Tried to get the other end to go in with the u-clamps. Knocked one of the caps of the new u-joint and lost a couple of needle bearings. Will take it back tomorrow and hopefully they will just have to clean it out and add the missing bearings.

On the other side I did the inside first controlling those loose caps. Put the u clamps in first with no nuts. They need to go in square and it is hard to do while you are holding the half shaft.

I had a little problem closing that small space. Ultimately I ended up pulling it tight without the french locks, pulled two bolts at a time, added the french locks and bolted it back together. Make sure you put the french locks the right way. If you put them the wrong way, they will hit against the housing and start to close before you can get the bolts torqued in.