upnorth

Last year had new trailing arms , springs , shocks etc . Also bought all new u-joints . Mechanic said only one needed to be replaced . With about 300 miles i heard a pop and when I came to a stop I could feel it grinding . Took it slow over to the shop around 5 miles . Put it up on the hoist and the new joint was broke . The cap was off one side and the other had chips in the base and the flange had a groove cut in it .We had the parts and had it back together in no time . He says he thinks maybe the clip broke allowing the cap to come off . Ever heard of that ? I have seen him do u-joints and he makes sure the clips are set at least the ones I watched .

530planeman

It's common for even the best mechanic to get one little needle bearing under a cap and think it's seated when it's not .As long as no damage drive on
Wes

Richard454

What Wes said

And depending where the u-joint was made- anything is possible!!!


I put the caps in the freezer for an hour or so then the frozen grease helps keep the the little needles in their place.

Richard

Go Vette Go

Thanks for that tip Richard. Wish I had that tip when I did the u-joints in my 69 last week!!!

doorgunner

Rookie here: Also...........A driveshaft specialist told me that the cap should fit/press in tightly even when lock rings are used.......otherwise the u-joint will fail early.

DUB

I can 'say' this...I have done countless U-joints ...and if a needle falls down inside the cap....there is NO WAY with the the SPICER U-joints I use that I can get the clips to engage and lock in place WITHOUT breaking something. It just is not going to happen.

And..I personally use a thin film of grease to hold the needle bearings in place....and I do not use U-joints with grease (zerk) fittings in them.

DUB

bj1k

There is just enough room if the cap is all the way on to get the clips on . If even one needle falls down into the cap it's not going together. Sounds like that could have happened and he didn't get the clip on . That needle in the bottom of the cap would have torn things up in a hurry.

0Willcox Corvette

I'll third that.... If one bearing falls you'll have major issues..

Willcox

croaker

Maybe the ears got bent a little and clip didn't seat correctly

DUB

If we take this comment at face value...then the mechanic was not paying attention to what he/she was doing.

Cleaning out the groove for the clips is a required step.

If the 'ears' were bent...then the person did not use the inner bearing flange to bolt to the U-joint flange and give it strength. This is a MUST! If it was not done...then they simply do not know about this and that can be a problem.

Not knowing which cap fell off....if they did not cage the caps of the U-joint in the side yokes of the rear end...then...they were not paying attention.

And if they 'tweaked' the U-joint areas on the half shafts....then...they were either not doing it correctly or with the correct tools.

WHO KNOWS????

DUB