GEtting some squeakin or squelin from the rear and suspect 1 or more U-joints are going bad; That's 6 total. How much to replace all 6? Specific brands? etc.

 

I use the Spicer non zerks. You have to be sure the flanges aren't bent even a little with these otherwise you won't get them in. The other brands give you a little more tolerence but aren't as strong either.

Gary

 

yes 6 all together. 2 on the driveshaft and 4 on the 1/2 shafts. I would use Neapco joints over Spicer b/c of their new design. Spicer now uses plastic seals instead of rubber and they tend to crack when they are installed. Price can vary on the brand you go with.

What type of squeaking noise are you hearing? Is it constant w/wheel speed? Joints tend to give more of a clunk noise, not a squeak.

 

There has been a lot of discussion regarding U-joints needing to be the ones without grease fittings because of the inherent weakness of greaseable U-joints. I would just add that I have never had a U-joint fail on me except for one reason… a lack of grease.

In 1969 my '63 was making a clunking sound as I accelerated that I attributed to a bad rear end. (I was much younger then and didn't know… what I didn't know!!) Because I had already acquired a new rear assembly to replace it, I deliberately set about trying to break the rear-end. I'm sure you can imagine how…, but I could not break anything. While disassembling the rear suspension to replace the rear, I discovered one (half-shaft) actually had NO needle bearings in opposing caps of a U-joint and was bone dry. I replaced all the U-joints with greaseable ones - installed correctly - and proceeded to run the car in Modified Production (450+ hp) without ever breaking a U-joint.

More recently (1991) I rebuilt the rear suspension in my 1973 and replaced all of the U-joints with the non-greaseable joints because of all the "recent" talk about them being weaker. Well 10 years and less than 5000 miles later I'm doing a frame-off on the car and discover that two of the joints have no grease in them and will barely turn. Needless to say I replaced them all with greaseable ones. By the way, U-joints are now available with fittings in the cap instead of the web of the joint. (I keep a plug in them and insert a fitting when I want to grease them.)

Pop-Culture here seems to feel that greaseable U-joints are a big no-no, but for my use, they are the only thing I will use.

GUSTO

 

I agree, I've been abusing cars for a lot of years and have never broken a "U" joint with a grease fitting. I've had friends spin the centers out of wheels but never a "U" joint. Not saying it can't be done just that they're stronger than people give them credit for.

 

Well guys, maybe I got "lucky" because I cracked one in half. It was a NAPA brand 18k miles and fully greased. Car was never raced,dumped the clutch a few times at 2,000-2,500 but that was rare.
Gary

 

Man, You guys are the best....thanks.
I got the car to my shop and the good news was that IT WAS U-JOINTS....the way it started souf=ding I was worried that it might have been the rear end.
The passenger side inside U-joint was goind bad (was supposed have been replaced by the previous shop); I'm replacing the 4 half-shaft ones.

 

I'm trying to replace the 4 half shaft ones, not having much luck yet getting them out, but I just picked up some PB blaster today.

 

press them to one side and pound the joint and other cap to the other side until the center is free then press out the remaining cap.

 

sorry, having trouble getting the half axles out of the car still

 

Oooooh, I see.
Remove four bolts at wheel flange and the ujoint clamps at the bearings, then raise the wheel slightly and the shaft will come right out.

 

just did mine .....
tried the do it yourself route, but without a press, I was scared to beat on the joints and warp the wheel mounting flange ...
a local driveshaft shop did all four on the 1/2 shafts with spicers for $146 .....

took the other ones back to O'reilly's .....

cheap enough, plus just r/r on the 1/2 shafts was enough fun for me

 

Thats the issue so far. I got two can's of PB Blaster and Time. If thats not enough, I'll have to break out a bigger hammer.

 

See if you have a reputable driveshaft shop in town. Mine only charged $7.50 per joint to swap them out. They also had the Spicer Life solid forged u-joints ($15each joint- drivehaft, $19 each joint halfshaft) which is 10-15 less than most of the vette places.

I say all this after trying to do this myself and bent the flanges and paid the $30 each for the U-joints.

Good Luck

 

seals that crack easy upon installation, but once you get them on without cracking they hold up well. I asked the driveshaft shop who has been in business here for 29 years which was best and they said hands down that the spicers are the best, they have been using them for quite sometime.

Driveshaft shops will have the repalcement seals if you need them.

 

So I decided to pull the side I really didn't need to pull out just to do them at the same time. I still can't get any of the side I need out.... but all four bolts of the ones on the 'not-as-broke' side came right out. <sigh>

One bad ujoint

Not sure if the link will work, first try

 

I also need to have the 4 u-joints on the half shafts replaced on my '78 Daily Driver. For us less mechanically inclined, how much $$ should one expect to pay if they dropped the car off at their local shop to have all 4 done?

-Pete. KEEP DRIVING!!!

 

I found that a thin 5/8 sparkplug socket let me get a straight shot on these bolts. Then used a 3/4 box wrench on the hex portion of the socket and angled the wrench back towards the wheel to reduce pulling the socket off the center of the bolt heads. Good Luck!

 

I just got a quote of $669.59 parts and 8hrs. labor. This is in Houston,
Texas. Price is for 4 of the 1/2 shafts only!!!

 

For that kind of money you can buy a press and all of the parts and have money left over.

http://www.rb-wholesale.com/default.isg?cPath=228