Half Shaft Wobble
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 347
Likes: 1
From: Walpole MA
Half Shaft Wobble
Over the past couple of days I removed my half shafts and drive shaft, took them down to the local machine shop and had them press in new universal joints that I got from Autozone. Put everything back in along with a new snubber on the diff and adjustable strut rods I got from Zip Restorartion Store. Before putting tires back on I started the engine and put in gear (its an auto). I then noticed the drivers side rear hub bouncing up and down and the half shaft itself wobbling, along with a noticable squeak at each rotation. The passenger side was rock steady and NO wobble. Does this sound like a bad u-joint, bent half shaft, yoke from diff gone..???? HELP
PS.... last year I had the brakes and rear bearings replaced by a local Corvette shop, they never mentioned that there may have been a problem with the haft shaft.
PS.... last year I had the brakes and rear bearings replaced by a local Corvette shop, they never mentioned that there may have been a problem with the haft shaft.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
Re: Half Shaft Wobble (74 New Owner)
that clunking can vary with the individual Ujoint installed, it's beyond it's flex points...jack up the rear by the shock mounts...supports...and load the spring....it should disappear I hear you right....
GENE
GENE
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,679
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From: Charles Town WV
Re: Half Shaft Wobble (74 New Owner)
If you ran the car with the rear on jackstands you probably just ruined your yokes and halfshafts. The car was not designed for them to be run at that angle. The yokes will bind. I would take them off and have them carefully inspected. It may be ok since you didn't have the weight of the wheels there, but you really shouldn't do that.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 4,148
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From: Roxbury NJ
Re: Half Shaft Wobble (74 New Owner)
They will definitely wobble and bind when they are free hanging, although I doubt there is any damage (unless you left it running!) because they go into that position whenever the car goes over a very large bump on the road.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 347
Likes: 1
From: Walpole MA
Re: Half Shaft Wobble (74 New Owner)
Thanks for the help guys, BUT, I just raised the hubs up to approx ride height, and tried again. Let engine idle up to operating temp, kicked down the choke and put car in gear. The noise and wobble were considerably less but were still there. :cry Have i done damage to the yoke? The half shaft and u-joints relly don't bother me (it's only money :cry :cry :cry). really am concerned about the yoke, I am not confident about taking the diff apart. Anybody have any suggestions? Thanks
Racer
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 485
Likes: 0
From: MESA, AZ, USA
Re: Half Shaft Wobble (74 New Owner)
I hate to have to agree with all the above "bad news", but there is a good chance you damaged both your rear half shafts. And in response to the statement that these normally drop down to this level when you "fly the car" that's only true if your shocks are allowing over extension. When I replaced my shocks I made sure they stopped the T-arm travel before the shafts would bind. Some after-market shocks extend further than the originals. Check before buying/installing. Hope for the best, but check it all out before you take it for a strong high speed run. These things are not nice when they break under the car.
Andy
Andy
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2001
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From: Woodforest
Re: Half Shaft Wobble (74 New Owner)
Just another addition....Did you put the halfshaft back into the same position as you took them off? Drivers side, pass side as well as direction? They may be balanced for a particular position.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 15,173
Likes: 3,982
From: Connecticut, USA
Re: Half Shaft Wobble (74 New Owner)
Another thought and I hope it's not this. Do you know how they installed the new u-joints? If they used a press and didn't support the joint flange that bolts to the spindle flange it could have been bent by the press. Usually this flange is bolted to an old spindle flange or steel plate to prevent it from bending under pressure.
Gary
Gary
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 347
Likes: 1
From: Walpole MA
Re: Half Shaft Wobble (gtr1999)
Woodstoc, I was very carefut to mark the shafts as to the correct side and orientation thanks
BUT
Gary, I think you have hit the nail on the head. When I picked up the shafts at the machine shop the guy told me that they had a bi*ch of a time getting the new universal into the flange. So much so that they tried 2 other universal of different makes and had the same problem, but after a few more tries they finally managed to get my u-joint into the flange. I just went out an climbed under the car and took a close look at both flanges, and YES there are many more NEW scratches and one good size gouge in the flange on the drivers side (this is the side with the wobble). :smash: :smash:
Thanks for all the help and ideas
BUT
Gary, I think you have hit the nail on the head. When I picked up the shafts at the machine shop the guy told me that they had a bi*ch of a time getting the new universal into the flange. So much so that they tried 2 other universal of different makes and had the same problem, but after a few more tries they finally managed to get my u-joint into the flange. I just went out an climbed under the car and took a close look at both flanges, and YES there are many more NEW scratches and one good size gouge in the flange on the drivers side (this is the side with the wobble). :smash: :smash:
Thanks for all the help and ideas
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,943
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From: Florham Park NJ Port Credit Ontario
Re: Half Shaft Wobble (74 New Owner)
Same thing happened to me.....no, I didnt run the car while it was on the jackstands...After I finished the rebuild I turned the spindle by hand and noticed that they were not spinning freely as they were before the rebuild. I camee to the conclusion that the adjustable strut rods I installed were not the same length as the old ones. Once I measured them and adjusted them to the proper length the problem with the shafts binding went away.
Hope this helps
Stew
Hope this helps
Stew
