Last night I heard a some strange noises from the rear. Jacked it up and :cry....... at least two of the half shaft joints are bad and one driveshaft feel loose too! So I found a place that carries Spicers and they have all six in stock. Looks like my Saturday is going to be a day of big fun :smash: :(


[Modified by silvervetteman, 3:18 PM 2/20/2002]

 

Just did mine and painted my halfshafts with POR-15 while I had them out! :D Make sure you get the solid spicers without the zerk fittings. Brute force from autozone are also good choice. It's good you caught it when you did since a friend of mine wasn't so lucky and had a flailing halfshaft tear up his batt box and some of his other rear end components. Good luck!:cheers:

BTW, the french locks are still available cheap from your local GM dealer. :cool:

 

Yeah, you can't drive them with bad U-joints... I know the warning signs.. I had a 61 years ago that had a front driveshaft u-joint let go. Scared the Hell out of me and tore up the tunnel big time. That was two days after I had new U-joint put in. :cuss :boxing The shop that put them in said :nopity :boxing


[Modified by silvervetteman, 5:58 PM 2/20/2002]

 

Mark... I wonder who that would be... :smash:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard that Spicer no longer produces the solid u-joints.

 

Mark, quit playing with u-joints and get the l-88 air box installed. :p:

Chris, wuuuzzzuppppp?

 

Spicer makes some which come as close to the original configuration as you can get. Careful if you get ones with the zerk fittings - you need to install them pointed in a certain direction or they'll rub on something or other (I forget what). If you need U-joints you can get the spicer ones from Tony's Corvette at a fraction of the cost of the GM U-joints. The GM ones are something ridiculous like $90 a PIECE! :eek: The back half of Sophia (rear, T-arms driveshaft etc..) is up in his shop right now for an overhaul. :D The spicer ones are even stamped in the ends. They're as close as you can get to the original configuration that I've found. ~Juliet

 

The hammering smiley is certainly appropriate. I removed mine with a hammer and drift pin. That was fun!

Good Luck!

 

If you used the "hammer" method, I know you had so much fun that you probably had to borrow ahead on your fun quota for the day. :lol: :lol:

 

Take pics and post a How to when done will you??? I want to do this soon as well!!! :smash: :smash:

 

All - Here's a very informative thread:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=177413

Have fun! :cheers:

Chris - I forgot to mention the reason yours went on you was because they had the zerk fittings. I was impatient and used the Brute Force since they were cheaper and in stock. I woud have had to order the Spicers from NAPA so I didn't check into them further. IMO, if they don't make solids anymore, I would definately use the Brute Force from Autozone at ~$13 ea. BTW, I found spicers with zerks on my right halfshaft when I replaced mine.

Rob - Havin trouble finding the right drop base for the air cleaner since I have a tall hi-rise intake. I need one with a 2" drop which I'm not having any luck finding and also need to rerun my fuel line and pump. Can't glass the airbox on without the right setup on the carb! :jester


[Modified by Marks69BB, 8:51 AM 2/21/2002]

 

Any time a universal joint is installed that has a grease fitting the joint is to be installed so the grease fitting is under compression. Installed a certain way the fitting is pushed and if installed upside down it is under tension and it's strength is greatly reduced.
Also get a small flapper wheel for the electric drill and after removing the old universals be sure to clean each eye. I hold the shaft in a vise and use a brass hammer to gently walk the never universal into place. I try not to use a press. You run the rish of deforming something.
If you have a torch I cut the x out of the old joint then use a air chissel to talk the old universal out, then clean with the flapper wheel, file any burs off the yoke, clean the groove, lubricate then use the brass hammer to walk the new univereal in.
Be careful about using a press or vise removeing and replacing joints. New joints should just about slide in by hand. Only a little tapping
Good luck

 

Mark... I too have the Brute Force u-joints. I picked up some halfshafts off an '80 and they had the original GM Spicer solid U-joints. When I was searching for new U-joints, I just couldn't find solid Spicer's, then heard they don't make 'em anymore. The one's that sheared off were Federal-Mogul brand with the zerks. I've got a couple extras.. Anybody want 'em??? :lol:

Here's a cool question for anyone... The torque spec on mine (uses the straps with 1/4" bolts) is 15 ft lbs. That's only a one vein popper when tightened by hand! Just doesn't seem like enough unless you use thread lock. Is the reason behind this to make sure you don't deform the bearing cup?

Rob... Waazzup back at ya...

 

:cool: Thanks for the link!!!

 

Use Loctite blue. New U-joint cap bolts have some kind of colored friction material in the threads right out of the box.

-Noel

 

Chris - My BB uses the solid caps on the yokes which are spec'd at 40-60 ft lbs but I did notice when I was looking for mine that the u-bolt torque specs were much lower in the 69 AIM. I just don't remember what they were! :conehead I'll check my AIM tonight and post it here if no one else responds by then. I'm still looking for an answer to whether I can use the bigger half shafts on my 69 like you have on your 81 since supposedly GM made em bigger for obvious reasons :conehead. When Tom and I were pressing mine in, we compared the halfshafts and the newer ones are much beefier than the old ones both in the wall thickness of the tube part and the knuckle where the u-joint is pressed in. I've posted this a couple of times on this forum and never got a definitive answer. Anybody know????? :confused:

Norval - The time and difficulty it took us to get the old ones out and the new ones in with a press makes me find it hard to believe this can be done in a reasonable time without one. We did use files to deburr the sockets and a leather hammer to position the ujoints before using the press and Tom used the same hammer to make sure they were properly seated before the clips went in. We especially had a time with the flanges since they would flex when using the press; I think we'd still be messing with them if all we had was a brass hammer.


[Modified by Marks69BB, 12:54 PM 2/21/2002]

 

Mark. I have a special plate that I bolt to the end of the 1/2 shaft . It goes in place of the axle flange to prevent distortion when pressing out the universal. It is very easy to get carried away with the press. My son showed me this method when I rebuilt the front end on my dodge 4x4. He does this alot. He used my torch and air chissel and walked the old universal out without any chance of distortion. He brought his flapper wheel and polished the yokes till they looked like new, cleaned the grove, deburred then held the 1/2 shaft in the vise and with little effort , with the help of a brass hammer walked the new universals in. He impressed me. I have 3 presses in my shop and he convinced me to never use them for universal replacement again.
I had a FORD truck that eat universals every 13 months, the warranty is for 12. After a few times haveing to pay I went with careful polishing the yoke and not using brute force and sold the truck 5 years later with the same universal still fine.
If you use force to install the new universals the caps get distorted and the univeral bernells. Watch out for destroying the axle end of the 1/2 shaft. It is very fragile.

 

These are a piece of cake!!!!!!! Years ago, a Corvette racer showed me how to "torch" these out! Lay the driveshaft or halfshaft down and raised so the u-joint is parallel to the ground, "cut the X out with a torch, after the middle of the joint drops to the ground, rotate shaft while the end cups are hot, pop each one out with one blow with hammer and large punch". I've had 6 u-joints out in less time than it took my wife to run to McDonald's and it's only 3mi away!!! I've also done 3 of 4 of my cars this way and also several for other owners. Best way ever I've seen to do this!!! :yesnod:

 

Norval - We used a torch to heat one of the old ones to help loosen it but didn't use it to cut them in half. Without access to a torch, and as long as you are patient, don't force anything, and properly support the sockets, IMO a press will work fine. Thanks for the idea of mounting a plate to the flange to prevent flexing!

 

Take a look at the Spice site, loads of info there.
http://www.spicerdriveshaft.com
From what I can tell they still make non-greasable U-joints.

But the greasable ones are different from the normal aftermarket types, they have a double zerck in the center of the joint.
Easy to reach with a grease gun and doesn't weaken the joint.
Seems like the ultimate solution to me.

 

yea, I checked out the site and it looks like they're available. That center zerk style is interesting. Still looks like their "replacement" joints have the side angle mounted fittings. Don't know why I had so much trouble finding a supplier.... :confused: