I'm installing new U joints in my drive shaft and having some....issues. I'm able to get the U joint in but i can only get 1 retainer clip installed. I'm using the bronze/copper clips, which is supposedly the thinnest, but i can't get both installed. I don't have a press so i'm using the hammer and socket method. I can't seem to get the cap far enough down to get the 2nd clip on. I'm whacking it pretty darn hard but i doesn't seem to be moving much. It also seems to cause the joint to bind a bit and become harder to move around the more i whack it. Any tips or tricks besides just using a BFH and waling away?

Also, i have the 1330 Spicers which from everything i can tell are the correct joints for a 1970 auto.

 

Pull the caps back off to ensure none of the needle bearings have fallen out of place and down in the end of the cap. This would prevent you from being able to get both caps on.
If this did happen ( and happened to me several times on my half shafts), ensure the needle bearings had not gotten bent. If they got bent, you will need to get new caps or new U joints.
If not, try to get loose one(s) back in place and add some extra grease in the cap to help keep them in place.
It can be difficult, but can be done with a little patience or a lot of cursing

 

I did that job today only 1310.

Spicers were used. Shaft was prepped and deburred. Grooves cleaned out and blasted. Tap in one side, install clip, tap in the other side, press, install clip.

 

B
First of all....STOP WHACKING. Easy does it. No need to abuse.
Go to the hardware store and get a large-enough c-clamp (clamps perhaps.... a bigger one and smaller one) whose pressing surfaces will fit within the confines of the U-joint bracket ---such that you can press it slowly together as you squeeze it.
You don't have to go get a c-clamp but I think it would benefit you. If I am not being clear just ask.
AND yes, ensure that all needle bearings are standing up and didn't fall over.

 

Better yet, take the entire shaft, yoke and U-Joints to one of those small auto repair shops before you break an ear off the yoke.
Those small shops have pneumatic tools design to install U-Joints in a matter of minutes.
And being a small shop, charge half of a big garage. You must have one nearby?

 

At your local Harbor Fright you will find a tool Kit for removing and re-installing u-joints both large and small. It is a lifesaver as it has the tools you need to make the job easier and faster. Having the right tool helps when doing specific jobs. I do have one of their 20 ton press's which has come in handy more times that I can remember. Cheap Chinese JUNK made for one use and maybe two uses if you are lucky.

I bought a spare set of half shafts for my C3 and C4. I brought them home and after sandblasting them I repaint them to make them look like new. I then put the pairs in a vacuum bag and put it on the shelf for when I need a U-joint. Having spares of some items makes sense to me. I have a sandblaster, powder coat and Plating lab for my C3 and C4's restoration. At least the spare parts look good!

 

I did this w/ my 1/2 shafts and got charged like $150 for my trouble. It didn't seem all that hard to i figured i'd try it my self.

Found the issue.... crushed some needles in the 1 cap, whoops. Guess i'll need 1 new joint. 1 other thing i noticed. The caps seem to have a small plastic ring on the inside of the cap. When i removed the cap on the 2d joint it was stuck to the u joint body, however...there still 1 in the cap itself. Do the caps normally have 2 of these or is this just a weird one off thing?

 

I don't have real disagreement with you here but methinks it is beneficial to learn how to fix some things on your own.
Growing up working on farm machinery -- they really like to use (and abuse) U-joints --- so it was a routine thing to replace them on this that and the other. It's only a matter of minutes anyway.... worst part is doing it in when the U-joint is in a tight confined location but even then; it ain't rocket surgery.

 

B
Show us a picture. Different U-joints are installed and constructed differently. 150 bucks is ridiculous. You can do it.

You can see some images at this link. Note that you could do this with a c-clamp and the appropriately sized socket.
https://jeepspecs.com/tj-generation/...-u-joint-tool/

also.... youtube is your friend, clean, wire brush, lubricate....it's all easy:

 

Here's the little plastic ring...thing.

 

Show us the u-joint.
Where was that located/placed?

 

oh sorry, here you go. This is the inside of the u joint cap. You can see it on the very bottom here.

 

My small local shop charged me $25 to do front / rear joints. I supplied the parts. Took a whole 15 minutes.
You got ripped off.

 

B
I'm not sure if you're done or not..... but if not....
Go get a couple of c-clamps (with end "smaller" than the u-joint cap), some grease, some penetrating oil, and some wire brushes (one for your drill if you can find one, and some "picks" to clean the grooves out of the u-joint support.
Look at some of those youtube videos and if you have questions just ask. 150 dollars was b.s. Find another shop.

 

The plastic "washer" goes in the cap as you see. Very common for them to stick to the cross end when removing the cap. They can fall off. As long as it's in the cap, and only one, I run a little grease over the rollers to hold them in place-not a lot since the joints are pregreased.

As for charge of $150, it depends on what they are doing. Many times, the joints in the flanges and yokes are tight or rusted in place. Having the tools makes a difference. I usually burn them out. Then when all are apart, wash the parts, blast them, etch them, POR15, and paint them. Sometimes the parts are to be as original so they are blasted, brushed, and treated to protect the bare iron. Then clean the groove and bore with a brush, test fit the clip, check the cap fit, radius the yoke or flange to allow the Spicer joint to fit. Then bolt the flange on the plate, assemble the joint in the flange, press the other end, clip it, next assemble the joint to the shaft, tap it in, press it from the other end, clip, seat the joint and stake it. Then install the other new joint on the other end of the shaft and one shaft is done. So do that two times and it's hours of labor. If you can find someone to do all that work for less than $300 let alone $150 good deal.

Now you can bring it to someone who has the tools, just have them back it out, maybe wash the shaft, press in new joints, maybe check the flange, maybe force in the clips, maybe shoot it with paint, again do both for $150? Good luck, all depends on what part of the country you're in and if you find an old school guy. He may replace the joint and the flange is still good, but it still can take time to do it right.

Freaking muffler shops are charging $150 hr, dealerships close to $200 hr. That just the money end of it, if the job is no good, what difference does it make?

I am not saying the shop who quoted you, overcharged because I don't know the level of the work they would have done. Wreck a joint installing it, that's what $30-$40 to replace depending on where it's bought? wreck two as it may happen as part of a learning curve, and that $150 charge may not be so high. Trying to use a solid Spicer in a flange that is not checked is a gamble, a slight tweak in the flange and you won't get the Spicer joint in. Force it and it will fail in use.

 

I've just gotta say, what Gary says here makes total sense.
I've replaced a fair few U joints. But I am not a shaft shop. Last time I replaced half shaft U joints everything looked fine to me.
It wasn't.
After chasing a shake in my car for months and replacing just about everything under my car. I finally took those half shafts to a shaft shop to have them inspected and balanced. Which at the time was considered a desperation attempt. Sure enough they found my castings where twisted and stretched. Causing a less than perfect spin.
I replaced the half shafts complete.
So, is it worth paying professionals to inspect and properly rebalance a shaft?
I believe it is.
Your call.

 

If they did any of the stuff you mentioned i would have been ok w/ it but nope. Just pressed in the joints. They charge $150 an hr so i assume they just charged me for the hour even though it probably took 10 minutes.

$150 an hour is the usual here in DE, a couple custom type places are $200. We all know that almost anything on these cars takes a couple of hours at a minimum. I dont have the money for parts and that kind of labor so unless its something i literally just cant do, i will.

 

Yep. That' is straight up bullshit. That is why you want to learn how to do some of these little things yourself.

Come here and ask. Lotsa folks know how to do lotsa stuff...... I pretty much ask here before I go off on wild goose chases anymore.

 

So i bit the bullet, kind of. I sprung for this guy here.

Its a small 6 ton press from Vevor, $105 and free shipping. If i'm going to get charged $150 for pressing U joints i may as well spend $100 and not have to worry about it ever again. I also needed it for installing the Delrin bushings in the rear crossmember.

U joints are all in and the Delrin bushings are in too, no issues.

 

B

haha....good move. More toys the better!