OK...my half shafts are out for service, clean up and paint. How do the U-joints come out? They wern't worn, but I wanna grease em. I see the snap rings and removed them...before I start pounding ...is there a certain way to remove em?
Thanks
Eddie

 

No HAMMERS!!!!!! Press or big vise or cut them out. NO Hammers. You will work you A$$ off and damage the flange.

 

Since most people have a big vise and a set of sockets, that route works best.

 

So...you press them to one side...remove the caps...and out it comes???
Eddie

 

Kinda....you need to support the flange so you don't distort it. Anyway... press to one side remove that cap and press the cross back the other way then remove the other cap...... THEN you can get the cross out.

 

Thanks you VERY much Larry. I'm off to the workshop to "press" this issue!!
Eddie

 

anybody got pics of how to do a U joint removal. i've been thinking about doing this too.

 

You can't just press out the U-joint spiders like you can on other cars.
Each of the spiders (the U-joint crosses) has a cap on the end. If you use a U joint removal tool and press out the spider, it will "bottom-out" with only about 3/8" or so cap protrusion. This compares with the more orthodox U-joints where you can almost press out the complete cap. Now, with only a small amount of cap exposed - how do you pull it out??? Well actually you can buy cap removal tools that clamp onto the cap and allow you to use force to keep extracting it. On the afternoon I was doing this I didn't have that tool.

First of all I got out my grinders. On the protruding cap, I ground the protruding part. (I used sandpaper near the drive shaft flanges to avoid grinding damage.) But what needs agressive grinding is the cap that's been pushed into the U-joint cavity. I used my grinders (a dremel with a abrasive stone and a larger hand held Sear's grinder with several stone attachments. It was much like a dentist grinding down a molar. For the cap that was pressed "in" I was able to attack its outer diameter about 2/3 of the circumfrence. Next I cleaned up the bores of the U joint flanges with some fine (1000) grind sandpaper. I sprayed everything with WD-40 for lubricant. Then I used my U joint removal tool and pushed the spider back in the opposite direction! With all of the dimensions reduced I was able to remove the cap with a plumbers hand pipe wrench. With one cap out, the rest is easy.

....As for the attached half axle flange that will be attached to the half shaft, you probably can't remove this spider axis without using a special tool. If the caps won't move easily, the U joint removal tool will distort the half axle flange since it's not that sturdy for this operation. You can buy a tool for this ($30)..it simulates the flange that goes on the half axle shaft or you can use an extra half axle flange if you'rve already removed them. Anyhow, I didn't know this. I bend one of my flanges. Anyhow a good news story is that you can still buy the REAL half axle flanges. I bought mine from Paragon. I'm sure Volunteer Vette sells them along with Ecklers. (They also can be found in auto parts on-line listings.) They're $45 each. The on-line listings will tell you who made them. I forget ..Dana? Anyhow they're not overseas third world repro stuff.

To rebuild my U-joints, I used Spicer solid spiders (greaseless). The solid spiders are a great deal stronger, or so I'm told.

 

I broke a vise that way on a drive shaft u-joint once (not vette)

Steve

 

I more or less used this guys method.
http://iotech.no/corvette/technical/...te_ujoints.htm
Of course you'll be trashing the old joints but I have a feeling you won't have much luck saving them anyway.

 

you can always borrow the tool from Autozone. It looks like a big 'C'-clamp. One end presses a cap, on the opposite end there is a cup that lets the opposing cap slide into it. Once far enough out, you can grab the cap with a pair of channel locks or vice grips and wiggle is out.

If you do your drivehshaft, it is worth taking to a shop to have it balanced and let them put the new joints in. Be sure to mark your yoke at the tranny so you can put it back in the same spline.

 

Buy a cheap press at Harbor Freight.

 

Many of the originals have nylon holding the caps in. Just heat them up and the nylon curls out, then just tap them out driving the caps out, not in. Sand the yokes "CLEAN" and reinstall the new joints. A press and sockets is not the way to install U joints.