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Driveshaft u-joint question that makes me feel dumb

eodcoduto

eodcoduto

We could have been closer.
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Last year I replaced the u joints in the rear driveshaft with a pair of Spicer 5-1350X life series joints and even with the thinnest clips they were too wide, both joints. So I spent an hour sanding the clips down until they fit but the still bow out some. Now I have put around 3000 miles on it this year and I get a vibration at 65 so I am taking the driveshaft in to get balanced tomorrow and I don't want to look like a boot with the wrong u-joints in there. From what I read my '85 K20 Suburban with a 700R4 and 14sf rear should have the 1350. If I am wrong let me know. I pressed out the old ones with a C clamp so I doubt I bent the ears but who knows.
 
did you get the slip yoke 180* out ?

reason i ask is years ago i did a pair of joints on my 2wd 88 c-20 and had a vib after . the local shaft guy checked it and said i had the slip 180* off and he swapped it and perfect . once i re-installed it all was good .
 
only way w/o being marked before disassembly. is to rotate the slip 180. Also you need to have the u joints square. hard to explain. but each shaft must have the same joint lined up.
 
If you just started getting vibes and not immediately after you installed it, then I’d say it’s not 180* out and the joint is worn out again. Since the clips were tight and you needed to shave them down, is it possible one of the needle bearings fell out of place and was resting on the inside of the cap? It’s probably turned to dust by now and the metal shaving ruined the rest of the bearings. The shaft should be free to move after installation. In fact, I always tap the crosses gently to make sure they have a little play.
 
rampage said:
If you just started getting vibes and not immediately after you installed it, then I’d say it’s not 180* out and the joint is worn out again. Since the clips were tight and you needed to shave them down, is it possible one of the needle bearings fell out of place and was resting on the inside of the cap? It’s probably turned to dust by now and the metal shaving ruined the rest of the bearings. The shaft should be free to move after installation. In fact, I always tap the crosses gently to make sure they have a little play.
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That's mostly what happens. I always take it apart when it feels this tight. Never force it
 
also did you WACK the yoke at the caps with a hammer after you were all done ?

doing this helps the metal go to its happy place and take the bind off the yoke ears to let every thing spin free .

had a old timer guy show me this trick and boy does it help . if you dont believe me flex the joint before and after waking them .
 
I've had to take a punch to the driveshaft ears and pound them outward a bit to get the inside clips to fit many times ...they tend to bend inward a little when you press the u-joint out..a few I had to grind a little off the inside of the ears to get the clip grooves to fully show too..

It is important to mark the position of the yokes before taking the u-joints off,also some u-joints with a grease zerk must have the zerk facing a particular way,even though it'll fit either way,it can throw off the balance,and make it impossible to get a grease gun on it to lube it..

If your yoke is splined and has no keyway so it can be installed in any position,you must align the u-joints in a particular manner,some need to be aligned with each other,some need to be 90 degrees apart,and two piece drive shafts with a center bearing sometimes need to be installed with the splines "off" by a certain amount to phase them properly..
 
My clips poke out slightly on my rear drive shaft with 1350’s. I just rebuilt the front drive shaft and it was a nightmare getting the clips to set at the diff. I still feel uneasy about how they are sitting. The joint isn’t binded but feels pretty stiff. I put one clip in on one end and hammer the other side of the joint with a punch until the clip just barely fell in its seat. I called it good there. Maybe I should re look at it. I’ll probably just fix it when it falls off lol
 
K5Devil said:
My clips poke out slightly on my rear drive shaft with 1350’s. I just rebuilt the front drive shaft and it was a nightmare getting the clips to set at the diff. I still feel uneasy about how they are sitting. The joint isn’t binded but feels pretty stiff. I put one clip in on one end and hammer the other side of the joint with a punch until the clip just barely fell in its seat. I called it good there. Maybe I should re look at it. I’ll probably just fix it when it falls off lol
Click to expand...

Tight joints creates heat which causes premature failure.
 
It moved but with slight pressure. A little more pressure than I am used to but still “freely”. Thought it was weird. Makes sense that the ears may be slightly bent in. Might pop it out and have another go at it after bending the ears out a little.
 
When I replaced an axle u-joint on my truck last year,the axle yoke where the u-joint cups go were rusted quite thin,and I feared the ear would break off while pressing them out or installing them.

I couldn't get the inner c-clips to go in ,and the cups were fully seated with no needles out of place,I was going to put the axle in the vise and try whacking the ear with a hammer & punch but figured it would break it--I ended up filing the inside of the ear a bit until the clips would go in the groove in the cup and seat fully..

When I use 4wd or plow with it now,I use a VERY light touch on the gas pedal,especially going around a corner--that axle wont take much to shear off the ears...the other side was the same way when I replaced the axle joint on the drivers side to...
I do have a few spare front axles,but they are not the same as the ones on the 82 GMC,they must be from older Dana 44's I had..of course those look like new--because they wont fit!..:surepal:
 
sweetk30 said:
also did you WACK the yoke at the caps with a hammer after you were all done ?

doing this helps the metal go to its happy place and take the bind off the yoke ears to let every thing spin free .

had a old timer guy show me this trick and boy does it help . if you dont believe me flex the joint before and after waking them .
Click to expand...
I smacked them before I dropped off the shaft and that did loosen up the rear joint some, so thanks for the info. The shop just called and the weights were off at the 3 and 9 position so I probably had the yoke 180 out. I’ll grab it in the morning and see how it does at 65. It is worth the $50 in my opinion.
 
I went to put my new tail shaft bushing in and the new one fell straight through, I found the acdelco part on amazon so hopefully it fit right. This thing is about to get sold.
 
K5Devil said:
It moved but with slight pressure. A little more pressure than I am used to but still “freely”. Thought it was weird. Makes sense that the ears may be slightly bent in. Might pop it out and have another go at it after bending the ears out a little.
Click to expand...
When you say you tapped the cap and the clip fell in, then you are good.
It's when the clip has to be shaved or pounded in that you have problems.
Also after getting the clip in pound the cap back out against the clip to lock it in and give a little wiggle room for the joint
 
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