u-joint does not want to budge. i've never seen one so stuck.

[vortec]

i know some of you have changed a lot more u-joints than i have, including having to macgyver the thing with bubble gum and a gi joe thermos (or something). well, i pulled my driveshaft off, sunday, and can't seem to dislodge the bearing caps from the shaft, now. tried the basics: vice and sockets, huge c-clamp and sockets, and TAPPED with the 2lb sledge. i'm very reluctant to slam with the 2lber or break out the bigger sledges, because i have a tendency to smash things all to he77 when i start banging on them. and by the way, yes, i did remove the c-clips. the dang caps are just cemented by years (maybe decades) or dirt, rust and grime. we all know how that goes. soaked it in motor oil, overnight, and that didn't help.

i have a feeling this will end with my reciprocating saw and a sledge hammer.

 

[Leper]

Autozone loans a ball joint/ujoint tool. Looks like a big, thick C-clamp. I bought one at harbor freight. They work well.
*sings* Beat it.........Beat it..........u-joints need to feel the beatin'. You know they are rusted, they know you are fightin, it's ok if, you just don't get frightened to, Beat it..... Beat it..........

 

[BigEasy]

I know for several years GM used to inject some type of plastic adhesive around the u-joint caps to hold them in. If that's the case, the best way is to heat the end of the u-joint caps with a torch until that plastic stuff oozes out like a big ol' pimple. Then you can press the joint out as usual. I just did this last week with the rear driveshaft on my '90.

 

[87BrnRsd]

Usually when the caps wont budge...I just start hitting them harder. Has always worked in the past.

Last one my brother and i did on a dodge, the u-joint itself came out but most of the caps didnt. Some were split enough to allow the main part of the u-joint to come out, but they were still seized in there. After using a socket and 2lb sledge for about an hour, and after breaking the socket, we got the caps out. Persistency pays off. And try some pb blaster instead of motor oil.


-Harrison

 

[MattK]

Usually when the caps wont budge...I just start hitting them harder. Has always worked in the past.

Last one my brother and i did on a dodge, the u-joint itself came out but most of the caps didnt. Some were split enough to allow the main part of the u-joint to come out, but they were still seized in there. After using a socket and 2lb sledge for about an hour, and after breaking the socket, we got the caps out. Persistency pays off. And try some pb blaster instead of motor oil.


-Harrison

what a pain!!! big word to the PB blaster.

 

[vortec]

yeah, i called autozone about it, last night. one dufus didn't even know what a u-joint puller/press is. of course i was a dufus for not asking about for a balljoint puller. last time i got a loan-a-tool there, they had to hunt it down at another location, then i broke thing thing (balancer puller/installer). there's a song for that, too "seek and destroy"

a little pb blaster and then, i'll go old-school gorilla on the thing. the neighbors will love that. haha. it's great how years of grime turn a small job into a big pita. fun.

 

[shaun89]

when i cant get them out i use an angle grinder with a cutting blade, and cut the center out, then only the caps remain, it usually makes it easier to go after one cap at a time. just be sure not to bend ur driveshaft. i use a big socket or short piece of pipe to brace the driveshaft and the caps into the socket/pipe.

 

[longbedder]

Buy a large (3/4") bolt about 6" long. Use it as a punch against the joint cap and get out the BFH. Whale away...

 

[Confedneck79K30]

does it still have the injected molded plastic in the shaft? look for a small plastic tit on the outside round edge... if not, get a ujoint press, or a vice and swing that hammer like a man lol

 

[cybrfire]

cut the cross out with a torch!

 

[Zeus33rd]

cut the cross out with a torch!

+2

 

[koldsimer]

Autozone loans a ball joint/ujoint tool. Looks like a big, thick C-clamp. I bought one at harbor freight. They work well.
*sings* Beat it.........Beat it..........u-joints need to feel the beatin'. You know they are rusted, they know you are fightin, it's ok if, you just don't get frightened to, Beat it..... Beat it..........

Seriously, use a socket and pound the hell out of it.

 

[mechted]

If you dont have a torch:
I had 1 stubborn one on my D60 shafts, so i clamped it up in the vise/socket rig and then hit the ears of the shaft with a 3 lb hammer to VERY VERY slowly work the thing free of the shaft. Had to keep tightening up the vise to keep the pressure on it, but eventually i got it out without destroying anything.

 

[vortec]

i went the balljoint press route. i had to really crank on that thing, hard, but it worked. there was so much junk collected in there that i don't know it ever would have budged with the c-clamp i normally use for u-joints. i just hope i didn't bend the yoke section of the shaft. it sort of looks like it, but it could be rough machining from the factory, or just my eyes playing tricks on me.

 

[ssped]

Cool. glad you got her apart.