Stuck U-joint help.

I am trying to change out the Ujoints of my D30 shafts but the caps will not budge. The C-clips were rusted solid, so after I took them off I sprayed everything down with PB blaster. I beat on the caps until I flattened TWO craftsman sockets. I tried some gentle heating with propane on the yoke ears and then tried beating it again but they still won't move. How hot can I get the yokes before I cause damage?
I don't have a press, and I can't drive anywhere with the shafts out to get them pressed out anyway. Any suggestions would be great as I will eventually run out of sockets and my forearm feels like jello right now.

Try a C Clamp or get the shafts to a vise? Worked for mine.

I used a vice to hold the shaft then took a pitman arm puller with a small socket under it to pop it through. Mine were the worst I've ever seen. I'll try to get a pic up in a minute.

http://www.jeepaholics.com/support/files/WobblesXJ/20050104155827_Wobbles 353e.jpg

there ya go.

Mine look a lot like that. That is a damn good idea though!

I went through the same ordeal with that as well. I tried a vice, hammer and heat and i could'nt get it busted loose. I ended up taking it to pep boys because it was the only place open. They put it in a 20 ton press and it still would'nt break loose. The guy finally used a lot of heat and a really BFG.

Mine sounded like a shotgun when they broke loose. I still had to work them back and forth with lots o' grease before they would come all the way out.

Also be sure to take a dremel or something with a tiny wirebrush and run it in the holes before putting in the new ones.

i used a gear puller put the 3/4" socket on the end of the shaft, then used the arms to grip around the back of the yoke. worked like a charm. No amount of that socket banging worked for me.

Holy crap those things were on tight. I used a 2 foot breaker and a hi-lift handle to crank on the pitman puller. I kept on turning until I knew something was going to explode, then I heated the ears up again, gave it another half turn and KABANG! The opposite cap shot out halfway! Now the other half won't come out because all the hammering mushroomed the yoke face inward, but Ill dremel out a little chamfer tomorrow and get the job done.
Thanks Wobbles.

Next time you may want to try my solution. I cut the out middle of the U-Joint (used an angle grinder, but a hack saw would work), pulled out the pieces till only the caps were left. Broke through the top of the cap with a small cold chisel, then sawed (notched) the insides of the cap wall, with a small plumbers hack saw (blade inserted through the cap) (probably could have ground the inside of the cap out some, with a dremel also), and cracked the cap side with a small chisel. Took some time and a little care, but everything came out OK, without heat or excessive (deadly) force.
I´d bent the tightening bar on my vice ( big, serious and steel), decided I better try another approach, before I bent or broke the yoke.