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U-joint removal

G

Grizzley

NAXJA Forum User
Location
North Central Mass.
Search came up with a couple of useless threads. Putting the 8.8 and nondisco 30 in this weekend and the 30 needs new axle joints. Got the axles out no problem, and I've replaced u-joints on a driveshaft before, but never saw some like these.

Inner clips, no problem, will pull them when I can get the cups to move in enough. Cups won't move though. Both the axle and the stub are marked spicer and so are the caps, which i thought was a little weird and thought maybe there's some kind of protection cap over the ends. Is there?
 
I've changed several sets of axle u-joints. The easiest way I've found is to use a ball joint press (sort of like a giant C-clamp). You have to remove the inner clips. Mount the ball joint press in a vise and set the plunger against one u-joint cap and put the receiver cup over the opposite cap. Use an impact wrench to drive the plunger against the cap and force it through the yoke to push out the opposing cap (be careful as the cap will shatter sometimes).

You can do this with a hammer and large punch, but if the u-joints have never been changed it can be a real pain.
 
Grizz, the clips are going to have to come out before you can push the caps. If you don't, you're going to bend the yokes. It may take some digging with a small flat blade screwdriver and some penetrant, but they'll come out. There's no protective cap, that's the bearing cap you see.
 
Ya, I'm thinking that the drivers side is stock original and the pass side is replaced as they look completely different. Hoping that someone didn't replace one of these shafts as I just miked what I could see and they seem to be different. Oh joy!
 
AFAIK, there's only 2 different u-joints used on D30 axle shafts, a 260x and a 297x Spicer. The 297x has a larger diameter trunnion and cap, but the same dimension from cap to cap. You can't put a 297x u-joint where a 260x u-joint used to be.

Come to think of it, there was a C/V joint on some, but you know the difference there.

What year?
 
Actually, there's two diameters of caps listed for spicer 5-760X's. 1.188 and 1.063, ones supposed to be for antilock and the other without.

Anyways, I chickened out. Bro-in-law's vice wouldn't handle it even after i got the clips out so I took it to a local garage and they'll do it tomorrow morning for me. Got enough to deal with doing the lift and axle change tomorrow.

mks
 
That sounds odd. The 760x series I thought was a replacement for the 297x which is the larger caps you reference. I didn't think they included the 260x in it.

At least you got the axles out, the press job for someone with the right tools should be pretty cheap.
 
yeah, be carefull if your u-joint is the stock one...they're usually in there good and i just changed mine on a 99 (which were stock). they both busted the hell up really bad. a hack saw got the u-joint out and the caps had to be chiseled out with a screw driver...good luck, and may i suggest soaking them in pb blaster before you take them out...
 
Well, usually the NAPA guy has been right on. Maybe he made a mistake, not sure. I don't have the book in front of me and have come to only believe what I see right in front of me. Someone may be able to debunk this when they go to work and have the books in front of them. If it's spobi, it's only what I was told.
 
I hate to hi-jack the thread - but, what's the downside of just cutting the u-joint below one of the caps to get it out? I did that on one of mine and it came out a lot easier - (probably because I was only pressing one cap a time). But is there a drawback.
 
No real drawback to that method, I've had to do it a couple of times.

Here's the easy way to ujoint extraction, using a vice. This method does NOT use the vice to apply pressure as a press.

First, of course, remove the clips. Open the vice enough so you can lay the axle shaft assy in the jaws, the horizontal plane will sit flat on the vice jaws with the jaws directly underneath the yokes/ ujoint caps. Now take a BFH and hit the meaty part of the yoke facing vertically, just inboard of the ujoint. Repeat until the cap pops out. Flip it over and do it again.

Now close the jaws a little bit and remove the last of the ujoint by putting the trunnion, not the caps, directly on the vise jaws, and use the hammer in the same way.

Clear as mud?:D
 
I picked up the two axles today. They had blown the old ones off with a torch. Capes were really on there and nothing was moving so they got rid of the middle and then everything else came off like it should.
 
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