truly how hard is this?

[jdurbach]

how did you pull that off with leaving the shafts in?

 

[iwannadie]

in the past i have also changed the u joint in the front axle shaft while they were on the jeep, it takes some finesse and patience but it can be done, if u can remove the axle without a lot of trouble it will be easier on a bench, if the old joint is seized really bad, u can cut them apart with a torch, if u do this make sure u only cut the joint and keep the heat off of the ears, when u cut the joint apart it will pop and spew grease so be careful, as mentioned before, apply antiseize when installing the new joints it will make it easier to get together and apart in the future good luck

I read you should never use any type of anti sieze on the ujoints. It will just allow the caps to spin in the ears and eventually fail?

 

[Matthew Currie]

I read you should never use any type of anti sieze on the ujoints. It will just allow the caps to spin in the ears and eventually fail?

I find it hard to believe they'd spin. Even on a rust-free yoke, they're in there awfully tight.

 

[5-90]

I read you should never use any type of anti sieze on the ujoints. It will just allow the caps to spin in the ears and eventually fail?

I've been doing it that way (on my own vehicle and other's) for the last 20 years without any trouble. You still have to press them in fairly hard - I think there's about .0007-.0010" interference fit there. The Never-seez makes it easier to press them in now, and easier to press them out later. I'll take it.

I've certainly never spun a cap...

 

[RockMonkey]

So did you get this done last weekend? How long did it take?

 

[jdurbach]

well i tried...the three bolts that hold the hub to the knuckle wouldn't budge even with an impact gun. i checked the u joints for any play and found very little. Also the big nut that hold the hub to the shaft is so rusted that I couldn't even get the cotter pin out. I did find that my dust shield got bent into the rotor and thats what grinded the outside of it down. I have no clue how I am going to get those three bolts tou or the big nut. Any sugestions other than PB blaster that I used for a week?

 

[anodyne33]

Wow. That sucks. My bolts came out just fine the first time I did mine, but getting the hub out was the bitch. You need to go to the blue wrench. MAPP gas is supposedly much hotter, but alternating propane and quenching with PB has worked for me on several other fasteners.

Oh, and I assume you're using a big breaker bar? I had a heavy 1/2"er to get those out. You may have to throw a cheater on there also.

As for the hub nut, I've no suggestion.

 

[Matthew Currie]

Wow. That sucks. My bolts came out just fine the first time I did mine, but getting the hub out was the bitch. You need to go to the blue wrench. MAPP gas is supposedly much hotter, but alternating propane and quenching with PB has worked for me on several other fasteners.

Oh, and I assume you're using a big breaker bar? I had a heavy 1/2"er to get those out. You may have to throw a cheater on there also.

As for the hub nut, I've no suggestion.

Heat will help with the hub nut too. If the cotter pin is rusted solid, don't worry. It's soft. You can chisel it off, or the nut will just shear through it as you unscrew. PUnch or drill the residue out of the shaft after it's off.

 

[lawsoncl]

When I did my shaft Ujoint, they were factory original and just fused in place lol no rust though. I beat them with a hammer and socket, I used a C clamp, I bought the HBF tool and nothing worked.

I gave up and took the shaft to a lube shop to have them press it out, they bent the ears... What I thought was going to be an easy afternoon(both sides) fix turned into a mess for me lol. Getting the shafts out wasnt too bad, the giant axle nut wasnt a problem. The ujoint defeated me though.

It's very easy to bend or brake the ears if you're not doing it right.

For removal, I've found the best method with a press is to have a piece of u-channel underneath supporting the cross of u-joint and a big socket above to push the cap into. No socket underneath. That way, the force is pushing the cross and the upper cap upwards into the socket. This cuts the force in half as you're just pushing out one side at a time, and you're not squeezing the axle shaft ears together which just bends them and makes it even harder to press out the u-joint.

 

[RockMonkey]

It's very easy to bend or brake the ears if you're not doing it right.

For removal, I've found the best method with a press is to have a piece of u-channel underneath supporting the cross of u-joint and a big socket above to push the cap into. No socket underneath. That way, the force is pushing the cross and the upper cap upwards into the socket. This cuts the force in half as you're just pushing out one side at a time, and you're not squeezing the axle shaft ears together which just bends them and makes it even harder to press out the u-joint.

Interesting process. I had to read it twice to envision what you're talking about. I've never bent the yoke changing a U-joint, but I'm always willing to try something new. I'll give that a shot next time. Instead of a peice of channel I'll probably stand the arbor plates on their sides and use the cut-out sections to cradle the u-joint.