Worth it to go full circle clips w/ 31s?

[yossarian19]

My grinder won't fit between the yokes and I'm damn sure not buying a new 7" model for this project. I'm pushing "cancel" for the time being. Maybe next time I change the u joints. Hopefully not before 2017.

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

Or, and this is a bit less elegant - tack the caps to the ear in a couple of places with a gas less mig.

-Ron

thats what i did on my spares... but i believe the OP wants to keep the shafts serviceable. not that grinding down a few tacks is all that difficult.

an important note (i couldnt find a good image... i know this one is a driveshaft)

less is more with the tacks. you dont want to cook the grease. and they are to retain the cap, not add strength to the ears. but the above image is wrong. you want 2 tacks in line of the shaft, 90 degrees from what is pictured. this puts VERY little stress on them, preventing them from cracking.

Use a new disk... I used a 4.5 with a cutting wheel. No issues.

x2

if that doesnt work, and the die grinder is a no go... you could bust out the file and do it the old fashion way.

 

[souske]

My grinder won't fit between the yokes and I'm damn sure not buying a new 7" model for this project. I'm pushing "cancel" for the time being. Maybe next time I change the u joints. Hopefully not before 2017.

The.grinder isnt supposed to go between the yokes, the disc is

 

[WB9YZU]

thats what i did on my spares... but i believe the OP wants to keep the shafts serviceable. not that grinding down a few tacks is all that difficult.

I guess that is what I have come to accept as "Serviceable". A couple seconds per side with a grinder make it serviceable

And just a "IMO" kinda thing, not aimed at anyone in particular...
Full Circle clips, or Tack Welding is not a band aid fix, it simply prevents the root event in a nasty chain of events that leads to a busted shaft; namely the spitting of a U-Joint cap.

If during servicing that I find that the cap slides in and out of the bore, or that the bore is miss sharpen, I replace the yoke. I don't like to take the chance of breaking a shaft and ripping out a lower ball joint because I was lazy in the garage.

Or as I like to put it "You can either fix it at home in a warm dry garage, or you can fix it on the trail - It's your choice" PM and diligence goes a long way.

-Ron

 

[yossarian19]

The.grinder isnt supposed to go between the yokes, the disc is

Yeah, yeah... trust me when I say that I can't get the disc in there, either.

 

[nosigma]

Is it worth it?

I am on 31's and have wheeled my rig very hard, hard enough to twist the splines a little bit on chrome moly axle shafts, good shafts too, old superiors when they were made in the USA. I have destroyed several sets of U-Joints but have NEVER spit a cap. I say its worth it, even on 31's. If you run a lot of larger rocks on 31's your going to use the throttle hard, especially with stock gears ( I am on stock gears). Its impossible to say I would never have spit a cap if I hadnt gone to full circlips, but I can say that after 9 years on the same set of axles doing all sorts of stupid things and trails that are "35 minimum" on 31's I have never spit a cap. I would go full circlip.

John

 

[souske]

I have heard.of people using a sawzall to get that.last little bit the.grinder wont.reach

 

[yossarian19]

Sawzall works OK. Rotary burr works pretty well. Between the two of them and some unexpected free time, I got it all done.
A 7" grinder, I maintain, would be best & allow the cleanest appearance for a DIY job. A mill, of course, would be the ultimate.

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

or a different 4.5" grinder.

:laugh3:

 

[jeeperjohn]

Anything you can do to make stock axle shafts stronger is worth doing. You never know what kind of loads your shafts will see on the trail.

 

[yossarian19]

Sigh.
Got bored, went to the tool shop. What did I find but gently used 13 amp 7" Craftsman angle grinder. Picked it up with a couple of wheels, made a pin wrench for it w/ some scrap steel and old bolts, works like a charm.

I ordered U-joints from rock auto, they should be here Saturday. I'll assemble them and maybe install then. Thanks for the advice & snark, folks.