| Author | Message | ||
| Kasse Weikel (More_s_than_as)
Registered Member Username: More_s_than_as Post Number: 61 Registered: 4-2009 Posted From: 24.205.97.163 Rating: N/A |
back in tahoe now, gettin parts together, thought i might ask about the U-Joints its not important i just thought i might get some advice from ppl who have done this before im a little intimidated by the size of these u joints and the caps have little tabs that bend up the hold the bolts in so i figured i needa order new ones cause the old ones dont look like they will be sturdy after i bend em off and back on. is there a special name for these caps with the tabs? so i assume these are just like ones on cars? take off the caps, take out the rod inside, make sure no little bearing pins fall out, tape up the ends of the u joint while caps arnt on. pretty simple right? BOTH manuals i have dont even mention the driveshaft or trannie they just say call allison, bastards like i said its not important but sometimes you just get the best little tips and tricks off the this board so if you guys know anything that might help id love to hear it (read it). as always thanks a lot | ||
| john w. roan (Chessie4905)
Registered Member Username: Chessie4905 Post Number: 1545 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 71.58.110.9  Rating: N/A |
Bend down the tabs, remove the bolts; the plate that the bolts went through should be attached to the bearing caps that hold the needle bearings. Usually, with a big brass or lead hammer, you hit on the yoke surface, which makes it move away from the cap and it, if you are lucky, will start to move out of the yoke. do the opposite side to remove the opposite bearing cap and plate assembly. Some use a sledge hammer because it is all they have. Just don't hit the plate and cap or the area around the hole where that bearing cap came out of. If you distort or bugger the edge of the bore, you will have one devil of a chore to repair it with a file. Use a clean piece of cardboard or a sheet under the drive shaft in case some needles fall out. Make sure you have them ALL when reassembling and use grease to retain them. These joints are surprisingly cheap for their complexity, so replace it if it looks questionable. Most of those lock plates have tabs on both sides, so you can use the ones that weren't used the last time. If the plates are junk, just clean bolt and threaded holes and use Locktite. Make sure there is no load on the drive line when you are doing this. They do make special pullers to do this job, however I doubt you will find it when you need one. | ||
| larry currier (Larryc)
Registered Member Username: Larryc Post Number: 242 Registered: 2-2007 Posted From: 64.12.116.203 Rating: N/A |
If your gonna go to all the trouble of knocking it apart, its worth buying a genuine SPICER U Joint to replace it with. Don't beat it all up with a hammer, use some wood blocks and a bottle jack and rotate it as you go. If you are thinking of reusing the old one, pull the grease fittings before you take it apart, or they will break off in the holes when your taking the caps off. | ||
| Tom Christman (Tchristman)
Registered Member Username: Tchristman Post Number: 103 Registered: 1-2006 Posted From: 66.218.33.156 Rating: N/A |
Unless you feel some play in the U-joints- I would advise not to just replace them. Properly greased U-joints can go well over 500,000 miles before replacement. Besides, sometimes the replacement U-joint can be worse then the old one. Good Luck, TomC | ||
| David Guglielmetti (Daveg)
Registered Member Username: Daveg Post Number: 76 Registered: 2-2009 Posted From: 71.139.244.152  Rating: N/A |
I agree on using genuine Spicer joints whenever possible. | ||
| Ralph Peters (Ralph7)
Registered Member Username: Ralph7 Post Number: 24 Registered: 3-2004 Posted From: 206.251.14.87 Rating: N/A |
I had my u-joints (complete drive shaft) out not apart, lubed them. Had a broken hold down bolt. When we removed the engine an trans, 30 miles later, rechecked u-joints, one very rough. Chage both now, new Spicer use self lock bolts, not bend tabs. My 8 has Mack style drive shaft, round flanges. Also when I removed the flange bolts they were loose and worn so I replaced them. | ||
| Kasse Weikel (More_s_than_as)
Registered Member Username: More_s_than_as Post Number: 63 Registered: 4-2009 Posted From: 24.205.97.163 Rating: N/A |
once again thanks alot guys im leaving friday to go get this done and if all the stars align for me i can get it down to redding there in about two weeks i feel a lot more confident now and if i cant find replacement "lock plates" ill just re-use the same ones. if replacing the u-joints is a standard practice with any major overhaul than the ones i have are a little aged but only have 36k miles on em. there is NO play at all in these bad boys its a tight little drive shaft assembly so ill save the money to replace the super fresh ATF that i already mixed into an oil recycling barrel (like a dumb dumb i didnt know if it still looked good it could be put back). | ||
| marvin pack (Gomer)
Registered Member Username: Gomer Post Number: 547 Registered: 3-2007 Posted From: 71.53.155.14  Rating: N/A |
Kasse;; Go synthetic!!! May be a little more money,however you will save in the long run. Fact not fiction. Gomer | ||
| Ralph Peters (Ralph7)
Registered Member Username: Ralph7 Post Number: 26 Registered: 3-2004 Posted From: 206.251.14.87 Rating: N/A |
With only 36K I would keep them. The tabs only need 1 tab bent to keep bolt from moving. |