Half Shaft Question

[ed_in_pa]

Hi All,
Thanks everyone who have been answering all my questions during this expanding project. I started out replacing a rubber fuel hose on the tank that was leaking. I'm sure everyone knows this story, I have now removed the tank, repainted it & replaced the strainer, removed the metal tank shield which will be painted, wire brushed rear frame which will be Por 15'ed, now I've removed the leaf spring which will be repainted with new dividers, and I'm going to replace the struts while I'm down there. I'm now looking at the half shafts and trying to decide what to do. I don't have any problems with them and the car only has 52,000 original miles and was owned the previous 10 years by an elderly man who didn't beat it before I purchased it a year ago. My original intent was to just wire brush them and paint them with Por 15. I'm just a weekend mechanic. I'm looking for some pro's and con's of painting them in place versus removing them. What pitfalls may there be removing them? How difficult is it? If removed do I then replace other parts? I haven't removed the trailing arms and I really wasn't intending to. Thanks for any suggestions and comments.

 

[74bigblock]

an eggzelent question... as I am doing the same to half shafts in spring.... without removing them.

 

[Jack]

The halfshafts are fairly easy to R&R ... not so for trailing arms. OK, yours have a low 52K but their ujoints' grease may be 30 years old ... and drying up. Seems you're taking alotta care with what you're doing ... seems pulling halfshafts & replacing their ujoints wouldn't be excessive ... then paint halfshafts on bench. Buy 4 frenchlocks & 4 ujoints.
JACK:gap

 

[ed_in_pa]

Thanks Jack, I thought that I've read on other threads that people had to take them to a shop to have ujoints replaced, or am I thinking of something else.

 

[garywcook]

Thanks Jack, I thought that I've read on other threads that people had to take them to a shop to have ujoints replaced, or am I thinking of something else.

Just went through a COMPLETE rear rebuild. This is still fresh on my mind.
You can get the half-shaft out easily. 4 bolts at the spindle end. 4 at the stub axle. Careful not to drop the caps on the stub axel end.

You can take a look the condition of the grease once you get the half-shaft out. Two of the caps can be pulled off for a sample of what the others might look like.

The U-joints need to be pressed into the half-shaft and flange. I did it with a big vice and some sockets. Still, it's not something you'll do in an hour.

The bigger problem is that this is a low miles car that probably has 30 year old grease. That grease is also in the wheel bearings which have probably never been replaced or serviced. 30 year old grease wasn't very high tech back then. It starts to separate over time. If the U-joints look bad, the wheel bearings might not be too far behind. My 77 had considerably more miles than yours but I think the wheel bearings were original. The grease in one looked like wax. The liquid was completely gone. Just a hard paste. The problem with these bearings is that there's no real way to service them assembled on the car. There is a tool available to grease the bearing on the car but that requires removal of the half-shaft and spindle nut. Then you are just mixing new grease with old and not getting to the outside bearing.

 

[Daryllawman]

I agree with Jack....replace them....then you know they are right...

The halfshafts are fairly easy to R&R ... not so for trailing arms. OK, yours have a low 52K but their ujoints' grease may be 30 years old ... and drying up. Seems you're taking alotta care with what you're doing ... seems pulling halfshafts & replacing their ujoints wouldn't be excessive ... then paint halfshafts on bench. Buy 4 frenchlocks & 4 ujoints.
JACK:gap

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Did the half shafts in the fall. Fairly easy project on the scale of Corvette projects.

http://corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57423

 

[ed_in_pa]

Thanks all for the information. So Jack, now your giving me one more job to consider, the wheel bearings. Thanks.

 

[ed_in_pa]

How's this for a deal, I called my local Auto parts shop in Penndel. They will replace all 4 u-joints for $20 a joint ($80.00) plus parts. He then said for an additional $15 he would bead blast both half shafts and paint them. He wasn't sure without checking his parts book but the u-joint he was going to use was only $9.15 each. So for a total of $131.60 I'd have a set of half shafts ready to install. He seemed very familiar with them and mentioned his special flange tool. What do you think?

 

[garywcook]

How's this for a deal, I called my local Auto parts shop in Penndel. They will replace all 4 u-joints for $20 a joint ($80.00) plus parts. He then said for an additional $15 he would bead blast both half shafts and paint them. He wasn't sure without checking his parts book but the u-joint he was going to use was only $9.15 each. So for a total of $131.60 I'd have a set of half shafts ready to install. He seemed very familiar with them and mentioned his special flange tool. What do you think?

$9.15 is cheap for a U-Joint. I'd check the manufacturer. I might be an import. It's your call but I wouldn't put something made in China in my car unless it's under the strict quality control of a US based manufacturer. 99% of the time, it's a good copy. Then there's the 1% when quality slips. The labor charges seem reasonable. I spent hours cleaning, painting, and replacing the U-joints on my half-shafts.

 

[Bob Chadwick]

There are two brands everyone recommends. Spicer is one. I can't remember the other. IMO, I would insist on one of the two. I used Spicer's and the parts and labor cost was $150.

 

[ed_in_pa]

Thanks all, I'll make sure it is a good brand.

 

[Jack]

Do it right ... install "SPICER" brand ujoint with NO, NO grease fittings/zerks in halfshafts. Another good brand was NEAPCO ... I haven't seen em in a while so I don't know if they're still US made ... if so, they're good too. Don't use asian ujoints ... don't use zerks in halfshafts; they weaken the cross and you usually can't get in there to grease em anyway.
JACK:gap

 

[ed_in_pa]

thanks Jack.

 

[garywcook]

Thanks all for the information. So Jack, now your giving me one more job to consider, the wheel bearings. Thanks.

It's something to think about but there's no easy, inexpensive way to do it. You are in the situation of possibly fixing something not broken. You still have to tear it apart to do the job. With so few miles, your vehicle probably needs new grease, new trailing arm bushings, and possibly new parking brake hardware. The setup is the same. You have three choices. Do it yourself and buy all the tools like I did ($$$$$), buy rebuilt assemblies, or take it to somebody that really knows Vettes and how to do this job. The rebuilt assemblies (i.e. VanSteel) are the way to go if you do it yourself.

 

[srthom13]

ed, the special flange tool is a very very important tool. Without it the flange will bend ( been there done that ). The auto shop you are using seems to be fair in cost and knowledgeable. I would go with them. I replaced my halfshaft u - joints last year and used the Neapco brand ( as of last year they were American made - don't know about now ) While I was down there I removed the trailing arms, replaced the bearings, replaced the parking brake, cut the rotors, replaced the pads, replaced the strut bushings, replaced the shocks, basically everything was replaced ,cleaned and painted. As the other members mentioned, things down there are 30 years old, do it all and do it once. Don't forget to look at the rear axle lube, calipers, brake lines and you will probably need an aligment. Steve

 

[ed_in_pa]

Thanks Steve, for the advice. I replaced the shocks when I first bought it a year ago so I can reuse them. Pads and breaks rebuilt about 8 mos ago. Replaced gear lube with additive, will replace rubber brake lines. (That's how this project started) Rebuilding leaf spring with new dividers & paint, new struts, and spring bushings. Not sure about trailing arm and bearings, they seem to be in good shape and are a bit intimidating.Also, money is not unlimited.

 

[Bill75]

I just completed doing half shafts and rear end including the trailing arms in my car............same as yours. All the suggestions given are good ones, just one comment. I was advised to look for u-joints without zerks but they're a little hard to come by. I was also advised that having a zerk doesn't lead to any problems unless you're running high HP (400+-)where the weakness may be an issue, for regular use Spicers are fine. The ones I removed were Spicers and I reinstalled the same brand. I bought them at NAPA and think they cost me about $20 or so each. You might want to look at your driveshaft U joints as long as you're underneath the car and change them at the same time.

Make sure you have someone use a tool as others have suggested to support the flange when changing the halfshaft u-joints. If they're in there really solid, it's easy to bend the flange and those things are a little pricey. When you get them back the flanges should move very free, if you notice one different from the other be suspicious. (don't ask me how I know that!)

Godd luck

 

[ed_in_pa]

Thanks for the info Bill.

 

[GTR1999]

Use the Spicers. Bill with all due respect I cracked in a zerked U-joint that NAPA sold with only 18k miles on it. I'll never use or install another brand other then Spicer from now on.I just did a set over the weekend for a buddy. The flanges were toasted, so those were added to the cost. It doesn't take much to bend them.

ED I'll PM you some info.