half shafts

[mga]

in the process of doing my wheel bearings. while putting the half shafts back on, should i have the struts in place or remove them? apparently i need to push the wheels closer to get the u-joints lined up. or, do i have to loosen the cam-bolt to swing them out of the way? right now they are just hanging ( i removed the shock mounts ). thanks for any help. if it matters, it's an '81.

 

[69MyWay]

MGA,

Welcome to the CAC. Sound like you are in the middle of a fun project.

I am pretty sure you should be able to put that half shaft back in without taking anything else out. The trick is in how you line up the diff side yokes and the wheel as you finger start and tighten the retaining bolts. At first it won't look like it is going to fit, but keep turning the yoke and the shaft until you find the sweet spot. Not a bad idea to put some tape or a rubber band around the U-joint to keep the bearing cap from falling off until you can get it into place. I have done this by myself several times (never on an 81) but find it best to have a helper to turn the wheel and or hand stuff to me when I get it just where I want it.

Sometimes the biggest pain is the exhaust pipes on the C3. The last one I did was getting new exhaust anyway, so I removed it at the CATS. I was also dropping the entire diff so anything I could get out of the way helped.

So, did you have some kind of bearing failure, or just routine care? If a failure, what kind of symptoms were you having?

 

[mga]

chris.....thanks for your advice. it did exactly as you said and lined up. i have the shafts installed and my strut bushings didn't come today as expected. that's all i have left and it's done. (?) maybe i'll need to get the rear lined up again. it was a tuff project and doing it alone made it tuffer, but i managed. doing the work myself is philosophical.....i could have had it done, but i like to work on my vette myself. kinda instills a pride when i drive it. thanks again, i appreciate your help.

 

[mga]

oops...to answer your question.....while driving back from carlisle, i developed a shimmy or vibration. when i got home i lifted the rear and the passenger tire rocked in and out, so i knew it was time. when taking things apart, i noticed a u-joint had bearings missing out of 2 cups, so the whole thing needed to be done.

 

[69MyWay]