Just Smoked a Joint

[gary b.]

No, not what you think, a U-Joint.
At least that 's what my mecanic say's. How can i tell if a u-joint
is bad? He's talking about the outboard u-joint on the
passenger side halfshaft.
Would it be better to replace all, not just one?
I've replaced a few on my truck's driveshaft, is it different on
a halfshaft?
What doe's it involve replacing them on a vette?
I have no knowlege on working on the underbelly of a vette.
Should i leave it to a pro?
Please help, and Thank's alot!
Gary.

 

[mmvette80]

If your handy and have done them on another car then go for it. Also, do all of them. I have heard that the non- greasable ones are stronger than the greasable kind.

 

[Yoda]

Gary,

Here is a recent thread about U-Joint replacement.. Click HERE then page down to 81Chris's response and start from there

Sounds to me like you should have no problem changing out the U-Joints, and I would recommend doing all 6 I would also recommend pressing the old ones out and pressing the new ones in.. the old hammer and socket trick usually ends up doing more damage and you'll just be back under the belly of the beast sooner

Bud

 

[HammerDown]

Replacing u-joints>

Gary, the biggest PAIN of that job is getting those little cars high enough in the air to work on them...(I sure don't have a Lift) in my Garrage! You could do just the affected shaft...however I'd do all 6 this way you know whats new under there...then after that if on goes bad (and they do) ya could just replace 2 on the affected shaft. For me the foward Drive Shaft is the real pain...just because I don't have a lift...but it's doable. I put the Whole Car up on 4 jack stands when going for the center shaft and that in it's self is a lot of fun>>>NOT!

 

[JohnZ]

Make sure the shop has the proper press tools for doing the outer half-shaft joints; the spindle flange is VERY easy to bend/distort without using a spacer inbetween the cap ears when pressing the old joint out and installing the new one.

If you see brown dust around the cap seals on the trunnions, that's a pretty good sign that the rollers inside are history.