Front axle U-joint

[pineneedle]

O.k. I assembled the two pieces of the passenger side axle shaft. It was a bear to get the c clips into their slots on the u-joint. Now the joint is stiff (no pun intended). I tried the old mechanic's trick of striking the yoke with a bfh to relieve the stresses, but it is still stiff. So, can I let it go and figure that it will loosen up with use, or do I have to take it apart and mess around with it some more. Just so nobody has to ask, "how stiff is it?" I can move the shaft up and down with a little effort, but it will not drop of its own weight.

Pineneedle

 

[RobertC]

I do not think there should be "stresses" in the yoke to be relieved.

You could have a slightly "over-sized" u-joint (rubber gasket on the cups?) and to get the spring clips in, the caps are pressed tightly against the "stubs" causing the "resistance".

Or, you damaged the needle bearings putting the u-joint in.

In the first case, I assume it would "loosen up" after a few miles.

In the second case, you need a new u-joint.

The few times that I have replaced u-joints (in another vehicle), I have pressed one side (cup) slightly past the spring clip groove (large bench vise); put in the spring clip; then pressed the other side back against the spring clip to put in the second clip.

Hth

 

[RobertC]

Oh, I forgot.... I recall my mechanic using an old screwdriver and a hammer to tap the spring clip to get it to "set" completely in the groove -- for the occasional one that did not slide into the groove. But, it did not require a "lot of force".

 

[dkminors]

I had the same problem with one of my front axle stubs. I took the joint apart again and one of the yoke arms was bent in about 15 thousands. I was able to jig up my press to straighten this out and now it's fine.

The joint was pretty tight when I removed the old joint, but I think that was more due to a lack of grease. I'm guessing I bent the arm on my press when removing the old rusted on caps.