I have broken 2 brand new out of the box u joints trying to install them on the rear of my drive shaft. The u-joint on the yoke that connects to the dif goes in perfect with no problems. the arms that attach to the drive shaft will not drop in and have to be forced in with a press, which leads to them breaking. The only thing I can find is that there is some serious scoring on the inside of yoke where the caps go. When I pushed the original caps out, theyforced out little ring shaped filings with them. Should I take this shaft to a shop and get it honed? Or should I be looking for a new shaft all together? Thanks in advance

 

That's strange. Did you remember to take all the c-clips out before pressing out your old caps?

 

Thanks for the reply..

Yeah I checked before hand. The originals were rusted in there pretty bad and it took a lot to get them out. And I have tried u-joints from two different places and double checked to make sure they had the right ones.

 

Do a quick search, there was a writeup on 4x4wire i think where the guy had some great tips about u-joints.

 

904 Thanks man..I will head over there and check it out. Chico huh? I used to live there and grew up in that area....I miss it alot. I heard they closed down Normal St. Bar!

 

I just replaced the u-joints in my rear d-shaft, probably the originals from the looks of them. I had to take a file and clean up the inside of the yokes where the caps go in. It took several test fits but you shouldn't be breaking them during installation. They should be snug but not so much so they won't just slide in/on with some simple pressing in a vice or with a C clamp. The snap rings will hold them in place.

Clean up the inside of the yokes where the caps go and try that first.

 

I live up past Chico, i jsut put that for my location because its more known than where i do live. No clue about Normal St. bar, im not old enough to drink so i couldn't tell ya.

Listen to what Brian says, he knows what hes talking about.

 

What were you using to press them in with when you broke them? what broke on them? Filling out the ears is a good idea but dont take too much out or the ujoints wont work properly. Shouldnt take more thatn a C-clamp, vice or mallet tap to get the caps to go in. Make sure the needle bearings are correctly positioned too or the caps wont go in, and you will wreck them that way too.

 

Hey Wabbit thanks...I was just about to post that I was thinking about filing them down a little....glad you posted that now I know that's the way to go. I have been pretty careful to make sure the needle bearings are straight when I go to put the caps on. I should have filed them down after I noticed the cap broke on the first set....I just figured it was a cheap crappy joint from Kragen.

 

I would do yourself a favor and get some GOOD quaility u-joints.

Make sure you can grease them and follow Toyotas recommended time between greasing them and you shouldn't have to worry replacing them again for a long time.

 

i am curious to know what part you are breaking on them. these arent just some thin pieces of metal. i cant imagine breaking one even with a very big press. unless i am just not understanding what you are breaking.

 

The first set I got to go in but when I went to lube the joints I noticed the surface of a cap was cracked. The second set one cap went in fine and I put in the c clip. When I went to put in the opposite side it went in about a third of the way and froze. I used a c clamp to push it far enough to get its c clip in and the cap itself broke. So tonight I'm going to take Wabbit's advice and pick up a file and smooth out those yokes and make sure there's nothing in there to hang the cap up on.

 

I used the back side of an axe and a BIG screw driver to pound them out and my u-joints didn't break. I had to use a hammer and pound them in too. Still didn't break. Thats pretty crazy. Get some quality ones.

 

Do you recommend any good vendors? I only have Schucks and Napa where I am.

 

Make sure when your pressing them in that your not binding any of the needle joints inside. Thats what happened to me.

 

I just went to Autozone and got a lifetime for my 2wd and went to my local auto parts store (no name!) and got one for my 4wd. lol.

Honestly if your breaking them your doing something wrong. lol

 

yea i beat the crap out of mine with a hammer to get them in. when i say hammer i mean 6lb sledge.

 

well I got a small file and ran it through the side what was tight and got it to the point where the cap will go in with a light tap with the hammer. The other side it looks like when I removed the originals it widened the yoke to the point where I can just see light around the cap and the cap will move slightly while in the yoke. Would this be something I can drive on? Or do I need to start looking at wrecking yards for a driveshaft. Thanks again for all the help guys

 

If you can see daylight between the end cap and the bore in the yoke, and the end cap moves in the bore, then you will need to replace the drive shaft. It will probably be OK to drive for a while, but I wouldn't wait too long to replace it. The u-joint will probably start to fail soon, and it may cause an out-of-balance vibration.

 

Thanks Tech, I talked with Wabbitt and got the same answer..I ordered a new Driveshaft from yard that sells here on the forum. Hopefully I will get it on monday and can finally wrap up the job.