TR6 Rear hub u-joints TR6

[tr6web]

Guys, I need some help. I have some new u-joint kits I want to replace for both rear hubs. No problem getting them out of the car, but I can't seem to get the cups off. I've been tapping (hammering too!) to knock them off like the manual says, but to no avail. I've tried Kroil, WD40, and Rust remover to try to loosen them up, but no go. And yes, the circlips are off. Any suggestions? Am I not hitting them hard enough? Thanks for any advice.

 

[Paul Johnson]

Try using a socket that is just the right size to fit inside the opening, and hit harder.

 

[jeff3113]

Besides the socket and giving them a good whack, I have found that supporting it in a opened vise ( to allow the cup to drop through)will work well.
The re-assembly is tricky since you want to make sure all roller bearing pieces stay against the sides of the cup.
I've had to pull apart a few in my day - even when using good gobs of grease....
good luck and many miles,
Jeff3113

 

[Andy Blackley]

If they are well and truly rusted then you really need a heavy duty vice. You can let them soak for a while in penetrating fluid, it helps. Use a socket or piece of pipe of a diameter smaller than the cap on one end, and a large socket with an opening larger than the cap on the other. Using three hands arrange this conglomeration in the vice and start cranking! You will push the cap out one side into the larger socket. On the ones I did recently I could not quite force the cap out all the way and resorted to clamping the almost-out cap into the vice and then whacking the yoke with a BFH to finish the persuation by force ordeal.

 

[Aeroken]

Any advice for what to do if the cup won't pop out the far side? I can drive the joint from one side to the other but when the joint bottoms against the yoke, the cup still won't come out of the far side.

 

[Guest]

I just did this very job a few weeks back. I did just as Andy says, use a heavy duty bench vise as a press and have an assortment of large and small sockets nearby to use as drivers and supports. If you have a third hand that helps a great deal when trying to get everything arranged in the vise and tightned down.

When the joint bottomed out I did one of two things to get the cup the rest of the way free. First, you can try sticking a screwdriver in between the cup and the joint by pulling the joint back the other way and whack the screwdriver with a hammer to drive it the rest of the way out. Usually you can get enough space in there to drive one in, then just work your way around. Second method I used, grab the part of the cup that is protruding from the other side with a vise grip and lock down on it really tight, then rotate it back and forth while pulling slightly, it'll usually wiggle it's way out. If neither of those work then you could always try warming the yoke up with a torch and see if that frees things up any more so that one of the above will work. Assembly is made much easier by using the vise as a press again.

 

[Tosh]

If you get the far side out to it's limit, which should be a good 3/8 to 1/2", you should be able to grab the cup with a set of vise grips and rotate or tap it the rest of the way. There should not be much holding it at that point.

Yea, U joints can be a pain.

 

[Aeroken]

Great advice! I don't have a big enough vice, but a big C-clamp and the big/small sockets did the trick (along with some Vice-Grips and some stategic gentle "percussive persuasion"). Actually one of the best things I did was get the clamp pretty tight THEN tap with the hammer to work them loose. I spent two days on-and-off on the first joint, the second one took 15 minutes once I had a method down!

Hopefully reassembly will go as smoothly using a similar procedure! Thanks guys!

Ken

 

[BobSands]

I've always chuckled at the picture in one ot the Triumph Workshop manuals, of the guy in the white lab coat, holding the yoke, and suggesting that you can "gently tap" the u-joint into submission.
Never liked hammering on the yoke, so Andy's advise is, in my opinion, best! A smear of grease to hold the needles in place, and "press it back together.
Take care Bob
P.S. A bunch of years ago, I had an old Craftsman spark plug socket I used for this task. When my son found the old mangled, obviously abused, thing, took it to Sears, who replaced it. Guarantee seems to work... B

 

[cyaker]

I recently went through this replacing all my u-joints and went through the taping, squeezing, etc. and it often worked. Two other methods. One, if I could slide the cap back and the needles dropped out, it gave you that last bit needed to slide the yoke out. The final method proved quicker than any other. I put a cut off wheel in my angle grinder and it was out in minutes.