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replacing the u joints - shipfitters disease

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This weekends job is going to be to replace all the bushes, the springs and the trailing arm brackets for the rear suspension. I've been looking at the manual and I have to pull the halfshafts out. Looks like it's no biggie to do - but we'll see.

Question - given the price of replacement u-joints, would you replace them as a matter of course while the halfshafts are out, or do it as a seperate job, only if necessary?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
I would replace the U-joints. Check the splined slip joints too. When I did mine I also used what I thought were a good used pair of half-shafts that were much tighter than the old ones. They still clunk on take off. I had read that some of the new repro half shafts wer enot as good as the originals.
 
The U-joints on the real axles are the easiest to get to & change at any time , the drive shaft joints are the PIA's. You can pull the half shafts in short order with out ever getting under the car but if your in there for other work check for looseness & if the joints you have are greasable. If there sealed units I would probably change them , if there greasable & feel tight just grease'm up .

The forcast for this weekend in the North East is spectacular, either finish early or do it another day so you can have more seat time
Make sure you apply a high quality grease ( moly base preferred) to the half shaft splines while your at it. This helps the sliding action of the shaft & twitching on hard acellorating up shifts. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Pretty soon I'll be shoveling my driveway to get my car out.
 
I don't have the shovelling problem, it's done as part of the maintenance where I live.

As soon as it starts snowing though I'm planning on sending the car out to get the engine dealt with and breaking out the snowboard instead. Mind you, if gas prices keep going up it'll soon be cheaper to fly to UT than to drive to VT. It cost $75 to fill up the last time I took the LR to the pumps...

ps: You are right about the forecast, I hadn't checked - it does look nice this w/e. Maybe I should do the job tomorrow night instead. I'm sure that'll delight my long suffering wife no end..............
 
If you have greaseable U-joints that are still in good shape, keep them. If they don't have zerts replace them with ones that do.
 
That's the thing. In order to check I need to jack the car up. If I do that I might as well take the halfshafts off. If I do that I might as well replace said u-joints anyway. If I replace them then I might as well replace the rubber boots too, no? While I'm in there (I ask myself) should I pull the diff/replace the rear hubs/do the driveshaft u-joints etc etc etc...

You see that's my problem - I really do have shipfitters disease in a bad way. I'll have a new car by the time I'm finished, and then I'll still want to change something...

The madness never ends -
sterb117.gif
 
You're sick. I think they have a 12 step program for that sort of thing nowadays.
 
So I did the trailing arm fixes for one side tonight.

Yeech.

The final score for the drivers side was: Two knackered U- joints, One holed boot. One stripped hub stud bolt (is a new trailing arm required or could/should I have it helicoiled?).

I already did all the brakes so they are all ok. Dismantling hub and driveshaft, not a single bolt was tight - perhaps the source of some of the clunks I heard.

Every one of the nyloc nuts holing the hub on was "tired" so I ought to replace them, and the 4 nuts and bolts for the driveshaft are in a sad state. I am seriously thinking about buying stock in Moss at this juncture.

And based on the state of the brakes, this is the best side...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nopity.gif

On the plus side, the replacement kit (Goodparts) is incredibly easy to install compared to what came off. It looks about 3x as strong. The shock absorber looks fine too - I just replaced the rubbers is all.

Same again for the other side tomorrow............
NOT /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
 
Alan,
Your comments about the wallowed bolts in the swing arm are very typical of the TR6 aluminum swing arm. First, you won't, to my knowledge, find a "new" swing arm anywhere. They just aren't available (unless someone out there has a secret source). When I got my latest TR6, the DPO had actually JBWelded the darn bolts that held the hub. Can you imagine cruising down the highway sitting on a pool of epoxy! Anyway, yes, the answer is to Helicoil the darn things. If you do one, you might want to look hard at doing them all if you even suspect some stripped aluminum.

Bill
 
I was right the other side IS worse. Looks like it's going to be staying on the stands this w/e...

Bummer
 
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