I have seen the tapping technique work on American made cars' u-joints but
when I pulled the half-shafts in the spitfire no amount of tapping, beating,
or swearing would make the joint come out. I eventually ended up using an
old socket and the bench vice to press the cups out.
Going back to Fred's original question you do do need to pull the half
shaft. Its not very hard and the most annoying thing is probably having to
rebleed your brakes.
Ryan W. Smith
Mechanical Engineering
VPI&SU
email: Shmitty@vt.edu
----- Original Message -----
From: Atwell Haines <carbuff@nac.net>
To: fred thomas <vafred@erols.com>; <spitfires@Autox.Team.Net>
Sent: Sunday, December 20, 1998 11:12 AM
Subject: Re: u-joint
>At 10:05 AM 12/20/98 -0800, fred thomas wrote:
>>Listers, 1978 spit 1500, is there a easy way to replace the rear axle
>>u-joints without having to remove the rear hub, vertical links, and brake
>>drums, yes you guessed it, some bearings are now showing on drivers side
>>only and she is a little louder than the radio at 3/4 volume, any
>>suggestions or is the manual correct again. TIA "FT"
>>
>>
>Fred,
>
>
>Manual is correct. You can't get 'em out without removing the axle &
>holding the assembly firmly. You risk damaging the hub bearings if you try
>in the car.
>
>No need to remove the drum though...that could stay on the axle once it is
>removed from the vertical link.
>
>But, try this method of u-joint removal I just got from the Lotus Cars
>List. Let us know if it works! (Key to this method is cleaning those
>inner bores well.)
>
>
>Atwell Haines
>(resisting the urge to say, "get a louder, more powerful radio")
>
>++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>Courtesy Clive Roberts, ex-TR7 engineer in the late 70s:
>
>
>
><< ) How does one remove u-joints? >>
>
>I was taught by one of those wonder-mechanics you met once in a decade,
>never
>to apply any force to the bearing cups in a U-joint. His method was to
>remove
>the circlip, then carefully scrape all corrosion and junk out of the bore
>of
>the housing, to give the cups a clean path to move along. Then, holding
>the
>cross in one hand, tap the housing adjacent to the bearing cup where you
>just
>removed the circlip with a hammer. (Note: the operative word was _tap_ -
>not
>welt, welly, or beat the **** out of. The fact that you're holding the
>thing
>tends to be a good force-limiting device). His promise was that the
>inertia
>would gently move the cup out of the housing. You let that cup move
>almost,
>but not completely, out of the housing, then turn the assembly over and
>so the
>same on the opposite side.
>As one who had grown used to using arbor presses, clamps and sundry
>brutality
>to U-joints, accepting that some damage would be done along the way, I
>was
>sceptical that this _low-impact_ method would work - but it did then,
>and has
>since, every time I've needed to pull a joint apart. There may be times
>it
>won't, but I think it's definitely a technique worth learning, as it's
>low
>stress both on parts and operator. And you never know when it may be
>useful to
>be able to fix a U-joint beside the road, with only the tools you're
>carrying....
>
>Clive
>
>++++++++++++
>
>
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