The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Early 'Bolts (1916-1936 1st Half) Lurch is squealing - gotta fix him

Thanks for the kind words, guys. I want to take my time and get this job right because I don't want to do it again! ;-)

The next item to be addressed is the u-joint ball housing. There are two problems to be take care of:

1. The inside of the ball part of the housing is scored due to the loosey goosey u-joint that was rattling around in it.

2. The rear end of the housing, where a seal gets installed, has some damage. I suspect at one point the housing was dropped and landed on something hard (concrete?) so that the metal washers that hold the cork seal in place were a little smashed in a couple of places.

To smooth out the inside of the ball part of the housing, I went to Harbor Freight and bought a new tool. ;-) A pneumatic high speed grinder with a three inch extension on the end.

Before the smoothing operation, I gently clamped the ball housing in my vice using plywood protectors so as not to marr the 'patina'. ;-) With the housing thusly clamped, I was able to use a strip of emery cloth to clean up the outside of the ball. See photos 81 and 82.

Since the inside of the ball is four inches in diameter, a three-inch cutoff wheel on the end of the grinder reached inside the ball well and with this setup I was able to smooth out the score marks. I first stuffed a shop rag into the hole of the housing to keep flying metal particles contained in the ball end. See photo 83.

Then, I used the die grinder to smooth out the score marks inside the ball part of the housing. It ain't pretty, but it is a lot smoother in there than it was before. See photos 84 and 85.

To address the smashed rear end of the ball housing, I dug out the old cork seal and 'pounded out' the smashed housing end as best I could using a concrete nail with the point ground off. The o ring that came with the housing gasket kit that I bought is too small for my truck housing (I suspect the kit was really for a car which has a smaller diameter drive shaft), so I went to the local hardware store and was able to buy a generic o ring that fit into that space. See photos 85a and 85b.

Now the u-joint ball housing is ready for re-installing.

Ever onward, Dean