I've found that the ball (or U-joint bell, whatever) usually wears to fit its retainer, and the rear of its tranny over the 40 odd years it was together. When installing a new gasket kit with a ball (bell) you must test fit on back of tranny using ball retainer, ball, and gasket kit with no t-tube installed in ball. The verifies proper fit and prevents binding or leaking.
Also, Ive had several different balls with my '54 Bel-Air. The trick is to clean the outer surface of the ball "sphere", the inside of large retainer that fits over ball and bolts to back of tranny, and the tranny pocket the ball fits into. If you have any noise or vibration during test driving after installation, rotate the entire bell 90 degrees and test drive again. For some reason, rotating the ball can affect the fit between the front U-joint and the okie bushing, increasing or decreasing driveline vibration to some degree. May have something to do with worn balls or other parts or something.
Also clean end of torque tube that ball slides on. Reduces oil leaks from ball seal. I had to pump my ball seal full of gasekt maker and locktite the screw-on endcap to keep it from coming unscrewed and leaking oil.
You can grind the burrs inside the ball smooth, flush out the metal shavings afterward. Shop manual should have notes on all this stuff.
OH- Make sure to tighten those 4 little U-joint bolts, use red loc-tite and bend over the little tab retainers on the bolt heads. Those things make a hell of a racket when they come unscrewed.
good luck
chip
