I saw this simple tool on a YouTube video. So I made one tonight. It holds the horizontal legs in the saddle while you drive the vertical cups out of the shaft. You can use a vise but my vise is at table height so it’s not so easy to hold the rest of the DS horizontal when using a vise. This small tool works well on the workbench or at the shop press.
This setup, or one similar, works on U joints as well as ball joints, and eliminates all the hammering. It will pay for itself the first time you don't ruin a U joint or a driveshaft!
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Along time ago when I was still wrenching I bought a "Tiger Tools" u-joint press worked really well. Could use it on the bench or on the vehicle. I think the made 2 or 3 different size's for the bigger trucks.
Correct me if I’m wrong, please. It is my understanding that the U-joint end caps for the DS only push on the DS from the outside. Something like a taper fit at the cap. This particular U-joint has C-clips inside to keep the U-joint centered. I’m explaining all this because I was of the belief that pushing on the OPPOSITE end cap (with C-clips removed) would not move the U-joint. Instead it would possibly damage the end cap. Of course I might be all wrong about this. I have used a ball joint press many times in the past but have not seen one designed to press on the horizontal posts of a U-joint. The tool I made can be used with a ball joint press.
I've changed a few hundred U joints with various types of presses, and never damaged a yoke. Of course, real life experience is always trumped by someone's internet research! I'd like to hear someone explain how those yokes with tapered holes are manufactured a few million at a time.
The driveshafts that trip my trigger are the ones that are assembled on a fixture that holds the U joint centered, and melted plastic is injected through a hole in the yoke to fill a groove in the bearing cap. The replacement joints use the internal snap rings, but the inner faces of the yoke ears aren't always machined accurately. This results in excessive runout of the driveshaft and an annoying vibration. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
The driveshafts that trip my trigger are the ones that are assembled on a fixture that holds the U joint centered, and melted plastic is injected through a hole in the yoke to fill a groove in the bearing cap. The replacement joints use the internal snap rings, but the inner faces of the yoke ears aren't always machined accurately. This results in excessive runout of the driveshaft and an annoying vibration. Jerry
The DS I just installed in my 65 was the plastic injected style. I heated the yoke ears until the plastic came out. Then I cleaned it up and installed a conversion u-joint With C-clips so it could mate with the 12 bolt rear in my 65. Did the same thing with my 63. Both drive great. The front of the DS has a balancer from the factory.
