The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop what does a bad u-joint in a TT feel like?

i got the bell housing off but i don't know how much movement is okay. how can i tell if the joint is bad without removing it? thanks

If your u-joint is bad, you'll hear some sort of knocking, banging, grinding, clicking kind of sound when you drive, especially while accelerating.

As a general rule they should wiggle a little bit on both their X and Y axis, but not by a whole lot.. millimeters, not inches.

fumblin46/anyone, i got the u-joint in my hand and it doesn't have any balls in it like i expected, it just uses bronze bushing. and it's got about 1/16" slop/cap travel back and forth (not side to side or twisting motion) between the caps in the axle side of the yoke (not the brass flanged sides). it doesn't work as smooth as ball bearing models and i'm surprised this design works at all, but can someone tell me how to know if this thing is bad and could be causing my 40mph vibration? the tt bushing has a little play but i don't think it's much over .010. help. i don't wanna spend 120 bucks if this isn't the problem.
thanks in advance.

thanks.

Check the inside of the ball housing for scoring or dings in the metal. A u-joint that flops around will hit it as it turns. For the most part these marks can be smoothed with some emery cloth and elbow grease. If the bushing in the torque tube is worn this might cause vibration. A worn bushing could also lead to seal failure letting all of your trans fluid leak to the differential.
This happened to my 49 and I put the Okie system in. Not really a very hard job. The most difficult part was removing the old bushing using my primitive methods.

oldblu49, my okie seems fine, about .010 play and the diff isn't overflowing. my bell housing is really scared inside, figured either an earlier joint let go or it was just forged that way. i can try to get some of the scoring out, but i wasn't sure if that made any difference as long as i get the replacement joint put in. wish i could use a needle bearing joing from the late 50's but my yokes aren't correct for this and i don't know if later yokes would work so i'm stuck with this bronze bushing setup i guess.
thanks for yours and everyones help. i'll check back in when i get the joint put in to let you know if that fixed my vibration problems.
tony

There is nothing wrong with the bronze bushing set up in the u-joint. I don't think any later yokes will fit because of the enclosed u-joint in the ball housing.