The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Torque Tube

Dumb question:How do you take the torque off trans???

No such thing!(Dumb Question) Take the rearend loose from your springs and then the tube will silde out toward the rear.If you unhook the leaf spring shackles(rear)rest them on the floor, take off your u- bolts then jack your truck up by the frame,a little at a time, u will c the whole thing slide out . pumpkin and torque tube. Be CAREFULL!chock the front. Good luck. bowties

I've never seen it done that way, sounds interesting. Suppose its as good a way as any but when you put it back together can you get the splined part of the u-joint to line up easily? I use the old 'by-the-book' method of braking the ball housing and undoing the u-joint. Do you figure it is faster?

I like to breaking part but still do not know what you are talking about.

Mr. Giant,

Do you want to remove the rear-end/torque-tube or do you want to remove the u-joint and/or transmission?

Tim

Thanks,Iwant to install a new clutch and install a 4 speed

If your 4 speed is also for a torque tube leave the rear end in place and follow these instructions. If you are changing to open drive line pull it all out.

OK, leave the rear end/torque tube in place. At the back of the trans you'll see this ball shaped thing, should have four little bolts around it. Take those bolt out, separate the ring and slide back the ball onto the torque tube. Be sure to support frame really good with jack stands!!
The 'U' joint on these is a bit strange, has crimped over tabs holding small bolts from coming loose. Take all that apart, U joint comes apart, slide torque tube half of yoke back and separate the U joint. May need to jack up the torque tube to allow the trans to slide back. You'll get the idea as you get in there, just save all those weird little bolts etc.

Thanks,I will look at this in the AM,will all the parts go back in or do I have to replace w/ New ones ?

Mr Giant, is this a recon clutch and trans that you are putting in? If you've gone this far I'd be inclined to check the bushings and bearings, you don't want to be stripping this down again for a while. I'd use new tabs on the four little screws that hold the uni-joint yoke. Clean the threads well and use a little bit of red loctite on the bolts. As its a four speed it would also pay to remove the chassis crossmember that the reartrans mount bolts onto. It'll give you a lot more room to work, also means that the front of the torque tube can drop on the ground out of the way. What year of truck are we talking about here? Also if you haven't already got one, get a workshop manual. Yell out if you've got any more questions. Good luck.

Bob

These posts are starting to make what is a simple job quite complicated. Let's determine what we are working with and go from there. The torque tube set up at the transmission might seem at bit strange but as was mentioned above once you get to look at it you will figure out where the bits and pieces go. Do not throw anything away until you have completed the job. The bolts which hold the u-joint together are not stock bolts as their head is smaller so they can fit in tight against the joint trunion.
When I did my job I ordered two sets of bolts and retainers from a reputable after-market source and when they came they were junk. The bolts looked like they were cast and truly not a high grade. The retaining clips had holes big enough in them that the bolt heads slipped through.
I ended up getting good used ones from some people on this forum.
In conclusion let me stress that the very best thing you can do to help you in this job is determine the model of truck you have a get the shop manual. It is a bible.