i have a 1983 limited edition. i pulled the driveshaft out because it was squeeking really bad when off the gas and creaking when on the gas. got to looking at the way the joint was secured in the driveshaft and it looked like the factory took a punch all the way around the inner circle where the cups sit to secure them.

went to auto zone to get 2 joints and they gave me the wrong u-joints. i already have the u-joints out of the driveshaft. took a 20 ton press and about 1 hour. what i need to know is if anyone has a part number for the correct universal.

 

I doubt autozone has the right joint. http://www.rockforddriveline.com will sell them to you directly for about $18 each.

You will need to clean up all the burrs from the old way of holding the joints with a file or grinder. The news ones are held in with clips on the inside.

 

IIRC 83+ FB driveshafts can't have their U-joints replaced. They're pressed in, as you've noticed, so they don't supply the U-joint as a seperate piece.

The only options are to a) take your driveshaft and old u-joint to a driveshaft shop and have them match the u-joint and replace it or b) get a new driveshaft from mazdatrix

The new ones from mazdatrix aren't as cheap as replacing just the joint for sure, but they aren't *that* expensive for what you get - a brand new balanced shaft with a greaseable, replaceable u-joint.

http://www.mazdatrix.com/g9.htm

Jon

 

i would love to shoot the engineer who thought of this irritatingly stupid idea. thank you jgrewe. ill order them tomorrow.

 

for those interested the part number for the u-joint is 430-10a from rockford driveline. $21.12 apiece + $12.00 for shipping. the bearing cap diameter is .867in and the lockup is 1.515in. only the staked in u-joints use this. if you pull your drive shaft and there are no clips holding the u-joint, look at the outside of the cup on the inner diameter of the yoke or shaft. if you see little indentations all the way around the inner circumference, start cussing. hope this helps everybody.

 

Check this out before you spend any more money.

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=709473

 

I would buy the other. I had a machine shop put the ones you listed in and they developed a vibration after a while. I would have hoped on that deal before I spent the money. Plus 1 broke after initial instal and I had to bring it back.

 

already paid money and they are on the way. wish i would have known sooner

 

replacing the driveshaft is the only way to get a proper fix. I had my u-joints wear out 6 years ago and investigated replacing just the u-joints and decided to go with the OEM driveshaft and have no regrets.

 

We put them in the race cars with no problems.

We had problems with a complete aftermarket shaft we had custom made that ended up costing about $10,000 after the fire it caused at Daytona.

Back to a stock shaft with the Rockford joints and no problems.

When you do the job hopefully you have kept the parts marked to keep them in the same relationship. If you didn't, get it balanced when you're done.