19801980RX-7

Couldn't find a thread for a 1st gen with this issue.

In my attempts to get my 1st gen ready for a caravan to SS10, the front U joint
needed replacement. Shaft came off without a hitch until I separated the spider bearing from the yokes. Again this is the front u joint only, it came off the yoke on the shaft fine, but the final 2 legs of the spider is stuck on the other yoke. I've pounding on that sucker for 30 minutes and it only moved 1 mm. I verified that I removed both snap washers so there's nothing visibly wrong. Any techniques out there? Should I try putting oil on it?

Bruceman

iTrader: (5)

Heat up the yoke with a torch

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

First of all I thought the u-joint weren't replaceable?

The proper way of doing it is to put the 2 ends of the u-joint that are exposed against the tops of a bench vise. Then putting a piece of wood on the top of the driveshaft (to prevent damaging it) and hammer down in order to press the U-joint out of position.

19801980RX-7

Thanks for the replies guys. I was able to get it loose with a little patience. And I have an original that came with a propeller shaft with the replaceable u joints. I'm not certain of how high the years go but definately 79's and 80's. But so that there's a tread specific to 1st gen with the drive shaft that is able to replace the u joints, here are some pointers:

Don't wait to change it, if you know it hasn't been changed in the past 10 years, just get new ones, it's not hard to change and very inexpense when done by yourself. My cost was 19.00 for the u joint and 6.00 for the shaft seal. Only needed a 12mm wrench.

If there is signs that it does need replacing, i.e. vibration, cluncking, grinding, you waited too long. It would have taken half time if I changed it say, 3 months ago when I bought it. But when the bearings dust gets loose in there, it tightens the bearing case which was the problems I had.

My 7 runs soooooooo smooth now with no vibrations and no cluncks plus I did notice some power increase.

I used a pair of ramps because I wasn't absolutely sure which part was the sub-frame for the jack stands. Stands would have been better because I had to work with the rear end 4 inches from my face.

Unless there's a better way, use a 12mm wrench with a 2 inch handle, cause that screw on the top part of the flange is a bitch. I had to pull it off the ramps and backup on it again to rotate the shaft to access that screw. Same thing when installing the shaft.

Refer to the post above this one about using clamps and the table ect... I did not have the resources or space to use those so most of it was done on my lap. Not recommended at all.

Follow the manual and make sure it is centered.

What motivated me to get it quickly was all the horror stories of what happens when your shaft drops out. It can flip your car over or if your lucky, just get your entire rear end ripped off, all for a 25.00 replacement job.

The only real way to check the condition is if you take off the shaft, in which case, you may as well just change the u joints. It should have even resistance when moving the u joint around without any grinding or stuttering.

But thanks again and I hope this comes in handy sometime.