Replacing Non-replaceable U-joints
 

I wanted to post a few pics from my recent u-joint adventure just to demonstrate that, as many others on this site have already stated, the joints CAN be replaced. This isn’t really a “how-to”, as the procedure is really simple. It’s just an overview to show what’s involved in replacing them, to help you decide whether or not you want to take this approach (It costs $50, versus about $220 for an aftermarket driveshaft).

OK—one how-to—make sure to mark the position of the parts before removing the driveshaft and removing the old joints, to preserve the shaft’s balance.

Pic 1 (starting from the left). This is what comes with the Rockford replacement u-joints. The part number for my TII was 430-11; the part number for the n/a is 430-10a. Neapco sells an identical joint, which is part number 1-0431 for the turbo (note similarity to the Rockford #). I don’t know the number for the Neapco n/a part, but I know they make one. The 4 circlips shown in the picture retain the joint by bracing it against the inside of the yoke. The grease fitting screws into the end of the bearing cap.

Pic 2.This is the factory staking of the original joint. I’m sorry for the poor picture quality, but if you look closely, you can see the staking grooves in the yoke. If you can’t see them, just trust me—they’re there.

Pic 3. I ground the staking away using a Dremel / grinding stone attachment. NOW you should be able to see the staking grooves, but the staking metal has been ground away from above the bearing caps.

(continued-next post)

Pic 4. You can use a press or a hammer to get the old joints out. I used my timing gear puller as a small press, because I thought that would eliminate any chance of bending the yoke ears. If you decide to hammer the new joints in, put lots of extra grease on the bearing rollers inside the caps, so that you don’t jar them out of place (even then…good luck!). By the way, I used heat before pressing the old joints out, and I kept the new joints in the freezer until I was ready to install them. The joints pressed in and out very easily.

Pic 5. My one piece driveshaft converted to 3 pieces.

Pic 6. Look carefully to see where I ground. You have to grind a shoulder area for the new circlip to seat against the yoke.

Pic 7. Here’s the new joint after installation. At the top you can see how far the joint enters into the yoke ear (about the same as the original did), and you can see the old staking grooves. Below that, starting with the joint body and going left, you can see the new joint body, grease seal, bottom edge of the bearing cap, the circlip, the yoke ear, and the grease fitting.

There was no new ground broken here—this is a very straight-forward job that many other site members have already done. I’ve just noted some confusion/mis-understandings/misgivings in discussions about the driveshaft, and thought this post might help clarify things a bit.

How much did these cost? Should I replace both if I need to replace 1?

They cost about $25 each, and I would replace both of them.

I have done a few u-joint replacement jobs for customers using the Rockford joints. On every one of them I used a hydraulic shop press and I didn't have to grind any of the staking off to get them out. None of the yokes bent during the process. Removing the staking would make things easier if you were using a hammer or ball joint press however.

What's the deal with the grease fitting that screws into one of the bearings? I just got my joints in today and that little fitting is separate. Should I screw that in? How far and how tight?

Yes - screw it in as far as it will go, and tight (without stripping, of course). When you use the fitting, the grease goes through the joint body into all of the bearing caps.

When you cut the staking out, what did you use? I have heavy duty dremel cutting wheels but the are just a hair too big for the opening. Will I need carbide and what, from where, would you recommend?

As I recall, I used a grinding stone similar to the Dremmel Attachment #8215 shown at the following link. The stone shown at the link is 1" diameter, so I'm not sure it will fit down into the yoke. My stone measures 3/4", but it's probably worn down from use (It may even be the same attachment).

The reason I used a stone instead of a cutting bit was that I thought that the large circumference of the stone would make it less likely to gouge the yoke. The stone worked very well, IIRC, with no gouging.

Good luck!

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/attachme...=66333&I=66336

Edit: I re-read your post about your stone not fitting. Maybe you could get the Dremmel attachment #8215, and wear it down to size using a file or something. You can probably get that stone at Home Depot, since it's so common. Hope this is all helpful to you.

Where can I buy the replacement U-joints?
My Miata needs the same part.
My local suppliers can't find a Rockford 430-10..

good thread to revive. nice writeup!

Sweet i have always been told that they are not replaceable, thats good to know.

In 2003 I bought a set over the counter at DAP.

Now I'm having trouble finding them in stock.

A local driveline shop says they think they can get them. (Rockwell 430-10)
They show small Mazda, Nissan, & Toyota pickups also use them along with RX-7's & Miatas.

We will see.

nice write up, I found a replaceable u joint too but I bought mine at carquest and I think is the same one just in the carquest box because it has the "Disassembly of the Non-Rebuildable U-joint" instructions from Rockford Constant Velocity.:)

Archive this?


In my experience, when my driveshaft went bad, the parts were cracked. If you look at the 2nd pic, there were cracks at the very bottom. On a few in the front and the back.

Nice thread!
I am in the process of replacing my gen2 joints, as far as where to get them you can search for Rockford drive line parts and peruse their catalogs online. as of right now I don't believe they offer online purchase but they do accept credit/check cards over the phone if you know the part numbers. here is a link http://www.rockforddriveline.com/Download_Files.htm

archive

can you heat up the original u-joints to get the plastic to melt so that the joint comes apart?

bump for good info. :)

I'd like to add to this- here's something I did just last night on a T2 swapped first gen.

No pics, but check this out--

I just made a "custom" driveshaft for my FB from common parts--

13BT engine, S4 T2 trans, S3 rearend. I took a stock 84-85 driveshaft, and removed the front ujoint via the writeup on "replacing non replacable ujoints" on 7club. I did the same thing w/ an FC automatic driveshaft (the yoke on these fit into the T2 transmission's output, BUT, the bearing spacing is small to match the rest of the NA driveline, (1.5" or so flat to flat on the yoke vs the 1.75 or 2 on the actual t2 shaft)

I now had 2 broken down shafts. I bought a new ujoint on ebay- the writeup uses a Rockford driveline brand shaft, which is servicable and the "+" of the joint body is hollow throughout to allow grease propagation to the 4 bearings. I accidently (and fortunately!) bought a different brand, GMB u joint. It's non servicable, but also solid, and thus stronger! (people reported broken u joints in the write up due to the weakness from thehollow body). I pressed the cups in just using a bench vise, and to insure the joint was centered, I used calipers to measure the ground flat surface on the joint to the ground flat on the yoke, and kept adjusting until both measurements were equal (and thus it was centered).

The GMB is retained w/ hammer in 1 way stakes, like a spring washer that goes in but doesn't pull back out. I was iffy w/ these, especially since I'd dremeled alot of material off removing the original staking. I opted to tack weld it in place.

It's now installed in the car, and I have no resonance frequencys/vibrations from it until about 100, which I attribute to "rushed" centering (I may be as much as .010" off center), however it's far beyond better than what was in there (T2 yoke & shaft, cut about 5" back, and just welded to a first gen shaft, with an overall length about 2" short...) AND not to mention only a $23 ordeal.

With all this said, a "custom" T2 trans to NA rear shaft can likely be made in the event of a T2 swap but no T2 rear end, by simply sourcing an auto shaft & yoke swapping w/ the NA shaft that's coming out. The lengths of the 2 shafts must be checked, it works out on the FB, and I'm sure the FC's shared very similar lengths between T2 & NA 5SPD, but just double check first. FSM even lists lengths...

Good luck and I hope this helps someone

HAHA scratch my above post, the thing just came apart on me. For my replacement I'm just goint to have a custom job built by a local driveshaft shop. Not worth the risk to me, personally. LOL

I'm in the middle of building a custom driveshaft... I have most of the parts (all off the shelf with part numbers), and it appears like it's going to be pretty painless.

I'll make a new thread and link it to this one when I'm done.

I see some issues with some posts in this thread. Any time you have to grind the yoke where the snap rings are to seat, you messed up the balance. The distance between cap snap rings has to be close tolerance and the spacing has to centered to maintain balance.

How do you ensure that using a Dremel?

Also, the use of English measurements instead of metric. I'll garauntee that the flat to flat distance on the yokes are not 1.5" or 1.75". This is an area on the car where a certain degree of precision is used. One well above Dremels and hammers.

No negative Nancy here but the joint has to be center and if the replacement joint doesn't allow the snap rings on without machining the yoke then it's best to get it machined proper.