Truckin Tech Avoiding the Shaft
- TRUCKIN.COM [7 2 ] OCTOBER 2019 -
Carlos started by removing the U-joint snap
rings. He immediately knew without question
these U-joints were factory and had never
been replaced.
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- IEDLS has all the right tools for the job, and
the pressing out of the old U-joints happens in
just a few seconds.
10. It’s hard to see, but we cleaned and
inspected the old U-joints, which revealed
wear spots from the needles being dry and
not moving freely. - IEDLS uses Spicer products pretty exclusively, and Spicer is
widely known as one of the best options out there. - As quick as the old ones were removed, the new U-joints
were pressed in place. - Up at the front of the shaft, Carlos presses
off the slip yoke then presses out the U-joint. - Then the new joint was pressed into place.
- That’s where most U-joint replacements
end, but we also wanted to balance the
driveshaft while we were here. Carlos
installed the sleeves for the balancer so we
could test it out. - The shaft was bolted into the balancer and
we were ready to give it a whirl. - This gauge measures the shaft vibration in
thousandths as the shaft spins at about 2,500
rpm. Carlos says a reading of around .010
will almost certainly be felt when driving the
truck. Ours was at about .006. - From there, Carlos removed the factory
balancing weights with a 4-inch grinder.