Aftermarket U-Joint Problem?

H

Hiker

Junior Member
Newbie to the Ford Barn and looking for some help. I just had my engine rebuilt from a reputable builder and replaced the riveted u-joint with a Snyder repo before installation. I put on the u-joint inner cover, inserted the spline onto the driveshaft and tightened down the clamshell halves after the engine/trans was fully seated (engine and transmission as a unit). After tightening down the front and rear traditional motor mounts the car won’t roll more than ~3 ft in neutral without something hanging up to stop the car from rolling. This happens whether you push the car forward or backwards. The tower forks are correctly placed, the engine will turn over with the hand crank in neutral no problem, the brakes aren’t seized, looking through the speedo hole everything you can see looks OK. I did coat the joint generously with corn head grease when putting it together; I’m stumped. Is it common for a new U-Joint to be this stiff? Could it be something else I’m not seeing? Thanks for the help.
 
Did you put the retaining bolt in the front half of the joint,the one that screws into the rear transmission shaft?
 
I had the same problem, also from Snyders. The splined holes were not in alignment. one hole was off center and the "ears" rubbed on the halfshell so bad that the clamshell wouldn't, couldn't" even be assembled. I made a shaft that snugly fit into the splines of both halves and it showed how the castings were out of position. I called first and sent it in for a replacement and got another. They were very cooperative. They returned my test shaft with the new part.
 
If the car rolls about 3 feet then the U joint makes more than a full turn, so I wouldn't think it's the problem.

Does the car stay locked at 3 feet, or can you roll it back a few inches, then roll it forward another 3 feet?
 
I agree with Tom that the u-joint be turning already more than a revolution... it's probably not that.

Lots of unknowns from what was it doing before the engine was removed for rebuild.
Was the trans tower (top removed). If so I would suggest rechecking and remove for fork verification, even if you think it's OK. Was the tabbed washer installed correctly on the u-joint?

Are all trans teeth OK? hopefully nothing picking up in the trans lube to cause issue.
You can jack up one rear wheel after checking the shift tower to rotated drive shaft if trans is in neutral. See where the lock up is. Also, you probably don't know as it sounds like the trans was out but hopefully there's the potential of a driveshaft/bearing issue that possibly when engine/trans installed it pushed the driveshaft backwards if there's a bearing issue there.

A little careful troubleshooting of the rotational components should locate the issue.
Larry Shepard
 
a friend just had the same problem and it was a new repro, from Bratton`s. the chassis was restored and rolling around, he put the motor & trans in and the chassis would not move, if he backed off the bolts on the clam shell it would roll. he removed the rear end and you could see where the new U joint was rubbing on the inner bell so he ground the U joint down a bit and put it back together, it was better but it was still rubbing. so he brought it over here and we put it on one of my used transmissions with another inner bell and it had NO clearance so then we put an original U joint in it and it cleared just fine. so the bottom line the new reproduction U joints are to square they need to be ground down to clear.
 
Good input.... I haven't ran into this... but then use good Ford or NORS units when needed. I know Bob Drake was getting them made... are these the same units? I still think the if you are rolling the car 3 feet the u-joint has already made more than a complete revolution. This would be easy to confirm, remove the clamshell and have someone roll or rotate and you will feel it on the inner shell if it's hitting.

Hiker (OP) , please advise of issue/resolution.
Larry
 
Yes, I did explain and I did send the test shaft for them to see the misalignment. That's why they sent a replacement and a letter of apology and a check to cover the shipping.
 
Thanks for all the responses; I'm having a bit of trouble posting a reply (new to site). I did take great care installing the U Joint washer with nub and did confirm that the tower forks are in correctly. I plan on taking the clamshell apart and giving the car the "push" test to see if it will roll with a little induced clearance for the U Joint.
 
I dropped the rear end and took the U-Joint cover off and yep, it was the Snyder repo U Joint rubbing. The cover had gouges in it from the little action it got rolling back and forth in the shop. Terrific. If I knew how to post a picture, I would. How do you tell if an original U Joint is OK? The one that came out didn't look that bad, but I'm no expert. I'm not ready to start grinding on the new one for fear I won't take enough off (like jw hash's friend) and have to do this all over again. Does anyone make an honest-to-goodness good aftermarket U Joint?
 
Original U-joints are OK if they don't have rotational slop. If the cross slides sideways, that's fine, because that's how the work to make up for a slight misalignment of the input and output sides of the U-joint. If you hold one side tight and try to turn the other side, that's where you will feel rotational play, and it should be almost zero.
 
Unused quality NORS U-joints come up on E-Bay frequently and the Model-A and regular (not 60 HP) Ford V-8's all used the same size from 1928-48. The NOS Ford U-joint rebuild kits turn up every now and then, also. I found a box of the NOS rebuild kits at an estate sale recently. The current repop U-joints don't look so good to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top