larry harding
Senior Member
new u joints are $100.00 or more. i.ve been told there is a rebuild kit available.
where can i get these kits?
where can i get these kits?
universal joint
- Thread starter larry harding
- Start date
BRENT in 10-uh-C
Well-known member
The new Universal Joints that Snyders just began manufacturing are $235.00. They are a nice piece. Even the Drake offerings that often need a bit of work for them to be serviceable are over $150.00.
Just so you know, not all Model-A Universal Joints are rebuildable, so verify that yours is. Snyders offers rebuild kits under the part number A-7084
rotorwrench
Well-known member
Just to add, the original design was riveted together and no replacement pieces are available. The follow on replacements are the bushing types as used up to 1948 on Ford and Mercury cars. The kits are for the bushing types. Some repro ones have more metal in the knuckles and can rub. Like Brent mentioned, these can be reworked by sanding or grinding the extra hump of metal they have on the knuckles.
larry harding
Senior Member
thanks guys. i'm blown away by the prices for these, everything else has gone crazy too. i have a couple of the u joints i may look into rebuilding. i have one of the riveted u joints in my speedster, but it is in really good shape. i'm going to run it until i can find a better one or rebuild the other ones i have. green wood is coming up next month, maybe i'll have some luck there.
BRENT in 10-uh-C
Well-known member
Larry while that may seem true to you that prices have gone crazy, many of us have all been complaining about the inferior quality that some of these reproduction Model-A parts had become. Hobbyists will say over & over how they would pay for the better quality pieces that would fit right out of the packaging. So, a vendor listened to the pleas and put up a huge investment to begin making an item that actually fits without modification.
Bob Bidonde
Well-known member
Beware that there seem to be two flavors of the "rebuildable" repros. On the
Bob Drake U-joint that I have, the arms enclosing the bearings do not have the split for the retaining circlips, rather the circlips go into relief cuts on the inside edge of the bearings, on the inside of the arm. On the other rebuildables that I have (and on the new Snyders U-joint) the arms have a slit that the circlip goes into, and the circlip engages the relief cut in the center of the bearing (this is the style that Bob Bidonde shows in his slide). I believe the latter is the original Ford design. If I get up to the shop today I'll post a photo of the two side-by-side.
Bob Drake U-joint that I have, the arms enclosing the bearings do not have the split for the retaining circlips, rather the circlips go into relief cuts on the inside edge of the bearings, on the inside of the arm. On the other rebuildables that I have (and on the new Snyders U-joint) the arms have a slit that the circlip goes into, and the circlip engages the relief cut in the center of the bearing (this is the style that Bob Bidonde shows in his slide). I believe the latter is the original Ford design. If I get up to the shop today I'll post a photo of the two side-by-side.
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That's correct. On the Model A with the shorter driveline, they don't articulate as well as the Ford style u-joint we're used to operating with.
I like the Lincoln style, but chose not to go with it on an A fearing potential failure because of the limited articulation, especially as a suspension is unloaded in travel.
Be thankful you aren’t working on AA. No replacements available at any price. And if you are trying to fit up a Warford auxiliary transmission it really gets tricky finding good original ones with correct splines. Snyder’s price doesn’t sound outrageous to me if it’s a quality part. Bought any modern car parts lately? They ain’t cheap either.
Bob Bidonde
Well-known member
For what it's worth, I have thousands of miles on the u-joint in my post without any issues. In fact, I made one of the bearing lock rings from a wire coat hangar because the original lock ring was missing.
Your coat hanger solution is creative but since that type of wire isn't made of spring steel I wonder what keeps it from working itself loose?
I have searched for a source for the original type lock ring but found nothing. Does anybody know of a source?
Keith True
Well-known member
In that situation I don't think I'd worry too much about it.That wire is pretty encapsulated all around that cap.For it to work it's way out it would have to rotate until one end poked out,then unbend itself as it feeds itself out of it's home.It's just easier for it to stay home.All of that type I've taken apart I got those clips out by prying the exposed part out,then yanking the wire out with a pair of vise grips,bending the wire as I went.I didn't find those wires to be hardened at all.I really don't know how to get that type apart without destroying the wire.
Y-Blockhead
Well-known member
I can see using a coat hanger wire on the Model A type U-Joint but I would think you would need a clip made out of spring steel for the Lincoln type U-Joint.
But it seems to be working for Bob.
But it seems to be working for Bob.
Bob Bidonde
Well-known member
Ditto Keith's Post 13. The wire is sufficiently trapped in the joint by its curvature, and it has been in there for thousands of miles.
My experience with rebuilding U-joints is that the rings tend to come out only after being struck with a hammer and chisel, per Ford's own Service Bulletin. This relieves the tension in the spring steel and makes them "relax" a bit and easier to remove.
When using NOS Ford rebuilding kits, one needs to be careful in pressing in the rings as the spring steel can spring back, and losing control of a ring can send it flying off to parts unknown, which is why I was looking for replacements.
I learned to torch weld in the 60s using coat hanger as welding rod. Still have a few coat hangers around the shop for that purpose. Hard to find wire coat hangers these days, though, they're all plastic. And plastic coat hangers don't work well as welding rod.
I can't help but think that this is a standard size circlip available from McMaster?
rotorwrench
Well-known member
Spring wire can be sourced from certain suppliers. It would have to be the proper gauge wire to fit. It's a harder to bend than an annealed wire but it will bend and hold shape with proper tooling.
The repair kits should have the wire C retainers but you don't see them sold separately.
The repair kits should have the wire C retainers but you don't see them sold separately.