Driveshaft/u-joint/rear end question?!??

first, are you sure that the u joint is too wide, sometimes if you remove the caps a needle bearing can fall down on the bottom of the cap and it won't side on far enough (making it too wide) second you may be able to get a special u joint that is different between caps (size, etc.) i know that for my torino there were 2 different sizes of u joints available. i'd take both u joints with you to the parts store and they could check and measure to see if one is available, there may be different yokes for the diff that could be changed, i'm not sure, may randy or somebody else may know on that part?

are the caps all the way onto the u joint? look closly at the rubber seals, are they touching the center of the u joint all the way, or is there a small gap? and is the u joint the right width measuring across the the caps (total width? now measure the width of the ujoint that did fit the drive shaft is it the same? or shorter or wider?

I tried a couple times but I don't understand what the exact issue is

there's umpteen bajillion different U-joints, they don't all have the same size caps or width dimensions on both sides of the 'cross'

to walk into a parts house & come out with the right U-joint takes a little bit of knowledge & some careful measuring. there are 3 basic 'series' that are popular in the auto world, 1310 is smaller width-wise than 1330 & 1350. then there are different diameter caps within the 3 series, and like I said earlier they're not always all 4 the same on one joint

http://driveshaftspecialist.com/HTML%20Measure/UJ%20ID%20Guide.html

a) you need to know the series of the trans yoke, and the diameter of the caps needed in all 4 positions on that joint

b) you need to identify the series of the joints needed for the driveshaft, both ends, and the diameter of the caps on each end

c) then you need to know the series of the differential flange and the diameter of each cap needed there

d) you need to know the retention style of every 'cross' or yoke; trans yoke, front of shaft, rear of shaft, dif flange

draw a cheesy sketch, measure & write everything down with arrows pointing to exactly what on the sketch is what size and bring it with you to the store. and bring you caliper to make sure you're getting what you need, parts get shuffled on the counter from guys trying to find a magic part, they get back into the wrong boxes, measure what you're buying!

yes it can be VERY confusing!

it's possible to have several different combos on a project car



Edited by Rockatansky - 22-February-2014 at 7:26PM

Ok, the diff is like 1/4 inch shorter than the yoke from my torinos rear. (Didn't measure just guessing, it's dark out and no garage and rocks hurt!) the u joint on the shaft fits my torinos rear. The u joint that I bought fits my falcons rear but not the shaft ( too narrow for the shaft) (shafts joint is too wide for the rear) just clearing it up. And thanks for you guys helping!

So I can't just swap the yokes out?

Do they make one that will fith the bigger shaft and smaller diff?

Soo, I'll just go to the store with both u joints and pray to the auto gods that they have one to my needs?

Ok, I'll go to the store with both an hopefully get what I need, thanks guys!

I saw it, sorry I didn't write a reply to it. Trans yoke? You mean just the whole driveshaft right?

Thanks, yes, and the new u joint that I just bought fits the diff flange perfectly, but not the shaft and the one on the shaft is too big for the diff flange.

click on this for much good info

I'm not saying this is the correct joint you need, just an example
the link above doesn't even cover adapter joints like this one

1310 / 1330 joint

Edited by Rockatansky - 22-February-2014 at 9:56PM

There are hybrid u-joints available that will hook you up. take the U-joint that fits the driveshaft and the u-joint that fits the diff yoke with you and they can figure out what you need. you may need smarter heads than at autozone/Advance/Oh-really. Not a big deal at a driveshaft shop at all.

So um is there a seal that goes inbetween the yoke and the diff?

I'm not sure but I'll prolly get some stream sealer or locktight but yeah I've got a small leak goin on there from my attempt to get the yoke out....hope nothin got f'd up..

I do, but with my motor and tranny, it would have had to be cut too, and it was a lot thinner, so I went with the one that already fit my tranny, and at the time I thought fit the rear end too...