Jack Stands - U-joints

Hi all,

I'm new to this so please bear with me.

I've been doing all the maintenance on my 72B roadster since I got it last year and feel comfortable doing brakes, bearings, minor engine work, etc.

My driveshaft u-joints are shot and I need to replace them. Trouble is I've never worked under a car with jackstands and I'm having trouble convincing myself I can do it - safety concerns you know.

Should I just jack up, say, the right side of the car and use my 3-ton jack stands? Where is the best placement of the stands in that case? Any other suggestions for getting the driveshaft off and on? Thanks all.

Dave,

Try this. JDW always gives great advice.

http://www.theautoist.com/floor_jacks_101.htm

Good luck.

Craig Kubiak
'79B

JDW's page is excellent.

To jack the car to do the u-joints, I would jack all four wheels. In the rear, place the jackstands under the rear axle, between the differential and the hubs. In the front, place the jackstands under the front frame members (the s-shaped pieces welded in that the engine mounts to and that extends back under the passenger area). Give the car a gentle push to make sure it is solidly supported. If you're careful, you can also place the front stands under the spring pans.

You didn't mention what year your car is, but here's a little tech tip. If you have a four-synchro transmission ('68-on), the bolts that hold the driveshaft flange to the transmission do not come out. Look closely at the bolt head on the front of the transmission flange. The head is round, except for one side, which is cut off to form a flat surface that rides against the tranny. This prevents the bolt from turning. Simply use a 1/2 inch wrench on the nut to loosen it. The bolt will not come out, unless you remove the rear transmission flange, which is neither necessary for your purpose, or easy to do.

Once you have the shaft out and the u-joints replaced, a little car is necessary in re-assembly. First, the joints sold by Moss and others come with a long (1 1/4 inch, or so) grease fitting that screws into the joint. Look at the shoulder of the flange. There is a cutout to allow clearance for the grease fitting. If you assemble the joint incorrectly, the grease fitting will be destroyed the first time the shaft rotates.

Another thing to watch out for: when re-assembling the shaft, the two flanges at either end of the shaft must be aligned. That is, when one is vertical, the other must be as well. Simply sight down the shaft from one end to the other. If the flanges appeared rotated with respect to each other, take the front one off and move it one spline over. If you're off by even one spline on the sliding portion of the shaft, it is VERY noticeable.

I wouldn't place the front jackstands in the above mention area. For one thing the front brake line is in that area. I place them in the round hole in the spring pan of the lower A Arm. That places the stands farther foward and adds to stabability. I assume you have done U joints before. If not be careful not to stack a bearing.

yeah there is that little hole in the front cross member(on each side. what is that for anyway?). i usually try and get one side of the jack stand in that hole.. but that's just me, it's not the only way to do it.

Thanks all. As it turns out Sears had a deal on jacks and jack stands. I picked up a new 3 1/2 ton floor jack with free jack stands for $49. My old jack stands only gave me 16" of lift. The new ones go up to 21".

Using the new stands I was able to jack up just the back of the car and got the shaft off with no problem. I've got it at a shop down the road getting the new u-joints pressed in since I couldn't get the old ones out.