Just remember. The old U-joint caps and the new ones do NOT go in from the outside. They are put in place from the inside of the yoke.

We smashed the living p!ss out of the old one (junk anyways) and gave us enough movement between them to pry the old U-joint out. Then, smash the old caps back in to the center to get them out. I haven't done this in over a year, so bear with me, I am a bit rusty.

I am checking with my father, he helped out when we did this, for the correct order. But, I believe I am right.

I am glad to see that people are using these U-joints, even if it does take a little more work than a replacement driveshaft to get right.

You should NOT need to re-balance the driveshaft. But you MUST be exact in the dis-assembly/re-assembly of the driveshaft and yokes. They must be re-assembled in the exact order they are torn apart, no 180 degree turns to the either yoke. That is what keeps them balanced.

 

Alright. I was mistaken. I finally remember how I did it and have a more accurate answer to your problem.

We did beat the caps through the yoke. But, you may need a file to clean up the weld that the original U-joints had to hold them in.

If you don't file down the burrs, it can easily hold you up.

Try to pull the U-joint back out and clean up the opening. Then, replace the whole thing again.

Trust me, it will be worth it once you are done.

 

Sorry Mark. I didn't read your post very carefully.

I thought you were having problems with the new one.

Once the first cap is loose, try to pound it back through so the other cap is sticking out like that. Now, leave the cap alone and use a screwdriver to drive the U-joint and the opposite cap back out, while leaving the first cap sticking out.

Remove the U-joint and then finish driving the caps back in to remove. File the opening and clean it up. Install new U-joint.

In case anyone reads this, the price has gone up slightly since the original post started. It is $50 shipped per pair now, instead of $45. Sorry, cost has gone up a bit.

 

If anybody needs Rockford components in Canada, i have a rockford dealer near me, they will carry the u-joints. Just pay the shipping/cost and i'll send it over to ya.

-Ross

 

Fingers

Thanks for taking care of the Canadian customers. I hate shipping over the border simply b/c it takes forever half the time to get through customs and it costs alot more.

 

No thank YOU for saving alot of people the cost of a driveshaft lol.

 

Hey.

I was stuck in the same situation last June. I didn't want a Mazdatrix "extra-heavy" replacement shaft and I didn't want to shell out the money to Mazda either.

So, why not save everyone money? I figure it helps to lift me one level closer to leaving hell in the long run. lol.

 

Another bump to hopefully save another person from having to pay too much to fix their driveshaft.

I am installing a new rear U-joint soon. I will break out the digital camera and try to make a good explanatory video.

Then, I will include them with the sale of the U-joints (for a small price to cover the cost of tape + shipping).

Here's a quick guide to deducing if your U-joint is bad:

Front - shudder in car at or above 55 mph. Seems to come from center of car and behind you. Not just steering wheel shake. Will sometimes (if really bad) hear squeeking coming from under car when going forward really slow.

Rear - Squeeking from under car when going in reverse. May also feel a "shift" in the drivetrain when under hard acceleration.

This is a rough guide. Not exact.

 

^

 

Are these the same ujoints that Canadian tire has a listing for? My Dad borrowed my '90 for a drag day and blew the front u joint into many pieces. Now we are despratly looking to fix it, on a budget.

Thanks,

 

First, I wanted to thank audiofight for finding these. You probably noticed the same thnigs I did, that there is no cross reference to Spicer or Neapco joints. If you were to machine out the bearing cap holes to 15/16 inch, you could use a shimmed Spicer 1000 joint, which should be available in any town on the shelf.

But, I've noticed that no one has posted a pic of these saviour joints, so here we go!
Original joint had slighter larger journals, but I think that the bigger roller bearings and greasability of the new joints will more than make up for that.

 

How come on the rockford website it says the 430-10A is All except RX-7 w/turbo. Then for 430-11 it says RX-7 w/o turbo. And those are the only RX7 U-joints they have on the site. http://www.rockforddriveline.com/

 

Does that mean they dont make any U-joints for the turbo model? I need U-joints for my s5 TII driveshaft.

 

The Rockford site lists the 430-10A because it is the CORRECT replacement fot the NA Rx7. The 430-10 u-joint is .002 smaller the the 430-10A. That is why 430-10 slops around in the yoke. I installed the correct 430-10A and it fits "el-perfecto". C-clips do the job just fine since this is the correct part. I bought mine u-joints at a local truck drive-train rebuilder who confirmed the part # was correct and installation with c-clips was adequate. Hope this info helps!

 

Up to the top for the sake of it. I received an email the other day with some questions about these U-joints.

Daddy-o-rotor nailed it right on the head. 430-10A is the correct part number. I haven't replaced my rear U-joint yet, been too lazy

 

I put in the rockford joints in my brothers 7 about a year ago.The car is now mine and the joints seam to hold up.Easiest way to get the old joints out is to burn the center out with a torchand knock the caps out to the inside,took all of three minutes.Then I had to grind down the **** where the factory staked them.Wasn't all that hard,just time consuming.

 

well my drive shaft is making sqeaking noises but theres very very very little play in it how do i grease it up or sumthin

 

deetz

are you saying your OEM driveshaft is squeeking or did you install replacement U-joints?

If it is 100% stock, there isn't anything you can do unless you replace the U-joints or the entire driveshaft.

If you have replaced the U-joints properly, then you should have a grease cert and try to add a little. Mine never squeeked after installation.

 

Audiofight,

You are a good person. Your initiative really saved me from a huge headache. I was about to go through the "disposable u-joint" Hell when I found your post.

I have a local guy that carries the U-joints so I won't buy them from you, but I did want to say thanks for the very timely info. It's good people like you that make these boards so valuable.

John

 

Sorry to be lengthy, but here goes...

I think the best way to start a u-joint replacement is to measure all the end cap dimensions before taking apart the staked in joints, to see if u can place the shaft right back where it started. A set of calipers could be used, and it should all be perfectly centered from the factory (though I didn't measure mine before starting). If you plan ahead u can figure out what thickness of shims and stuff you need before pulling the old one apart. If it is too tight you'll get it bound up which can't be too good though it'd probably wear in shortly.

#1 issue is to make sure that you get no slop in the joint from end to end. This can be figured out if you press the joint all the way to one side and measure the space between the clip and the yoke. Center these clips as good as possible with shim stock (expensive but available at mcmaster.com or other metal shops). I was lucky and had some at work, ended up with maybe .003" - .005" which worked fine. Initially there was about .016" - .020" and this caused major issues with the shaft being off center. I got the 430-10A for my GSL-SE from rockforddriveline.com - they had no spacers available and hadn't heard of any issues like this before on this vehicle.

The next issue is to make sure there's a shop around that can balance a shaft with a flange on one side. Basically there are fittings that attach to the joint to center it on their machinery. Turns out mine didn't need much of a balance, but had it done anyway, $27 for making sure you don't have to do anything else with the joints.

Something else that may be done for preventative measures is to drill and tap each end cap, there is a hole under each cap end for grease but no holes all the way through the joint so holes would be needed on every end cap. I figure if u have over 100k on the car and want to spend no $$, I'd think it's better to have a few shavings in there covered with grease rather than running it dry. Though the lack of any seal on the old joints is the main issue, letting grease out and water in.

Greasing any of the joints can be done with a hose (preferably clear) and some compressed air... no grease gun / fititng needed. Just hand pack some grease in the hose and butt it up to the hole in the fittings, add pressure and pulse the grease in and through the joint til it squeases out.

 

i ordered the two rockford 430-10A u-joints. brought the u-joints and the driveshaft to a shop had them remove old and put in new joints. total cost with parts $99.00. drives great no vibration at all. however, the grease zirk or nipple on the front u-joint hit my heat shield so i and to replace the grease fitting (zirk) with a tiny bolt. the threads on the bolt were 1/4 by 28.

 

been using them for 2 months now with no problems.

 

I think this might be my greatest accomplishment online thus far.

 

What joints are needed for my 88 T2?

 

please tell me you mean this just for driveshaft parts, because i used to work at kragen and they had alot of stuff for any year RX7's