LittleStevie wrote:Anyway, I used an aftermarket U-joint (Precision, #354) and I think it might not have been manufactured to spec. On one side of the yoke I was able to get both caps on and secure the snap rings, but the other side seemed too long. No matter how much I hit it after installing the snap ring on one side, it would not recess far enough (not even close) to get the other snap ring in.

You're not suppose to hit the cap, you're suppose to use a vise/press to install them. A direct wack with a hammer will more than likely angle it slightly.

Hitting the cap with force may also warp the drive shaft a bit and will give your vibration under drive.

anyone got pics of this process?

Npath wrote:

LittleStevie wrote:Anyway, I used an aftermarket U-joint (Precision, #354) and I think it might not have been manufactured to spec. On one side of the yoke I was able to get both caps on and secure the snap rings, but the other side seemed too long. No matter how much I hit it after installing the snap ring on one side, it would not recess far enough (not even close) to get the other snap ring in.

You're not suppose to hit the cap, you're suppose to use a vise/press to install them. A direct wack with a hammer will more than likely angle it slightly.

Hitting the cap with force may also warp the drive shaft a bit and will give your vibration under drive.

You use a vice up to a point, but eventually you need to use a hammer to recess the cap in the yoke (the vice just gets it flush). With a block under the yoke you can use impact with no stress on the driveshaft whatsoever, assuming you're doing it off vehicle. There's really no opportunity for the cap to angle once it's in the yoke a little; the fit is very tight.

Sorry I didn't take any photos but there are a couple of other threads with them.

LittleStevie wrote:

Npath wrote:

LittleStevie wrote:Anyway, I used an aftermarket U-joint (Precision, #354) and I think it might not have been manufactured to spec. On one side of the yoke I was able to get both caps on and secure the snap rings, but the other side seemed too long. No matter how much I hit it after installing the snap ring on one side, it would not recess far enough (not even close) to get the other snap ring in.

You're not suppose to hit the cap, you're suppose to use a vise/press to install them. A direct wack with a hammer will more than likely angle it slightly.

Hitting the cap with force may also warp the drive shaft a bit and will give your vibration under drive.

You use a vice up to a point, but eventually you need to use a hammer to recess the cap in the yoke (the vice just gets it flush). With a block under the yoke you can use impact with no stress on the driveshaft whatsoever, assuming you're doing it off vehicle. There's really no opportunity for the cap to angle once it's in the yoke a little; the fit is very tight.

i'm with Npath on this
use the right tool
a universal joint should never be hit or impacted, always pressed
an appropriate diameter socket placed over the cap to press it in beyond the yoke works (wear safety goggles), or better yet, a proper u-joint installation tool
hitting the cap may damage the needles, cap (part of the bearing - the outer race!), or the seal
BTW, if the cap is not pressed in fully to expose the snap-ring groove, it may compromise the seal, allowing lubricant out and water in
i'm not a fan of aftermarket parts, but u-joints are machined to close tolerances
i'd guess that the difficulty that you are having seating the cap is becaused it is not installed straight into its' hole (misaligned), which will result in bearing failure

Using a proper u-joint press is the way to go and in my experience is much easier that using a hammer to replace a u-joint. But I have replaced u-joint on a couple of occasions using a hammer and socket with no adverse affects. It's not the preferred method but it will work if done carefully.

You can rent a u-joint press from most chain part stores (Advance, Autozone, O'Reilly's). Your deposit is fully refendable when you return it. This is what you want.



You can see that the press is able to seat the cap below the surface of the driveshaft.

I won't argue that the press looks like a better way to go for next time, but I was following the R51 service manual which suggests using a vice and hammer to seat the joint. Nowhere did it mention using a special tool to recess the caps.

eieio wrote: i'd guess that the difficulty that you are having seating the cap is becaused it is not installed straight into its' hole (misaligned), which will result in bearing failure

This isn't a bad guess, but not true in my case. If I removed the snap ring from the other side, I was able to fully recess the cap that I wasn't able to seat, but this pushed the other side out too far. It was either one or the other. There simply wasn't enough room to have both caps seat under the snap ring groove. I still blame the aftermarket part.

From what I see in the picture the unit is just a glorified G clamp. I would thing a set of sockets and a G clamp it's done no hitting required.

I have a slight drive vibration through the gas pedal, is this the start of U joint failure. By checking lateral movement do you mean in and out play or up and down. still under warranty so i would just like to watch it.

Check out the section labeled "Propeller Shaft" in this service manual. http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic.php?t=2

Basically just grab the driveshaft and try to wiggle it around in all directions perpindicular to the driveshaft. Up and down, left and right. There shouldn't be any play.

A couple of months ago I replaced the front U-joint, and lately it has been making noise and vibrating. Today I replaced it again. When I did the job originally I had trouble seating the cap and couldn't get the snap ring in. When I disassembled, I found that one of the needles had fallen into the cap and prevented it from seating. Just something to look out for if you're doing the job.

This time I borrowed a 12 ton shop press and pushed in the caps rather than hammering...definitely a better way to go. Even with the Nissan OEM part, however, I still had some trouble getting the snap rings to go in. I ended up selecting the thinnest snap rings in the Nissan package (they give you 16), which were around 0.058", but still couldn't get both sides in. I actually shaved down the rings to 0.055" with sandpaper to get them to fit in. Using the press I was positive I was getting the caps fully pressed in (they were freely moving when the snap rings weren't there), so I'm really not sure why the axial distance was too long.

Other info: Nissan OEM part is ~$60 vs. aftermarket $20. Knowing now that it wasn't an issue with the aftermarket part, but rather the needle falling in, I'd probably go aftermarket for that difference in cost.

Thanks for the update and the cost analysis.