new u joints
 

i decided to replace my u joints in 02, it has just under 100,000 miles on it. it has had a noise coming from somewhere under and around the rear end for some time now, i am hoping it was the u-joints. i am posting this to possibly help others. so to remove the old ones you need to heat them up until all the plastic comes out of the holes on the sides of the ears. i thought i had it all out but did not on one end, i ended up bending one of the ears slightly, which i still need to fix. what should have been an easy fix especially since i have a press ended up being a pain in my back, since i thought i had all the plastic out. i hope this helps others that attempt this job.

You gotta get them really hot sometimes to get the resin all out. Just be careful the caps dont pop on you.

That's what I would be worrying about.

Well if you are replacing the ujoint......:)

Hot grease and flying debrit are more of a saftey issue to me

I hear ya. I just do it on the ground with a 2x4 under it and make snakes.

that is what i found out, i thought i had gotten it all the first time. i tried pressing them out and ended up bending the ear a little. i put more heat to it and the rest came out, i spent more time fixing the ear then i did getting the joints out. hopefully this helps someone in the future.

Is this an aluminum shaft? I have wanted to replace the joints on mine for a while, because Im getting a pinging or clicking noise and Im afraid of heating it up too much and melting the aluminum. After searching for a while I came across this website http://www.f-body.org/faq/4/4_3.htm Click on "I have a 98 or 99 ls1 body....." Im now thinking this is what Im hearing.

Just thought Id throw it out there as another possibility.

That sounds ridiculous. Aluminum melts at 1221*F according to google. The plastic will melt with a few hundred degrees. Its a simple process.

It's not melting that's the issue, it's the heating in general.

I think the driveshafts are made of 6061, but I'm not sure. My Denny's is.

Check out the yield curve. At 500* you are at 12% strength.

http://www.burnsstainless.com/images...Strength-1.gif

I think if you heat it up and melt out the plastic that's fine, just let it cool before bashing on it.

Just a counterpoint, all my stuff at work is 6061 and lives round 200-220* C, never had an issue brought up about yield strengths.

Why not just pound it out with a hammer and punch on a block of wood or use a press?

I'm not saying it will instantly turn to vanilla pudding if you heat it. Just that if you get it very hot and then bash on it with a hammer you can damage the welded yoke.

well like i had said i knew the plastic was in there and i thought i had it all out. i have a press that i used on them, i ended up bending the ears a little. they will not come out unless you melt all the plastic first. i used a propane torch on them, it took about ten minutes to get all the plastic to come out.