Thread: U-joint removal
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Old 12-12-2007, 05:56 PM   #3 (permalink)
joe_padavano
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Totumfrog View Post
I have a 70 olds Cutlass Supreme convt. I recently had the TH350 rebuilt and I reinstalled last weekend. I bought new u-joints to replace them while I had the drive shaft out. However, I can't get the old u-joints off. They don't appear to be the originals nor do they have the "c" clip on the inside. I have some "plastic" tips on either side of the universal housing. Someone said that they used to melt plastic into the housings to hold the u-joints and the only way to get them out is to heat them with a torch and pound them out when the plastic melts. Anyone familiar with this?

Collin Totumfrog Johnson
The injection molded plastic retaining ring is the factory method of retaining the ujoints, so they probably are original. You can try heat, but I've just used a pair of sockets (one slightly smaller than the U-joint cup and one with an ID slightly larger) to press them out in a big bench vise or hydraulic press.
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