I got the new universal for the front of my drive shaft yesterday, and
installed it tonight. Getting bearing caps in is certainly easier than
getting them out!
Only one minor problem: The zerk grease fitting sent with the uni' was
unusually long. I installed the uni with the zerk fitting away from the
front mounting flange, as per the manual. Unfortunately, the long fitting
limited the travel of the uni that I felt one good dip in the road would
break it off. I took the fitting off the outside of the spline and installed
it in the universal. The zerk fitting still limits the universal travel
some, but less than the one shipped.
I suppose the zerk fitting is designed to give it's life to save the side of
the universal housing. Of course after owning Italian cars I'm willing to
believe just about anything.
One note: When removing universals, DON'T use the method outlined in Haynes',
which suggests a "long thin drift" to knock out the caps from the inside.
'Tried that, got burrs on the inside of the cap bore which had to be filed
and sanded smooth. With the dust seal it's virtually impossible to use a
drift without damaging the bore. On top of that, you'd need an unobtanium
drift to withstand hammer blows without breaking and spearing your hand.
Anybody know which model of car uses the long zerk fitting in the universal?
Cheers!
Sean Johnson
'79 MGB
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