>question is - Is the only way to tell if a joint is bad is remove the
>halfshaft from the car?
> thanks,
> Karl Theis
You don't say the year! but since the shaft is under tension when on the
wheel, or the car
is raised on a jack, it is VERY difficult to tell if the ujoint is bad. The
best way is to release the radius arm,
and the spring link and check - and if you suspect a problem, replace them!
(Both sides!)
I had one of my spits (I've owned many...) to a shop, where they pronounced
the ujoints fit for service,
only to have them fail dramatically a few hundred miles down the road. I
have a photo of what came out!
I also had a pair replaced with poor Japanese ones, and suffered a
tick-tick-tick on the new ones. The
culprit was, after removing both axles again, that the snap rings which hold
the spiders in the yoke were
not seated completely and allowed the caps to move. Since then I've always
specified "Hardy-Spicer",
"Federal-Mogul" or "Quinon Halzell" (Old unipart name) as replacements,
because they all have the good
thick spring steel snap rings. (The Japanese ones are flimsy and the caps
don't fit the yokes very well)
I think you're going to have to replace em.
Wayne Burton
1963 Triumph Spitfire4
1966 Triumph 2000 (6! universals - now thats fun!)
1954 Austin A40 Somerset (1 universal, and not on the axle!)
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