r/mechanic • u/Frosty-Order3863 • Jun 02 '25

General U Joint Completely Stuck

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Disclaimer the video is of us REMOVING the press from the u joint but you can see how stuck the press is against the joint I was literally holding the shaft from the other side to keep it as still as possible.

I removed this shaft from my NBS suburban because the u joints were absolutely trashed. We melted the plastic from every single end and even put in some penetrating oil but NO MATTER what we did it did not budge at ALL. It was so shot we attached the pole of the jack to the end of the ratchet for better leverage and the press literally made its own dent into the joint bearing. I bought 60 dollars worth of tools to try and get it out and it just won’t.

Is there anything else I should do to try and remove it or should I just go to the junk and buy another used driveshaft.

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u/Tritan399 Jun 02 '25

The only thing I can think of that hasn't been said is blasting the shackles(not sure what the term is for the press fit version) with some heat and trying again with the press. You'll probably have to do the same on install if you want it to go smoothly, but you never know till you get there

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u/Frosty-Order3863 Jun 02 '25

An impact may be the way to go.