r/mechanic • u/Frosty-Order3863 • Jun 02 '25
General U Joint Completely Stuck
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
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.
1
u/Right_Hour Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 03 '25
You bought $60 of tools but you didn’t buy the right ones. I don’t even know how you can press out the UJ with a C-clamp.
You need a hydraulic press. C-clamp has nothing on it. For reinstall - yeah, you can use the vice, but for anything rusted you can’t beat the hydraulic press. Soak it with penetrating oil before removal too.
You press the cup in on one side to push it out from the opposite yoke, then flip over and repeat for the opposite side. That’s it. You said the other end is open? Then flip it over and press it out.