Presses...

Why not spend the money on a good vice and use that, and you'll get far more use out of it afterwards.
 
I used a vise and some sockets to change the UJ's on the half shafts, are the propshaft ones bigger?
 
I wasnt sure if a vice would do it? If it will (which obviously it will as you've jsut mentioned it !) then you've just saved me some cash as i have a nice bench vice left by the previous house owner.... :)

Rich
 
testrider said:
I used a vise and some sockets to change the UJ's on the half shafts, are the propshaft ones bigger?
Click to expand...

No, the prop ones are smaller, and although the long part is a bit more awkward (the small yoke is easy) I'd say they were a lot easier than the halfshaft ones.
 
harveyp6 said:
No, the prop ones are smaller, and although the long part is a bit more awkward (the small yoke is easy) I'd say they were a lot easier than the halfshaft ones.
Click to expand...

I've just had to give up on the halfshafts with sockets & a vice & let my local garage loose with their press! Still, I suppose the UJs have been stuck in for 105,000 miles & 41 years! :p

I previously asked on here if it was possible to remove the inner ones with the shafts in situ... :LOL:
 
I did all the UJs on the driveshafts and the front prop shaft UJ earlier this year. All done with a vice and sockets as well as a big hammer. Once you've done the first one and got the technique the rest are easy.

I was contemplating investing in a press for wheel bearings and suspension bushes but I'll probably just take the bits off the car and get my local garage to do them when they need done. These big machines are very useful at the time but think about how much they cost vs how often you're actually going to use it?

A good soaking for 24 hours with penetrating fluid should free even the most stubborn joint (apart from maybe the one's on Phil's car :wink: ). The best technique with a vice is to apply pressure then whack the joint with a hammer, apply a bit more pressure and whack again until the seal breaks. You might have to put an extension onto the vice handle to apply enough pressure and I've actually had a vice jaw crack on me whilst doing that :shock: so careful application of pressure to a point is required.

The hardest part for me was the frustration of chasing bits of springclip around the grooves trying to get them out when they broke :evil:

Dave
 
I guess on this basis I can get it off - give it a go - and take it to a garage if i cant shift it anyway!

I have the 2 UJs and i have the front diff oil seal. So at the very least i'll cure a leak, and possibly cure the 55 mph humming that comes from the box/diff! and while i'm down there i can have a look for any signs of anything untoward.

I'm pretty sure this couldnt affect the shakes that come from the engine/box/tc combo only at higher revs, as that's engine revs not car speed, but it's got to be a start!

Rich.
 
Vice and sockets can be pretty dangerous, a mate broke his finger with a flying socket whilst doing rear arm bushes, promptly went out and bought a 10 ton hydraulic press !
 
DaveHerns said:
Is there a tool for changing propshaft UJ's in situ
I'm pretty sure a Jaguar expert told me there was
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I've never seen or heard of one, and can't see how it could possibly work if there was.
 
Small boy goes into tool shop, "can I buy a file please"? Man at counter says, "what do you want a file for son"? Boy says, "It's my pet hamster. He's got a big lump on his head and I want to file it off". Man says, "You can't do that. You'll kill the poor wee thing. I can't sell you a file. Now, off you go and don't be so silly".

A few days later, the man from the tool shop meets the small boy in the street and notices that he looks extremely sad. Taking a guess at what has happened, he asks the boy, "Is your hamster dead"? The boy replies, "Yes"? Man says, "Well, I assume you found a file, tried to file off that lump and that's what killed him"? Boy replies, "No. He died in the vice". :D

:oops: Putting my coat on.
 
those arbor presses can be quite good, but not for pressing reasonably sized stuff (we used to use a bigger one than that to press out front end drive bearings and the like, anything that was sticky we had to take through to the other workshop to use the hydraulic press). tbh id invest in a hydraulic one, much less painless and much much more controlled.


however not being familiar with the job you wish to do i couldnt tell you whether it is a job the arbour press would be ok with or not.
 
I've not done Rover UJs but I've done a few on Land Rover prop shafts. Don't know if they're the same, but on Land Rovers, they're a tolerance fit rather than an interference fit so can be taken out by hand, or just with a tap with a hammer or vice. Only time I've had a problem is when one of the cups had seized in place. No amount of effort with the big vice would shift that, so I took it to the local garage to press out. He got up to 2.5 tons on his hydraulic press before the cup shattered and everything came out. I'd go with the try by hand/vice approach and take it to a garage if you get stuck. As our webmaster points out though, be careful about applying too much load with the vice and socket.
 
Phil Robson said:
I've just had to give up on the halfshafts with sockets & a vice & let my local garage loose with their press!
Click to expand...

They've been unable to shift the UJs as well :eek: . Now the half shaft is going to a propshaft specialist who will drill them out... :shock:

I've temporarily put a spare half shaft in & will swap it for the refurbished one when it returns. Then I'll get the other side done. I presume the shafts aren't 'handed', ie: it doesn't matter which side they go on?
 
Phil Robson said:
Phil Robson said:
I've just had to give up on the halfshafts with sockets & a vice & let my local garage loose with their press!
Click to expand...

They've been unable to shift the UJs as well :eek: . Now the half shaft is going to a propshaft specialist who will drill them out... :shock:

I've temporarily put a spare half shaft in & will swap it for the refurbished one when it returns. Then I'll get the other side done. I presume the shafts aren't 'handed', ie: it doesn't matter which side they go on?
Click to expand...

Why don't you just get another shaft and fit your new joints to that rather than paying through the nose for someone to do the one you've been struggling with. Halfshafts are available for peanuts compared to the labour costs associated with what they're proposing to do. (And the shafts are not handed.)
 
Phil Robson wrote,...
They've been unable to shift the UJs as well . Now the half shaft is going to a propshaft specialist who will drill them out...
Click to expand...

Gee Phil, they must have been well and truly rusted in.. :shock:

Ron.
 
harveyp6 said:
Why don't you just get another shaft and fit your new joints to that rather than paying through the nose for someone to do the one you've been struggling with. Halfshafts are available for peanuts compared to the labour costs associated with what they're proposing to do. (And the shafts are not handed.)
Click to expand...

Thanks, Harvey, I hadn't thought of that... :oops: I'll look into it before anything else is done.
 
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