hey all, just replaced the first uni joint in my n/a auto tailshaft, the one right after the gearbox.
i took it off because i originally believed that the centre bearing was stuffed.
symptoms were: bad shuddering at certain speeds, especially on take-off under load. also a shuddering/vibration at 80 km/h, nowhere else. tailshaft came off today, and centre bearing was fine. uni, however, was completely shagged. i replaced it with a new one from repco ($32) using a large hammer. the shuddering is GONE! for the sake of a few hours of work and $32, this is a good fix for this problem if anyone else has it. the shuddering at 80 km/h is still there, but about 1/3 the intensity of before, i think it's the propellor shaft-diff uni. will replace next week hopefully.
be warned: a mechanic quoted me $250 to replace the uni and centre bearing for this job, and it was only $32! pays to do things yourself sometimes!
yeah, but i still hate mechanics.
they will always try and rip ya, unless you know them well, or by some miracle they are "good guys".
my fat truckie story: a fat truckie (read:mechanic) installed my exhuast system and extractors, didn't fit it right so it dinged on the diff when you went over a bump. took it back, he "fixed" it by blowtorching certain sections then hitting them with a hammer instead of taking it off and rebending it correctly. NOT HAPPY. so he calls me up.
"yeah, your front pads need replacing, they're completely worn down"
"that's funny, cause i replaced them 2 weeks ago"
"oh......well......um...... they're bad now, we can do it for you?"
"no, i have like 6 sets here spare, i'll change them if they need it."
so i pick the car up, get it home and check the pads. FINE. HEAPS OF MEAT left on all the pads. he was just trying to get some money out of me cause the exhaust was still under warranty.
so, in conclusion, fat truckie mechanics piss me off.
-end rant.
Some original photos have not been recovered yet.
lol, i take my car to the good mechanics down at EAS, only ppl i trust with my car.
as for the tail shaft problem, i got the same symptoms, checked it out just before and i got heeps of slop in the unis so i might hafta change them next weekend. how hard are they to change? need a press or anything?
lol, ill agree that theres alot of bad mechanics around that try and rip ya.
I got a "reconditioned" gearbox for 800 dollars that was a frikken second hand one that I could have picked up for 400 or so. *******s, never going there again.
Blowtorch and hammer - seems pretty common to me.
Psi Wagon - to take them out and put back in i used a large sledgehammer as a base support on concrete, then a 4 pound hammer to bash the *******s out. you might need to use a correct size socket or two to hit them out, but putting the new ones back in you can use the old bearing caps, they work a treat.
