Pumpkin swap - Update: Clips are on, new problems

[charger Downunder]

I Hope this helps i took the caps of my NOS u joint pn 4057025 and it measures 87.6mm across the joint.

Thanks!  I'll measure mine as it is now and see what I got.  I'll also measure the ones in the store to see if there's any variance.

Remember mine is a standard uni joint not the conversion one that you have. I have never seen a conversion one is it possible that the cross section on the shaft is two different lengths and the end caps which are different in size have been put back on the wrong shafts. say after packing them with grease.

[Dino]

I Hope this helps i took the caps of my NOS u joint pn 4057025 and it measures 87.6mm across the joint.

Thanks!  I'll measure mine as it is now and see what I got.  I'll also measure the ones in the store to see if there's any variance.

Remember mine is a standard uni joint not the conversion one that you have. I have never seen a conversion one is it possible that the cross section on the shaft is two different lengths and the end caps which are different in size have been put back on the wrong shafts. say after packing them with grease.

The only difference in the conversion joint is that the rear end part is shorter than the driveshaft part.  Cps and all are the same and interchange with the regular joint, or at least the one I took off my car.  All caps and clips are identical.  I actually tried using the old caps but there was no difference at all.

Tonight I'll try to set the axle end play and see what that does.  The adjuster nut is way tight though, am I supposed to whack it untill it's loose or should I first unbolt the flange?  This is a bit unclear to me.

I thought you have to seat both axles with a hammer, tighten down the flanges on each side (5 nuts total), and then adjust end play (which I didn't do) and finally put the little clip back in place.  Is this wrong? 

[charger Downunder]

Now i am confused
Cps and all are the same and interchange with the regular joint, or at least the one I took off my car.  All caps and clips are identical.  I actually tried using the old caps but there was no difference at all.

On a conversion u joint  7260 to 7290 the caps should be  1 5/64 and 1 1/8.
Have a look at this one is this what you have. It has the measurements in the add.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MOPAR-7260-X-7290-CONVERSION-UNIVERSAL-JOINT-U-JOINT-/360393352949?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53e91e26f5

[Dino]

Now i am confused
Cps and all are the same and interchange with the regular joint, or at least the one I took off my car.  All caps and clips are identical.  I actually tried using the old caps but there was no difference at all.

On a conversion u joint  7260 to 7290 the caps should be  1 5/64 and 1 1/8.
Have a look at this one is this what you have. It has the measurements in the add.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MOPAR-7260-X-7290-CONVERSION-UNIVERSAL-JOINT-U-JOINT-/360393352949?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53e91e26f5

Never knew they were different!  Albeit slightly.  I didn't change the caps on the conversion joint thouugh.  All I tried was use the caps that were in the old u join, rearend side on the new u joint, rearend side.  The caps do fit perfectly in the yoke and so do the caps in the dirveshaft so they must ne in the right place.

I don't know what brand that one is, I have precision #347.  If the one I have turns out to be busted I'm getting the neapco part, I hear it's better quality.

[Dino]

What am I doing wrong?  Turned the adjuster nut counterclockwise a few notches and when I turn the wheel the driveshaft no longer turns, no matter what gear it is in.  Also there's a squeeck coming from the transmission when the driveshaft does turn.  When I have the adjuster nut turned clockwise so the driveshaft turns again, I feel no play in the axles at all.

I'm trying to get this thing back on the road but I am stumped.  Please help!

EDIT:

Since I had no clue what was going wrong I thought I'd take a few steps back and unbolted the axles completely and pulled them out a bit.  As far as I could tell the bearings looked fine, I did clean them up and packed them with fresh grease again to be sure.  I pushed the driver's side axle back in and bolted it down, plenty play on this end, gave it a good whack with a mallet.  Went to the passenger side, tightened the flange down, thgihtened the adjuster nut and backed it off two notches, tightened the flange and put the locking clip in place.  Gave it a whack with the mallet and turned the wheel (hub) several times, can't feel any endplay on either end now.  When I loosen the nut two more notches I can spin the wheels and the driveshaft won't turn so I left it alone.  The adjuster nut is a bit looser than it was before though as I can tap it loose or thight with some well placed hits whereas before I had to loosen the 5 flasnge bolts to get any movement in the adjuster nut.

Oh and the squeek in the trans apparently went away.....weird....

Took it out for a short and slow spin around the sub and all the noises were gone.  Then again, I didn't get the noises last weekend until I had driven it for a while so maybe it'll come back in which case I really don't know how to proceed.

I'm taking it to work tomorrow, It's two turns and a straight road for 10-15 minutes and after lunch I'm going to the main office another 5 minutes from there.  If something happens at least I won't be far from home.

I would take it to a mechanic, but I don't know any around here and I don't know what this would cost me now they're charging close to $100 an hour.

I can honestly say I'm reluctant to fix the leaky header and install the valley pan!      

[Dino]

Ok....I thought all was well....

It's a gorgeous day in SE Michigan so we took the charger out for a nice cruise.  We took all the quiet roads in the country, enjoying the views.  After about an hour and a half of driving I noticed it made some slight rubbing noises when I came to a stop, we went a bit further and I pulled into a parking lot so I could drive slow and listen.  When I take a turn you can here the axles squeek, plenty loud to hear over the leaking header.  When I go straight I can hear some rubbing or grinding, and that's usually when I am close to stopping.  At times I can just cruise and go straight and not hear a thing, then I turn and all that squeek is there.  This is all at very slow speeds, once you're up to speed all you can hear is the engine and exhaust.  5 minutes later there's no squeek when I turn, but there will be more rubbing going straight.  Then the squeek is there when I turn left, a bit later only when I turn right

What the heck is going on with this thing???

Why does it start doing this after such a long drive?  Is my endplay still too tight?  Does everything get hot, expand and start rubbing?  I packed the bearings with the yellow wheel bearing grease, is it not good enough?

I found a mechanic that can look at it on Monday but I really really hope this is something I can fix myself as I don't want to spend a few hundred bucks on this.

[Chryco Psycho]

possibly , as it heats up the end play will go away
did you ever end up with end play ? you should fell it bump in & out slightly , the spec is about .008-.010

[Dino]

possibly , as it heats up the end play will go away
did you ever end up with end play ? you should fell it bump in & out slightly , the spec is about .008-.010

I didn't feel it bump.  The weird thing is that if I unscrew the adjuster nut a bit more and I turn the wheel, the driveshaft no longer turns.  How is that possible?

When I adjust the nut it is easiest to dwhen the 5 flange nuts are loose.  Should I do it that way?  Turn the adjuster counter clockwise, rethighten all 5 nuts and check for end play?  rinse and repeat untill it is right or should I leave all 5 nuts thight and turn the adjuster nut ccw untill the axle has the required amount of endplay?  I really have to bang on the adjuster nut really hard to get it to move with all 5 nuts tight though.

[Chryco Psycho]

loosen the 5 nuts & back the adjuster out a few turns , re-tighten the 5 nuts & the adjuster will turn inward very easily without loosening the 5 nuts remove virtually all the end play , seat the axle with a hammer & you should just be able to feel a bump
The other wheel is probably turning backwards with the adjuster loosened so the driveshaft quits turning

[Dino]

loosen the 5 nuts & back the adjuster out a few turns , re-tighten the 5 nuts & the adjuster will turn inward very easily without loosening the 5 nuts remove virtually all the end play , seat the axle with a hammer & you should just be able to feel a bump
The other wheel is probably turning backwards with the adjuster loosened so the driveshaft quits turning

Man I owe you and the members on this board for helping me through this, it's just mystifying sometimes.  Now I don't have to worry when the driveshaft quits turning I think I can finally fix this.  I am prepared to adjust and readjust several times until I have it just right but it helps do know the thing's you're doing actually make sense. 

Do I need to remove or lift the driver's side tire of off the ground when I do this or do I need to loosen the 5 nuts on that side as well or leave it as is and just work on the passenger side wheel?

[Dino]

I put the car on stands again and removed the wheels and did exactly as you described.  I now have a slight amount of endplay, just enough so I can feel it.  I only had time for a 30 minute drive after so tomrrow I'll go for a long drive and hope the noise stays away.  If it does not then I'll give it a bit more play.  Thanks again Chryco for all the help.

[Chryco Psycho]

Anytime , Glad to help

[Dino]

I took the same trip this morning as I took yesterday, and then some.  Not a squeek, not a peep, axle is quiet as it should be.  I can hear a faint whine at certain low speeds and I mean really faint.  I was listening for noises, I probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise.  This is with the windows down and cruising at low rpm so the engine runs very smooth.  As soon as I make the ngine drop or raise a few hundred rpm the sound is gone. 

I drove for about 3 hours straight today under a clear blue sky with fall colored trees all around me, it was awesome!!  I then took it our a few times again just for the heck of it, dang I love this car!

I was also able to fix the radio so it doesn't blow the fuse anymore when you turn it on, sadly there's not a whole lot of am receptiion around here and the pumping 2 watt radio doesn't really rattle the windows!   

I need to add an amp to that thing and an aux port.

[nvrbdn]

sounds great. glad to hear the day went so well.

[Chryco Psycho]