• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

Is it possible to loosen up driveshaft u-joints?

isaac

The Isaac
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Location
Hurricane River Street, FL
Crazy idea inside!

So the 277,000 mile 89 244DL I just bought with an AW70 in it runs great except the driveshaft clearly is making some noise. It goes away on coast, comes on under acceleration, and stays there as soon as I'm up to freeway speed.

Seems like this could be fixed as quickly as just raising the rear of the car up (it's definitely sagging from the miles) and get the driveshaft more lined up so it wouldn't flex the u-joints on every revolution.

But then there's the other idea: on my 90 BMW 52(3)5 (with M30 swap) it suddenly developed sticky steering very rapidly. It'd get stiff every quarter turn of the wheel, then go loose, then stiff, then loose. Somebody mentioned the steering shaft u-joint could be worn out. Of course this being Bimmerforums they said that it needed to be replaced.

So I came up with a plan that went like this:

1) Get sandwich-sized ziplock bag

2) Cut slits down the two folded edges of the bag, from the mouth working straight down the seam until just a little past halfway

3) Slip the bag over the steering shaft at the u-joint

4) Get a grease gun and go nuts just covering that u-joint in grease

5) Seal the bag, then duct tape it fully sealed at the zipper and on the sides to keep it tightly shut.

6) Ziptie it tight to the shaft to get the grease "pressed" into the u-joints.

I did that and a few days later my steering shaft was as good as new. No more tightness at all. I just left the bag on there and it hasn't leaked.

So the real question here is whether it could be adapted to a u-joint on a driveshaft. Clearly there's a centripetal force issue here, both in that it could sling the bag off, and it would continuously be trying to spin the grease outward award from the bearings in the u-joint. That said, the design of those u-joints is identical to my steering shaft u-joint, so I don't see how it wouldn't work if the grease could be kept in contact with the joint for long enough.

Ideas? (keeping in mind this thread is about being a cheapass so don't say "just go to a JY" or something. That's obvious)
 
Not sure if serious...

If so, why not do it the legit way, pop the caps out, grease, reinstall, profit. Of course if you have noise/vibration, chances are the joints are hosed anyway...
 
Oh for ****'s sake the first post? Really?

Gary I've been on TB for damn near 13 years and +T'd a 245 into the 14s for $200 worth of parts. Of course I'm serious. And I'm talking about hosed joints, not routine maintenance here.

That said, how does one "pop" these so called "caps" without getting the death penalty? That could be the ticket. That sure would piss me off if the only 240 driveshaft I ever changed could be fixed by just grease in a hole.
 
Last edited:
Have you checked the U joints for grease zerks yet? Many have them. That said, if it's making noise it's usually too late for grease to help.
 
Greasing a worn out u joint is not going to make the worn and/or broken needle brgs, and the worn, brinnilled and (possibly) cracked brg race/shell and/or damaged u joint cross fix themselves.

Your idea is a *great way* to end up in the Grave Yard. I hope you have your plot paid for.....

Why?........ Because if the front most DS u joint comes out of trans yoke, it's possible it'll jab into the ground, in a "worst case scenario"

And if steering u joint breaks/pops out of yoke of steering shaft, you will not be able to steer the car, *at all*.

Neither scenario is a good way to maintain control/steering of a motor vehicle

If you're too broke at the moment to fix it correctly, .......park the car until you've saved enough money to fix it properly.

The life you save might be your own...or some other innocent driver/s
 
Honestly, u-joints are easy with a vice, hammer, socket and a pair of needlenose pliers, and new joints are in the $10-20 range each. As mentioned, greasing ones that are worn out will not get rid of the issues, because they are actually worn enough to make noise. It's just a matter of time before one finally says no more though.

The reason I questioned the seriousness is you are basically trying to put grease in against the seals that are trying to keep grease in and dirt out, all the while changing joints is cheap and takes a couple hours time at the most. Knowing you've been on here a year or two longer than myself, I figured you knew the proper way to do it. ;)

Haven't had to do u-joints on my stuff for a couple years, just helped the guy up the street do a set on his rustang a couple weekends back. If you want a few easy tips, shoot me a pm. :)
 
Greasing a worn out u joint is not going to make the worn and/or broken needle brgs, and the worn, brinnilled and (possibly) cracked brg race/shell and/or damaged u joint cross fix themselves.

Your idea is a *great way* to end up in the Grave Yard. I hope you have your plot paid for.....

Why?........ Because if the front most DS u joint comes out of trans yoke, it's possible it'll jab into the ground, in a "worst case scenario"

And if steering u joint breaks/pops out of yoke of steering shaft, you will not be able to steer the car, *at all*.

Neither scenario is a good way to maintain control/steering of a motor vehicle

If you're too broke at the moment to fix it correctly, .......park the car until you've saved enough money to fix it properly.

The life you save might be your own...or some other innocent driver/s

Every one of the things you wrote is a form of trolling. Cut that out. This is a hypothetical thread about a spare car I bought for the hell of it you ****ing psychopath.
 
Just turn the damn radio up :uh:

Oh don't forget the camera so we can make an epic fail youtube vid!

Seriously though, hypothetically speaking its gonna cost you more to do that then to just replace the joint with a JY one... you just trying to hose a buyer or something?
 
Seriously though, hypothetically speaking its gonna cost you more to do that then to just replace the joint with a JY one...

Are you honestly suggesting that a plastic bag, duct tape, zip ties and some grease are more expensive than driveshaft from the junkyard? Because they're not. I go to the JY all the time. Driveshafts aren't $2.

Swear to God first thread I write on here in years asking for creativity and this place turns into Bimmerforums immediately.
 
What you need to do is jack the car up, fill a kiddie pool full of axle grease, then lower the offending driveshaft component into the kiddie pool. Put it in drive and let 'er rip.
 
It won't work because you can't force grease past the joint seals and into the needle bearings.
The steering u-joint is designed differently. I don't have one to look at, but I'd guess its pressed pins into center bushings.
 
Every one of the things you wrote is a form of trolling. Cut that out. This is a hypothetical thread about a spare car I bought for the hell of it you ****ing psychopath.

You are incorrect in saying I'm trolling. I am not.

And I do not appreciate you calling me
you ****ing psychopath.

I take it you have never had , nor seen , a driveshaft come out while a vehicle was being driven or while driving a vehicle?

I have, ..........although it *was not my work that failed*. It was done by someone that was that did not know what they were doing.

BTW, it came out on a roll back truck at @ 45 MPH. You should have seen what that DS did before it stopped. I would not have wanted to have been walking/standing on the side of the road where it came out at either

And FWIW, had anyone been walking by where it came out at, and been hit by it....they'd most likely had been severely injured if not killed.

.............and I've also seen a few u joints and DSs fail at the drag strip that is local to my house.

Ever wondered why Drag Racing Sanctions (NHRA, AHRA etc) require what is referred to as "a driveshaft safety loop"?

Also if you knew anything about how an automotive type u joint is made and assembled, and how it works, (and it appears to me you do not) and about the built in *misalignment* for a driveshaft to span............. you would not have asked this question you've posed.

And you'd also know that it is very possible for the u joint cross to come out of the trans or diff yoke, if & when the needle brgs break, and fall out of the cap, and (then) the cross beats the caps until they too break into pieces, and the cross becomes shorter due to having been blungeoned on the DS's yoke.

Then the cross falls out of the trans/diif yoke, or both and the driveshaft falls out of the vehicle........ all while the driveshaft is spinning very fast, and the vehicle is still moving.

It is possible for the front end of DS to comeout/fall out and (under the right circumstances) jab into the ground, or break into & get shoved into the cabin area.
.
Yep ...I have seen a few of those too

Also....There has to be some degree of misalignment for the u joint to span for the u joints to work properly in a "driveshaft with u joints application".

The advice I gave you is what any competent mechanic would have told you.

If you don't want to know , nor believe the truth.....well.......that is your perogative.


Driveshaft and steering shaft u joints are important & critical parts.

Never jery rig them in any way and replace them with new ones when they have failed.

And an apology from you to me, is in order IMHO......I gave you 100% true and great advice.

Besides it's not my fault you did not have any knowledge about u joints, steering shafts & driveshafts. That's on *you*.
 
Last edited:
As the u joint rotates, the reactive centrifugal force will push grease into the cap. Drill a hole into the cap and itll flush out all the old grease.
 
Are you honestly suggesting that a plastic bag, duct tape, zip ties and some grease are more expensive than driveshaft from the junkyard? Because they're not. I go to the JY all the time. Driveshafts aren't $2.

Swear to God first thread I write on here in years asking for creativity and this place turns into Bimmerforums immediately.

Where are you getting your stuff? decent duct tape around me is more then 2$ alone...
Small JY pick... Free xD

I'm not trying to bash "creativity" but that just doesn't seem safe to me, for you or anyone else on the road. I'm with smokeyfan1000 on that point... I'm no mechanic but I understand physics and that seems like a tiny bandaid on a gaping gash...
 
Here is what I did on my own car.

Harley Davidson inner tube. Cut out a 12 inch section. undo the driveshaft and slide the tube over.

Get a grease gun and some stainless zipties.

Tie one end of the tube as tight as you can make it, then go a few clicks tighter. We are talking Madonna's Like a Virgin here.

Take the grease gun, fashion a needle of some sort, and fill the tube with grease.

Now take the other stainless ziptie, and secure the other end, but leave it loose enough to get the needle under it. Now pump more grease into it and watch the tube expand.

Remove the needle and tighten the other end.
Fin.
 
ttttttttttttt be smart.......just replace the u joints. Before we have a "Isaac RIP thread"... in off topic section.......
 
Last edited:
I think the inner tube idea, or a version of it, is the most likely work. I would layer duct tape over the inner tube(s), but you'll likely wind up having to redo it several times given the conditions under the car and the driveshaft rotation. You'll probably need a few tries to get the right combination of grease, tubes, tape, and clamps.

A+ for creativity, but also for insanity. I'd worry about a grisly, catastrophic failure; you've got churchbells.
 
Cheap? $11.99 at auto zone for brand new ujoint. As cheap as what you suggest? No. How even when a ujoint makes clunk noises, the needle bearings are junk and the center of the joint is worn. That's when they can come apart.
Orlando has em in stock. I checked for you.
1709 S orange blossom trail.
 
Oh fer fawkssake Eyesack, there's a time and a place to be cheap ass, so here's new u+joints for under $4
1989 VOLVO 244 2.3L L4 : Drivetrain : Universal Joint Price
BECK/ARNLEY Part # 1020031
Joint REPLACEMENT TYPE - w/o LUBE FITTING [Wholesaler Closeout -- 30 Day Warranty]

Part Image
$3.36
BECK/ARNLEY Part # 1020106

Joint O.E. TYPE - w/LUBE FITTING [Wholesaler Closeout -- 30 Day Warranty] (Only 3 Remaining)

Under $6

Part Image
$5.82
FEDERATED Part # 344

at Center Bearing; Premium (Only 16 Remaining)

$8.87
ACDELCO Part # 45U0168 {#89029350}
JOINT KIT,Propeller Shaft FRT UNIVERSAL PREMIUM; DIAGRAM B, POSITION 1
JOINT KIT,Propeller Shaft RR UNIVERSAL PREMIUM; DIAGRAM B, POSITION 3
JOINT KIT,Propeller Shaft UNIVERSAL PREMIUM; DIAGRAM B, POSITION 2

Part Image
$15.22
MOOG/PRECISION Part # 344 Premium One of our most popular parts
At Transmission
At Rear Axle
At Center Bearing

Part Image
* Stocked in outlying warehouse--shipping delayed up to 1 business day
$15.77

ROCKAUTO, where else?

It is the stingy man who pays the most.
 
Back
Top