Hi All,
You may recall my displeasure in premature u-joint degradation. Well, yesterday I started replacement of the four rear u-joints. Only the inner joints showed signs of wear, to the point of the cups were missing pieces. The outer u-joints were in good shape, but I replaced them anyway.
The sealant applied to the inner shaft bearing and seal retainer flange presented much difficulty in removing the retainer. Like Border Collie stated previously, use a sharp putty knife or in my case, a gasket scraper and hammer.
Although I've replaced several u-joints in the past, this was my first using a hydraulic press. The press is an improvement over using a vise, but found that the vise was mush better for starting the new cups into the yoke. It was just better for correcting a cocked cup versus the press.
I found removal of the leaf springs to be beneficial when installing the cumbersome bumper/u-joint arrangement. I will remove the springs prior to removing the bumper on my next go-round.
I found that the boot clamps can be reused by carefully tensioning the clamps to remove some of the bend in the loop from the original installation. I also found that a bow string nock pliers was somewhat good for compression the loop on the clamp. It's nose fit perfect; however, the short handles requires a good grip.
Another learning was during the installation of the u-bolts that connect the leaf springs to the shock mount to the bumper. Install the rear u-bolt first, but first make sure that the bumper is close to level. The back u-bolt installation is hindered by the shaft boot. Installing the back u-bolt allows you to move the bump towards the rear giving needed room to install the u-bolt.
I'm getting slower with age, yet very thorough. Approximately 2 days for this old guy with computer hands. Boy, they sure do hurt right now.
My big mistake was trusting the local Kubota junior parts guy to get me the appropriate amount of transmission and engine oil. He sold me the wrong amount for each. Another trip to the Kubota dealer tomorrow to get more trans oil. That infuriates me making the 60 mile round trip.
God Bless,
Philip
You may recall my displeasure in premature u-joint degradation. Well, yesterday I started replacement of the four rear u-joints. Only the inner joints showed signs of wear, to the point of the cups were missing pieces. The outer u-joints were in good shape, but I replaced them anyway.
The sealant applied to the inner shaft bearing and seal retainer flange presented much difficulty in removing the retainer. Like Border Collie stated previously, use a sharp putty knife or in my case, a gasket scraper and hammer.
Although I've replaced several u-joints in the past, this was my first using a hydraulic press. The press is an improvement over using a vise, but found that the vise was mush better for starting the new cups into the yoke. It was just better for correcting a cocked cup versus the press.
I found removal of the leaf springs to be beneficial when installing the cumbersome bumper/u-joint arrangement. I will remove the springs prior to removing the bumper on my next go-round.
I found that the boot clamps can be reused by carefully tensioning the clamps to remove some of the bend in the loop from the original installation. I also found that a bow string nock pliers was somewhat good for compression the loop on the clamp. It's nose fit perfect; however, the short handles requires a good grip.
Another learning was during the installation of the u-bolts that connect the leaf springs to the shock mount to the bumper. Install the rear u-bolt first, but first make sure that the bumper is close to level. The back u-bolt installation is hindered by the shaft boot. Installing the back u-bolt allows you to move the bump towards the rear giving needed room to install the u-bolt.
I'm getting slower with age, yet very thorough. Approximately 2 days for this old guy with computer hands. Boy, they sure do hurt right now.
My big mistake was trusting the local Kubota junior parts guy to get me the appropriate amount of transmission and engine oil. He sold me the wrong amount for each. Another trip to the Kubota dealer tomorrow to get more trans oil. That infuriates me making the 60 mile round trip.
God Bless,
Philip
