rear u-joint cap POPPED OFF YESTERDAY doing 80+!!!

[jenkins71]

Hey Dudes!!!!

So yesterday I doing about 70 in 4th gear in my 4 speed 71 Dodge Charger on a busy highway in Atlanta, GA. I go to accelerate just for ha-ha's, and BANG!!!!! Something crazy happens, the car pops out of gear and the whole rig starts shaking WILDLY and I'm thinking to myself, "did my tranny just blow up?"

So I pull over to the left, as I'm in the left lane and the car is shaking like a mofo. I get my wits about my and look at the car. Nothing noticeable from the outside. But I need more space so I can get under the car, so I cross the highway across the busy ATL traffic and limp in the far-right breakdown lane, doing about 10 mph till the next exit.

Luckily there is a pep boys right off that exit, so I pull in there and wriggle underneath the Charger. Sure 'nuff, one of the cap/bearing assemblies popped off on the pinion yoke-end. The u-join looks okay, and I had a few tools, so I ran inside the Pep Boys and bought a new u-joint, and just took a cap off the new one and put it on where the old one had popped off. Luckily the ujoint didn't appear damaged.

This is a relatively new u-joint. I wonder why it happened. I will say, I can get the c-clips on the caps that go in the drive-shaft end, but there isn't enough room on the pinion-yoke end. The groove where the c-clip would go gets covered by the "strap" the bolts the caps to the pinion yoke. So i just tighten the strap screws down real tight. Is that normal?

Thanks.

 

[flypaper]

How many doughnuts did you do
In the past week? Lol

 

[cdr]

it has to have the clip, you might have the wrong straps.

 

[bm02tj]

Or you have a needle laying down so the cap will not go on all the way

 

[69Bee]

Hey Dudes!!!!

So yesterday I doing about 70 in 4th gear in my 4 speed 71 Dodge Charger on a busy highway in Atlanta, GA. I go to accelerate just for ha-ha's, and BANG!!!!! Something crazy happens, the car pops out of gear and the whole rig starts shaking WILDLY and I'm thinking to myself, "did my tranny just blow up?"

So I pull over to the left, as I'm in the left lane and the car is shaking like a mofo. I get my wits about my and look at the car. Nothing noticeable from the outside. But I need more space so I can get under the car, so I cross the highway across the busy ATL traffic and limp in the far-right breakdown lane, doing about 10 mph till the next exit.

Luckily there is a pep boys right off that exit, so I pull in there and wriggle underneath the Charger. Sure 'nuff, one of the cap/bearing assemblies popped off on the pinion yoke-end. The u-join looks okay, and I had a few tools, so I ran inside the Pep Boys and bought a new u-joint, and just took a cap off the new one and put it on where the old one had popped off. Luckily the ujoint didn't appear damaged.

This is a relatively new u-joint. I wonder why it happened. I will say, I can get the c-clips on the caps that go in the drive-shaft end, but there isn't enough room on the pinion-yoke end. The groove where the c-clip would go gets covered by the "strap" the bolts the caps to the pinion yoke. So i just tighten the strap screws down real tight. Is that normal?

Thanks.

The pinion yoke has a small tab on each side to prevent the caps from moving out. No clips go in the pinion yoke side, only the driveshaft side.

 

[silversedan]

the yoke in the picture is a dana style yoke with u-bolt straps the standard yoke on 8 3/4 does not have the little tabs and requires the clips on the cap to keep it from walking out.

 

[69Bee]

the yoke in the picture is a dana style yoke with u-bolt straps the standard yoke on 8 3/4 does not have the little tabs and requires the clips on the cap to keep it from walking out.

He said that the straps cover the grooves where the clips would go, but the grooves are not for the clips. He also never mentioned which axle he has, so we can really only guess which he might have. I have had axles that used the clips, but they rested against the strap mounts, and are not covered up by the straps.



As I said, he the grooves were covered, and as you can see in the picture, there are no grooves. On way or another, either the tab type pinion is missing tabs, or the clip type pinion is damaged to where the clips won't fit in between the strap ears, and a file can fix that. A roller can fall over and prevent the cup from fully seating, but that usually happens when the cap is knocked in and a roller falls into the bottom. It is not usual for a roller to become misplaced on the pinion caps because they just rest against the pinion yoke. The last thing I will mention is that someone could have replaced the original yoke, and could be of a different style.

 

[jimt1971rr]

the yoke in the picture is a dana style yoke with u-bolt straps the standard yoke on 8 3/4 does not have the little tabs and requires the clips on the cap to keep it from walking out.

I disagree. I have a 71 rr with an 8 3/4 rear and it has the tabs like in the picture. To my knowledge, it is original.

 

[Badvert65]

I have seen them with and without the little tabs on the yoke. I always put the clips on the caps, even if the tabs are there. I also like to use new straps as they can stretch after a while.

 

[cdr]

if his had the tabs on the yoke it would NOT have fallen out ...........

 

[jenkins71]

No tabs on the yoke! 8.75 rear end, 741 case. Thanks guys, I'll try to see if maybe i can get those clips on there properly.

 

[dvw]

You got lucky. I lost a front one on my 340 Challenger 4 speed at about 100 mph on a 3/4 power shift. Broke the bell housing in half. My buddy's 66 Cornet lost a front one on the X-way. Bent the 727 output shaft at a 30 degree angle, drive shaft came through the floor, broke the console. Amazingly the only trans parts that broke were the output shaft and a broken tail housing. I bent the floor back into position, welded it up, glued the console back together, new drive shaft.
Doug