MarcDeSoto

Well, the u-joint is turning great right now. But I still have a problem with the transmission not shifting into gear with the engine running. So I have to hold the shift lever on to get the driveshaft to spin.

Yes, NOS u-joints. And they are not making them anymore, which could be a problem for current and future restorers. I found out in the shop manual that the torque spec for the driveshaft nuts and bolts is 17 - 21 foot pounds. Well, I'll see tomorrow if that driveshaft wobble is gone.

Yes, I seated both snap rings. There is no grease nipple, but they are not greased for life. I think the shop manual said to grease the joints every two years. I am not sanding worn crosses, but the yoke. If they are crenulated, they are trash. I think I'm good on the u-joints now. I will install the driveshaft tomorrow and hope the wobble is gone. I wonder what the torque specification is for the bolts?

I finally put my front u-joint together. It wasn't easy and I got an education on u-joint caps and block and needles. Here are some of the lessons. 1. just because two crosses look the same doesn't mean that you can swap caps and blocks on them. 2. The caps and blocks are machined for the cross that it came with. So I put together a cross by putting caps and blocks on by feel. If there was any slop it wasn't the right cap. Also you can't swap needles easily because some needles are thicker than others. 3. I finally put together an NOS cross with the right caps and blocks, but could not get the second snap ring on. 4. I learned that after you put the first snap ring on, you have to press the other cap in a little deeper to get the other snap ring on. Can't wait to get the driveshaft intalled and the engine running to see if I correct the driveshaft wobble!

After examining the needle bearings in my U-Joint caps, I realized that I had to remove all of the needle bearings to clean all of the old brown grease out of there. So that's what I did today. Hoping to get it all put together again tomorrow. I have a free U-Joint installer tool from O'Reilly's, so I'm hoping it will go a little smoother this time.

I checked my P-15 and D-24 Parts Lists. The part numbers for the rear window are different, but I believe that the rear window glass would be the same for Dodge, DeSoto, and Chrysler for the 46-48 models. Also, the rear window is the same for the 4 door and 2 door sedan models, and also the town sedans.

I put 10W non detergent oil in my semi-automatic M-5 transmission. Maybe AW 32 is good too, but I'm not sure.

After examining the needle bearings in the caps, I don't think the brown color is rust mixed with grease. I just think it's old brown grease. These U-joints came in a box wrapped in paper. I do think I should clean this old grease out. What would be the best way to do that. I'm thinking put some Marine Clean to clean the grease out of there. I also rented a free ball joint, u-joint tool from O'Reillys. I hope it works better that the hammer and socket method. I hi temp wheel bearing grease good for U-Joints?

I couldn't find any.

I had to use heat to get the u-joint out. I watch videos where they just take two swings of the hammer to remove the joint. Wish it was like that in real life. I forgot about this, but when you press the first side out, you get a channel lock pliers and twist the cap off. Then you hammer the other side out and do the same. Easier said than done! I'm going to sand the journals smooth before I reinstall the u-joint and I'm going to not take out the rear u-joint. Had enough of that.

To replace the rear glass, I think you have to find a parts car with your glass. Nobody that I know of makes curved glass for our old cars.

I stuffed the fill hole with a small towel, so my socket couldn't fall down.

I'm having a major problem taking out the front u-joint. I hammered one side through, but you can't take the u-joint out that way. If I remember, you have to then hammer the u-joint back in, and out the other way to remove it. You see, the circle inside prevents you from hammering or pressing it all the way out. I tried to hammer and press it back in and press the other side out, but half way and it won't budge, not even when I heat the yoke up with a torch! What to do? I'm starting to get afraid of damaging the yoke!

I removed the front drive shaft spline and relubed it. I marked the tiny arrows with some white ink. If you didn't know they were there, you could easily ignore them. I found that when I tried to put the spline back in, it would not go back in until the arrows were perfectly lined up! Now, I'm going to hammer out the u-joints, clean them and relube them.

How would I bolt the flange in place without the u-joint? There's no way to connect the driveshaft to the flange without the joint and bearing block clamps. Yes, it's not perfectly centered. I plan to fix that and remove the bearing and clean and regrease them. The manual says there are two alignment arrows that you are supposed to put in line on the shaft and the front u-joint. I hope I can see those arrows.

If you pour the fluid into the fill hole without lining up the FD plug, the fluid will spill out of the bottom. You have to unscrew the plug and fill through the hole. You fill with fluid until it starts to flow out. Then screw the plug back on. Turn your engine over by the fan blade until you see the plug. Removing the spark plugs will make that easier.

These pics were taken with the driveshaft off of the car. The yokes are fixed so I can't get out of phase that way. The driveshaft is original and has never been cut, shortened, lengthened, or modified in any way.

I will take some pics as you describe tomorrow. Not sure what you mean when you ask did I phase the u-joints. Does that mean the u-joints need to mirror each other from front to rear of the driveshaft? I tried to adjust the idle speed down to about 450 rpm but the screw is completely off of the fast idle cam. It must have something to do with the fact that my throttle rod is not connected to anything. It is just laying on top of the head. Maybe I can adjust it by pulling it back to slow idle speed.

I removed the driveshaft, but could not see anything wrong with the U-joint install. I ran the engine and the output shaft looks OK to me. What do you guys think?

Oh, I think you're right. the wheel on the floor would turn, not the right hub. Someone just told me the opposite!

Now that I have almost an hour of running time on this flathead, the smoke has died down considerably. That's some good news! Now I have to work on the driveshaft wobble and the transmission linkage shifting problem. Also I need to reattach the bell housing brackets.

I didn't take the drive shaft apart to lube it. I will do that. I will check the things you mention, Thanks! I watched a drive shaft mechanic on Youtube say that the driveshaft needs to be at the correct angle to work right. So I'm thinking of removing the right rear wheel and lowering the car so that the left rear wheel is on the floor. Then seeing if that corrects the wobble.

The NOS u-joints were installed a few months ago with fresh grease. I never thought of your other idea about the wheels being jacked up. Also I need to put the bell housing brackets back on. The other problem with the gear shifter is that I can shift the gears fine with the engine stopped. But when the engine is running the shifter is still doesn't want to go into gear, and sometime gears clash if I try to force it! I wonder if I have a problem with my clutch not releasing? I think I can check that by starting the car in gear, and then pushing the clutch in to see in the driveshaft stops.

I tested my theory by pouring some gas in the carburetor. It started right up and I ran the engine for about half an hour. I'm having some problems with the transmission that won't shift into gear, and the driveshaft that has a wobble. You can see the problem about 2.5 minutes into the video.

I think an easy check to make is to pour a little gas down the carburetor and see if it starts. If it does, then maybe the ignition system is OK. Then it might be a fuel delivery problem. I will check my fuel pump again with vacuum gauge. I've also ordered new coil, points, and condenser. I also want to buy a multimeter that has alligator clips instead of just points, if they make such a thing.