rear u-joint

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Dave NEO

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I just noticed has an empty hole where it looks like a grease fitting might go (inside the body vs. in an end). Maybe a dumb question but is there any way this should be an empty hole? got some vibration in what seems to be clutch T.O. but am looking around for other causes..thnx '68 383 Barracuda 4spd.
 
Sounds like the zerk popped out or someone did not think to install it.

If if has a bunch of miles on it a fair amount of grease may me gone by now.
 
great. I will at least try to put one in and grease it..hopefully not too much junk inside there..
 
they usually come loose in the box, maybe missed it when it was installed.
 
With the vibration in mind.......

Get it up in the air & safely supported first, before greasing.

With the transmission in neutral & one hand on the driveline & the other on the yoke holding it tight, twist the driveline back & forth & look for any play.

Front joint too.
 
put one in and grease it. No excessive play in either front or rear joints. It seems to chatter a littlel less but still there. Will try to remove inspection plate ans look for anything obvious..thanks for your suggestions/comments.
 
If there is any play at all you should replace them.
 
If there is any play at all you should replace them.
just to be clear - no play in joints at all - I could move yoke a bit in/out of differential. ok, also, I removed inspection cover on clutch - I could wiggle the TO bearing a bit - how much should this move? Did not note any grease/oil on anything I could see into. Saw a few tiny shiny/metallic specs inside the housing - clutch material or maybe from the bearing?
 
If you are experiencing a vibration, and you found the u-joint grease fitting is missing, it would be best to remove the driveshaft and check both u-joints for binding during movement before installing a new grease fitting. I have seen plenty of them show no signs of in/out, up/dn play, yet binding during operation. A not so time consuming operation for piece of mind chasing the vibration down, and ruling the u-joints as a cause
 
I hear you, thanks - no, it's not that kind of vibration - more of a clutch related noise I can get w/o driveshaft spinning. thanks for input/ideas.. I need to find out how TO bearing should move/feel on shaft. Next will be sourcing a step by step TO bearing replacement vid or write-up to see if this is something I might tackle myself.
 
just to be clear - no play in joints at all - I could move yoke a bit in/out of differential. ok, also, I removed inspection cover on clutch - I could wiggle the TO bearing a bit - how much should this move? Did not note any grease/oil on anything I could see into. Saw a few tiny shiny/metallic specs inside the housing - clutch material or maybe from the bearing?

The yoke should not move in and out of the differential, which differential do you have ?
 
Transmission: rebuilt 18 spline Hemi A833 4 speed.

Sure Grip 489 8 ¾ housing, 3.23 gears.
 
seems to be clutch T.O. but am looking around for other causes

……. - more of a clutch related noise I can get w/o driveshaft spinning.......
So this is noise/vibration only while depressing the clutch pedal and engaging the plate fingers?


...….just to be clear - no play in joints at all -...….
IMO, Wear may be a little tough to see without actually opening it up. You could pull the four bolts, visual inspect the two that are open and "feel" the swivel of the two still in the driveshaft.

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I will double check that yoke movement..otherwise others seem to say TO bearing - how much should TO move on the shaft? Seemed to wiggle a bit when I grabbed it when I had the insp. cover off.
 

How much does your crankshaft move forward and back?
Everything I'm reading here suggests TO bearing or crank thrust bearing.

TO bearings that are not hydraulic can move forward and back up to 1/4 or so.
There should be pretty much zero side to side or twist.
 
ok thnks - yes besides sliding a bit front to back it also moves as though it is not tight on the shaft..so whatever that is saying.
 
With a 489 housing, if the yoke moves forward and back, the pinion nut is loose, pinion bearings are bad, or a problem with the collapsible spacer. If you have noise with the clutch pedal depressed, that is probably the throw out bearing. Bearing retainer on the front of the transmission could be worn or broken
 
I added some clamps to rear leaf springs- besides stiffening spring action I think it raised ride height in rear slightly - any way this could cause an issue with noise in driveline/clutch action? just thinking out loud here for anything that changed before I started hearing clutch noise..
 
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If the vibe seems better after u greased the rear joint wouldn’t u think that u maybe have a problem there? Just saying. Kim
 
I have found spring clamps on the front segment of the leaf spring bind up on the frame. Easy enough to unbolt them and try it
 
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