EFA Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 The grease nipple fell out of my front propshaft U/J sometime during the Le Mans trip. (yes I did make it home!) and I now have a knackered joint on the prop. Its the front one just behind the gearbox tail. Anybody ever managed to change one of these without removing the diff (its a di-dion car....)?? Advice welcome..... Arnie Webb The Fat Bloke blush.gif who's running inwink.gifPlease pass! See a car that can't possibly eat an R500 here See the Le Mans Trip Website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Martyr Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Which is easier, the diff back or the engine out? I assume the lack of grease nipple allowed the grease to spin out of the cruxiform and caused the bearings to run dry? You have given me a jolt because I had totally forgotten about my Hook's Joints for the last 15000 miles. I can't find reference to what grease to use or when to recharge - I know you can blow out seals if you are too enthusiastic in some designs - Any advice out there (K series specific) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFA Posted June 23, 2001 Author Share Posted June 23, 2001 Tony Diff out is much much much easier! The grease did centrifuge out and the bearing ran dry. Limited speed on the second leg of the retrun journey to 70mph. Prior to that we'd been hitting a rather vibrational 140! Arnie Webb The Fat Bloke blush.gif who's running inwink.gifPlease pass! See Fat Arnies U/J eater here See the Le Mans Trip Website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Martyr Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 Arnie Your UJ must have been the only thing that ran dry at this Le Mans? Just waiting for the shade to come round so I can lay down on a coller drive-way to re-charge my shaft joints. Thanks for the reminder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Martyr Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 Arnie Your UJ must have been the only thing that ran dry at this Le Mans? Just waiting for the shade to come round so I can lay down on a cooler drive-way to re-charge my shaft joints. Thanks for the reminder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 All the grease is needed down at the bearing ends of the X. The grease nipple is fitted to the centre. It'd be a very odd sort of centrifugal force that dragged grease back from the bearings to the centre and out of the 'ole. I snapped a grease nipple a couple of years ago and ran for a good 18 months without one without any problem. The only concern was that I couldn't regrease them without it. The nipple probably came out ages ago but the "stresses" of Le Mans finally took the toll on the UJ. Are the bearings circlipped in place or are they punched in place. If circlipped then repalcement is quite easy, once the props out of course! Undo rear brake calipers, undo ears, pull out drive shafts, drop diff?? Or do you have to take the de dion out to get the diff out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFA Posted June 25, 2001 Author Share Posted June 25, 2001 Graham, You are right, the grease should have run to the bearings not the centre. Maybe it trickled out when stationary or something..... 3 of the bearings were OK the other was of half eliptical section (instead of cylindrical!) Think failure could also be down to rather unforgiving clutch action. My driving at Le Mans was rather tame this year as the engine is barely run in. Rather is a relative term however. To get the prop out I had to remove the drivesatfts and A frame. Then the diff can be persuaded to come out if you twist it on its side. Great for oiling your hair! Going back together this week. Arnie Webb The Car in Front is Full of Lard....wink.gif See Fat Arnies LardMobile here See the Le Mans Trip Website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 Arnie. Are you running a 'book' on what bit/bits get overstressed next? (I'm excluding your good lady from this as that would be a real racing certainty!!!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFA Posted June 25, 2001 Author Share Posted June 25, 2001 Chris, She's permanently overstressed...... I'll run a book on the next part to suffer sudden mechanical failure: Engine 1:1 Gearbox 1:1 Diff 1:1 Anything else 1:1 Any takers??? Arnie Webb The Car in Front is Full of Lard....wink.gif See Fat Arnies LardMobile here See the Le Mans Trip Website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted June 26, 2001 Share Posted June 26, 2001 I would have said that evens was a really good bet...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFA Posted June 26, 2001 Author Share Posted June 26, 2001 Minimisation of liabilities..... Arnie Webb The Car in Front is Full of Lard....wink.gif See Fat Arnies LardMobile here See the Le Mans Trip Website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted June 26, 2001 Share Posted June 26, 2001 smile.gifwink.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted June 26, 2001 Share Posted June 26, 2001 Arnie, Are you going to weld the new nipple on to prevent reoccurance? John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy oliver Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 How often do the propshaft UJs need greasing then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFA Posted June 29, 2001 Author Share Posted June 29, 2001 New U/J has no nipples blush.gif and is lubricated for life. (Like Commagirl???) For those with nipples, I would say every 10K or so, a bit more frequently if you are a track person. Arnie Webb The Car in Front is Full of Lard....wink.gif See Fat Arnies LardMobile here See the Le Mans Trip Website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Martyr Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 Welding grease nipples !!! Just a word of warning. The Uj sections have complicated stress patterns that do not need changing and modification. I know of one case where the grease hole was drilled out causing a stress raiser and leading to a fracture failure at 120 mph on a french autoroute. The front of the shaft dropped down onto the road and the whole shaft came up through the transmission tunnel taking a small grove out of the passengers elbow and disappearing aft. Don't mess with hooks joints - they spin unseen very close to your vital bits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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