Next weekend I am making the trek to get "Sabrina" and plan on using the dolly to get her back. I have never dropped a driveshaft and need some info on this. She is a 77 and has a 2.3 with an automatic transmission. This is going to be a fast,long and tiring trip so I need to get this done quick so I can get back on the road. I do plan on taking my floor jack with me. If I can come up with a way to get the car on the dolly and drop the shaft in less than an hour I will be stoked. Any help here will be GREATLY appreciated. I am soooooo anxious to finally get her!!!!!
Dropping the shaft is quick and easy. It should take about 5 or 10 minutes, max.
1) Lift the rear end with secure jacks, stands, or ramps. Chock tires; be safe; you know the drill.
2) If the rear wheels are off the ground/ramps, set the parking brake (if the parking brake is toast, don't worry too much about it).
3) Undo the nuts that hold the small U-bolts around the spider (looks like a "+") at the back of the drive shaft right before it goes into the rear end.
4) Put any loose parts/nuts/bolts/etc. in a ziplock baggie. I also suggest covering the opening in the rear end with a baggie and using black electrical tape to hold it securely in place.
5) Push the driveshaft forward to clear it from the pinion (the thing holding the spider that the U-bolts were bolted to). Then pull it back and out of the back of the transmission housing.
6) Use another ziplock baggie held in place with electrical tape over the opening at the back of the transmission. Since oil may run out of the gearbox at this point, be sure to have a receptical to catch any spills.
Poison, I dont follow what you mean in #4. There will not be any opening in the rear end.
Losin sux, I would also suggest that when you pull the driveshaft from the pinion yoke (at the rear axle), be careful to not let the U-joint caps fall off the U-joint. There are four of these caps on the U-joint. Once you get the joint loose from the pinion yoke. wrap some tape around the U-joint in such a way to hold the caps from falling off. There is a bunch of needle bearings in each cap, and you don't want them falling in the dirt!
I mean the pinion and the opening in the differential where the pinion goes in.
Wheeeeewwww! That is a big sigh of relief. Ok gonna add my jack stands to "the list" as well as big trash bags, 1000 mph tape and the small baggies. The car is supposed to be running and I was wondering if I should drive it maybe 50-100 miles toward home for a "shakedown"? That, I guess, will depend on how often it has been driven lately. (thinking of Joel and his MMO post) Anyway I appreciate the responses fella's and look forward to really talking "Pinto" once I get her back here.
QuoteThe car is supposed to be running and I was wondering if I should drive it maybe 50-100 miles toward home for a "shakedown"?
Um...no.
You really want to wind up pulling the drive shaft on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere if the car falters? Tow it home and give it a shakedown where you won't be stranded and can tow the car back (relatively) easily if things are amiss.
Yeah, you got me on that one Joel. Reminds me of my trip in my S-10 to Denver, alternator went out in a bad ice/snow storm just outside of Hays. I made it to Oakley before the thing died, I-70 was closed and my son and I ended up sleeping in the High School gym with many other stranded motorists. No use pushing my luck when I don't have to.
Why not make it easy on yourself and just back the car up onto the dolly, and lock the steering in the straight ahead posistion? No need to drop the driveshaft doing it this way. Then when you get home, all you have to do is drive it off. Just another thought.
Quote from: PintoBro on August 22, 2004, 11:47:37 PM
Why not make it easy on yourself and just back the car up onto the dolly, and lock the steering in the straight ahead posistion? No need to drop the driveshaft doing it this way. Then when you get home, all you have to do is drive it off. Just another thought.
My steering did not lock (73 pinto) I pushed onto the dolly for the front wheels. Once up on the dolly and secured, I was able to get under and disconnect the driveshaft from the trans and rear end. All I did was unbolt it from the rear diff and removed the yoke from the transmission. because I was pulling the car it pulled straight and I did not need to wory about the steering being loose. I had not problem and only needed a few wrenches to get the job done. No jack stands.
Hey Vonky how long did all that take you? Did you have much fluid come out of the tranny once you pulled the driveshaft out? Anyone know what the chances are of me needing a cheater bar to get the u-bolts off?
You shouldn't need a cheeter bar to take off the pinion bolts.
Quote from: vonkysmeed on August 23, 2004, 11:44:42 PM
My steering did not lock (73 pinto) I pushed onto the dolly for the front wheels. Once up on the dolly and secured, I was able to get under and disconnect the driveshaft from the trans and rear end. All I did was unbolt it from the rear diff and removed the yoke from the transmission. because I was pulling the car it pulled straight and I did not need to wory about the steering being loose. I had not problem and only needed a few wrenches to get the job done. No jack stands.
Did someone remove the locking plate under the steering wheel? Reason I ask, is because mine is a 71 and I could lock my steering, untill I removed the plate.
For those who might be wanting to know.......left out of Little Rock early Saturday morning dragging the tow dolly and drove to Navarre, Florida and spent the night. Enroute we saw a 80 hatch with the ESS package but was very rough. We stopped and checked it out, perhaps a parts car down the road. It had been setting for years. Saturday we got up early and made the trek down to Tampa/St. Pete. She was as advertised and started on the first crank. We did the paperwork and was on our way. I drove it about 3 miles to a place where we could drop the driveshaft. That short little trip garnered several looks and 1 thumbs up from a couple sitting on a bus bench. It even chirped the tires pulling away from a stop light. We had no trouble disconnecting the drive shaft, but we only did it from the rear end. We kept it in place by using a LOT of 41 thousands safety wire. Took us about 45 minutes to get it secure enough to get back on the road. Oh, and I did tape up the U joint caps. The 6 hour trip down took us 8 hours back. We stopped for gas twice and the second time noticed that our safety wire had been broken by a "gator" somewhere on the road. No sweat, just threw some more wire at it. Monday went smooth all the way back home. I am so proud to say that I am now a PINTO OWNER. Maybe I paid too much for her but ya know what, I got the Pinto I wanted! : ) I brought her to work Tuesday, to a flat surface, and we reconnected the driveshaft in about 10 minutes. Now comes the look phase of what all she needs and the slow process of get 'n her done. What a joy, I almost cried when I finally got her to the house. Joel, expect my calender contest entry soon.
glad to hear ya got your Pinto finally... Hope you have as much fun with her, like I'm having with mine..