I have been trying to remove the drive shaft from a 1951 Rambler. I read that you have to take off the clips on u joint and then take the caps off. The clips are inside the yoke and I got those off no problem but I can't get the caps off. I have tried pressing them out with a C clamp and sockets, I have tried using an air chisle but I can't get them off. What am I doing wrong?
Matt, that's the way I usually do it. I usually use a block of wood against the drive shaft near the yoke end. The clips you need to take off are the ones in the rear axle yoke, not the shaft. With the clips out put a block of wood (2x4) close to the end of the shaft and wail on it with a 2# shop hammer, first one way, then the other. A bit of penetrating oil allowed to soak in will help. Just make sure you hit close to the yoke and not on the tube itself. A C-clamp just doesn't have enough oomph! The air chisel bounces too much. Big hammer with nice steady "follow through" swings will do it. Main problem is the joint has been on there so darned long!! The only other way is how the factory manual says to do it. Loosen the big nut on the driveshaft. It needs to go toward the axle to loosen, it's on tapered threads. I've used a pair of 24" pipe wrenches, one braced against the floor and the other with a cheater on it to loosen that #$%$ nut! Proper sized wrenches preferred, but I don't have any 2" (or larger!) open end wrenches. Disconnect shocks and brake lines from rear axle. Unbolt u-bolts. Drop shackle in the rear. Roll entire axle out with driveshaft attached. THEN you can use a block of wood to drive the yoke forward off the pinion shaft. Replace u-joint in press. When reinstalling clean the splines on the pinion shaft and in the yoke. DO NOT LUBRICATE!! Won't hurt to put some blue loc-***e on. Drive the yoke on the splines until the center of a u-joint cap is 4-3/16" from the front of the axle housing -- NOT the seal, which is stepped out, but the actual casting. Once the shaft and axle are back in place, torque the big nut to 300 ft/lbs. I weight just over 200. I put the 2' pipe wrenches back on, brace one against the floor, then drag all my weight on the wrench with a cheater on it. That seems to do! If you don't get it tight enough you'll soon find out -- the shaft will slip forward a little then sling out from under the car. Did that three times back when I had my first 61 American as a teen! THEN I figured it out!! A couple things here -- that front seal is almost impossible to find. It has to be a stepped seal to clear the pinion nut (nut holding pinion bearings in). You could make a spacer that brings a seal out further, but would have to get rid of the dust shield on the big nut. That dust shield is often missing -- usually gets knocked off since it's just crimped on and removed to keep from making noise. If it's there I suggest you tack weld it on. It protects that hard to find seal. If you need a seal try Blaser's (www.blaserauto.com) or Galvin's (www.ramblerparts.com). They may not have one, and if they do you might be shocked at the price.
does anybody now how to remove a drive shaft from a 64 rambler American 220? i have never seen one like this. It has a huge nut that seems to attach to a threaded section which attaches to the rear universal. No 3/4" bolts that hold in on. HELP!
You have what Rambler people refer to as the "big nut" driveshaft. The easiest way to get that thing off is to dis***emble the u-joint. Jack the car up by the rear axle and support it under the axle with jack stands (or use a drive-on lift... of if a post lift that doesn't support the wheels put a trans jack under the axle). You have to have weight on the rear wheels. With the axle hanging on the springs it moves forward enough to bind the driveshaft between the axle and trans. Put it in neutral so the rear wheels will turn. Then take the u-joint apart by taking the caps out of the driveshaft yoke (not the shaft itself). I always knock the shaft one way with a wood block or rubber hammer, being careful to strike it near the end so the tube isn't dented, then the other to get the caps out. Then you can turn the cross and it will drop out. Install in reverse. The other way is to loosen that big nut with two LARGE wrenches. I've used 24" pipe wrenches. The nut "loosens" toward the rear axle, tightens toward the driveshaft. It's on tapered threads that grip the pinion shaft. Once you loosen the nut take the shocks and brake lines loose. Then take the u-bolts out. Now you can slide the rear axle back on the springs, dropping the front yoke out of the trans. Now get the yoke off the axle. A wood block and a 2# shop hammer will get it off. Once the u-joints are replaced you can put it on in reverse. The center of the cap in the yoke must be 3-3/16" from the front edge of the axle housing -- the cast iron part, not seal. Once you have it there tighten that big nut to 300 ft/lbs. That would be 150# hanging off the end of that 14" pipe wrench. Hard to do on jack stands (but I've done it!), manageable on a lift. Make sure the splines on the pinion shaft and insied the yoke are clean and dry when you put it in position. If the nut isn't tightened enough the shaft can sling out from under the car -- did it a couple times on my first Rambler (back in 79!). The "take the joint apart" trick was given to me by an old Rambler mechanic -- worked at a dealership for several years in the 60s. I was dating his daughter when I threw the driveshaft out. That was way before I had a factory manual! He told me to put the car on a lift and "tighten the hell out of" that nut with a long wrench. I managed with jack stands and feet braced against the axle then pull with all I could muster on a 24# wrench. It worked!! Just had to throw the shaft three times to figure it out...
Yeah, it is! Of course if you're going to swap in a modern engine and rear axle, you can always cut the shaft. The rear axle will hold up fine to 250-300 hp with street tires though. Just loosen then re-torque the axle nuts to 250-300 ft/lbs (tech manual says 250, 300 won't hurt). Stuck tight isn't the same as properly torqued -- might take a lot more than 300 to loosen! The end of the axle does stretch slightly, and it's been over 50 years. Even the stock six in good condition can spin a hub eventually, and there are no new hubs, and you can't reuse a spun hub. They did the rear yoke that way because the bigger Ramblers used torque tube axles with a slip joint (splined sleeve) at the pinion. The little Rambler used a different differential case casting but the same ring and pinion gears as the bigger cars. Was easier to use that tapered thread clamp yoke than to machine the pinion gear for a bolt to hold the yoke on.
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