the tranny is a mid 60's Ford C4, probably from a fairlane..although the overall width of the slip yoke is .5" greater than the weld yoke the inside C clip lock up widths are the same, 2.33" give or take. the cross bearing caps are flush with the outside of the weld yoke and recessed 1/4" on each side of the slip yoke. since they both have the same cap bearing surface does it matter? because i can't seem to find a conversion/combination cross that will accommodate the different overall yoke widths. and also, i wonder how the yokes got mismatched in the first place. tia
If the bearing cups are fully supported it should be OK. You can go to a NAPA store and look through the paper catalog and find a match or check with a local shop that builds driveshafts.
When I put an 8" Ford rear with drive shaft in my Model A, the drive shaft shop shortened drive shaft and used a non symetrical U joint to mate with the Chevrolet transmission yoke. Worked great. Phil
The drag car, we had to have a driveshaft made, turbo 400 to 9" Ford. Inland Empire made one. Highly recommended. Inland Empire Driveline Service - Aluminum Driveshafts, Yoke ... Inland Empire Driveline › home Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk
Not fully understanding your description, but if your cups don’t fit the yokes your going to have a very bad viberation. They make , or at least they used to make, a lot of “ unequal cross” u joints. Find a joint that fits each yoke, take those two sizes and check the chart for that u- joint that has those crosses. Sometimes I have even changed caps from one cross to another one. With some good help(kinda rare, now) for a parts man, you should be able to join those two yokes. Bones
thanks for the feed back guys. i really didn't want to have to buy a slip yoke or take the drive shaft to a shop. it hadn't been a problem yet, it just bugged me that the yokes were mismatched.
From your description that should not be a problem at all. Does your slip yoke have grooves for snap rings on the outside also?
Had to read that mess five times to figure it out. If the C clips hold the U joint in place to where it can't move sideways in the yoke you are good. Meaning that they should be tight to the inside of the yoke on both sides. If you have a cheap cross with the short fat needles rather than a Spicer with the long skinny needles that could be the reason why it doesn't stick out as far as you think it should.
Did Ford ever use a u joint with c clips inside like GM? I’ve never saw one, all the Ford yokes I’ve ever seen had the spring clips on the outside of the cups, not inside the yoke....
If your NAPA store still has the paper catalogs I am jealous. None of the four parts stores I frequent (one Advance, one NAPA, one O-Reilly, and one AutoZone) have their paper catalogs anymore. I used to be able to look up most of the oddball stuff I needed, now I have to try to describe what I need to the pimple-faced youngsters behind the counter.
I once bought a GTO with the driveshaft missing. The company gave me a driveshaft from a similar year Buick special. It bolted in place but the rear u-joint was a little smaller so I centered it in the rear axle flange by eyeball and tightened down the little u-bolts. I made a mental note to get the proper U-joint as soon as possible. I idled it around my home town all weekend and jumped on the interstate to return to Portland Sunday afternoon. The engine was running a little ratty so to clear the carbon out I took it up to 100 mph [3:55 gears] and let it run there for about 30 seconds. Right..about 15 seconds in, the car let out with a HUGE BANG! The dust shot up from the car's carpet and the Hurst shifter dropped straight down. The car went sideways and in my mirror I saw the driveshaft tumble end over end behind me and splash into the Columbia River. I got control of the car but the engine wasn't running and I hearded it over to the side of the interstate and it stopped...began coasting backwards. Put the park brake on and got out to look underneath. There was no bellhousing or starter and only the back half of the Muncie transmission and no driveshaft!!!!!! Holy shit! The rear u-joint had been a little bit off center in the flange and the driveshaft got to whipping, breaking the little U-bolts and continued whipping till it broke all kinda shit and beat hell out of the bottom of the car. Now, I always get the correct U-joints and attaching hardware. Almost wrecked the car and it cost me a lotta money to fix.
Read it, learn it, live it... everything you need to know is in this. http://www.carquestprofessionals.com/catalogs/drivetrain/2013_UJ_CATALOG_CQ.PDF
I’ve had a lot of luck taking my yoke (s) to a driveline shop or heavy truck equipment shop and have them match it up, most times it’s cheap also. Last one was on a sellick yard truck and the dealer wanted $800 bucks for a u-joint Went to our local driveline place and bought a u-joint for under $40 bucks !!!
Yeah, they did. The '49-56 cars used that type, and you'd find them once in a while on later cars too, usually 6-cylinder versions. The early '60s Falcons used 'em… BTDT.... My 2nd X took a off-road excursion in a truck I had (she would get to looking at the scenery, not the road...), went through a farmers fence into a small gulley. Tried to drive out, failed, but wrapped a combination of hog/barbed wire around the driveshaft before she gave up. Took me two days to cut all of it off... and to add insult to injury, I had to fix the fence.
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