By pdhartigan on Monday, November 26, 2001 - 11:32 am: Edit

Ok, before you bitch me out for what you're about to hear, just know - it had to be done.

I had to replace my flex coupling which connects the shaft to the rear diff. The rubber ring for those of you who don't know. Anyway after completely unbolting the coupling, I couldn't push the shaft in far enough so that the coupling would fall. so I took the shaft off the trans. I bolted on the new coupling and accidentally pulled apart the drive shaft.
The ONLY way i could get the male part back into the female part was to hammer it. wooden blocks included. Now my question - How much linear movement does the shaft need? Did I just shoot myself in the foot?
Thanks,
Patrick

By Bill Bettridge (Billb) on Monday, November 26, 2001 - 11:57 am: Edit

The slip joint coupling is indexed from what I'm told and damage will occur if you put it back together the wrong way (as you found out I guess). The splines on the joint are also (or used to be in your case) teflon coated. The slip joint is what allows the axles to articulate without binding the drive shaft.

Only a guess here, but I think you're screwed......sorry, but don't take my word 100% either.

By pdhartigan on Monday, November 26, 2001 - 01:38 pm: Edit

thanks. i figured that would be the case. now i have to take it back off. beat the two apart and find the right fit.

By doh! on Monday, November 26, 2001 - 01:57 pm: Edit

Curious, did you hear the sound of cash registers ringing when you were smacking your driveshaft togehter. I could have sworn I heard them when I was hammering (don't ask) my rear shocks into place. It went poorly.

By pdhartigan on Monday, November 26, 2001 - 02:26 pm: Edit

you better believe it. I saved money though by fixing the coupling myself. HA. we'll see if it was worth it. it's driving fine now, but i want to look at it in a couple days.

By Kristian on Monday, November 26, 2001 - 04:06 pm: Edit

Patrick- I had the same experience a couple months ago. Look closely for a little metal tab on the male piece and line it up with the "doublewide" slot on inside of the female piece.

When I did it the wrong way, I used the jack (up against the axel) to push the two shafts together. Then, when I realized I screwed up, I had to use the winch, running the cable under the truck, to pull the two pieces apart. No extra $ spent, but it cost me a couple days time.

By Ron Ward (Ronward) on Monday, November 26, 2001 - 05:30 pm: Edit

I replaced the rotoflex rubber on my RR Classic and had a similar problem. I jacked up the rear end, by the frame leaving the rear axle on the ground, to pull the drive shaft from the rotoflex.

Ron W.

By pdhartigan on Thursday, November 29, 2001 - 05:14 am: Edit

Kristian, Thanks for your words of advice. I tried finding some sort of indication on the male part, but couldn't. I knew there had to be something, because of the "double wide" notch in the female piece. I'll take it apart this weekend to see what I can do. Thanks Ron too. I'll try that next time.