Spider Type/Non Constant Velocity Universal Joints
All Models
On the older style of driveshaft that has a sliding spline section, removal of the female sliding member can result in a reassembly error due the lack of a master spline. When cleaned up, the male/female sections adjacent to the screwed retaining collar will display an arrow stamped in the metal. These arrows must line-up. Particular attention must be paid to this point as any misalignment will cause mild-to -severe drive-line vibrations. Such vibrations can be damaging enough to cause failure of the differential pinion bearings, loosening of the transmission output shaft nut and destruction of the rear engine/transmission mounts.
When experiencing a drive-line vibration, check to see that the drive line yokes are in alignment. This can be done with the vehicle elevated. The shaft yokes must line-up and the U/J spider-cross must be in the same plane.
This alignment error should be checked for if:
- you have just bought a car that has a drive-line vibration,
- recently had work done on the drive-shaft or
- separated the spline section during rebuild.
When assembling the spline section, lubricate generously with an extreme pressure Moly additive grease to prevent spline pitching/seize-up under hard acceleration.