Prop shaft u-joint

Elmo Hayride · December 18, 2012, 20:41:55 PM

Just want to say thanks to Troll and Chief for the info here. I did the u-joint on my '99 today and it went smooth. I'm sure in partly just knowing someone else went first helped.

chief · August 12, 2011, 10:13:05 AM

Nice.

Troll · August 11, 2011, 18:34:48 PM

Ok, so now I have about 500 miles on the new joint and the magic carpet ride has returned. If I ever have it happen again, I'll know exactly where to look. The new joint has a needle grease zerk fitting, so I'll have to go get a needle adapter for my gun, but other than that, it's just like a car drive shaft. I have a suspicion that this might also have something to do with the less than stellar fuel mileage I've been getting. I just took a little trip down to Lansing, Ia, and it looks like I might be getting 45mpg, rather than the 40-42 I have been getting. I shut off the engine with the kill switch and snapped this picture as soon as it stopped. Notice the position of the fuel gauge needle and the trip meter reading....I have to go to Greenbay at the end of the month (no, not a game, a conference) and it's just over 200 miles each way, pretty steady speeds around 60 (in a 55), so that should give me a definitive answer. I was just thinking, maybe I should offer Vulcan prop shaft rebuilding on eBay $:-\$

chief · August 07, 2011, 19:56:31 PM

Thanks for all the info. I've been wondering about this one for a while.

Troll · August 07, 2011, 15:39:27 PM

My wife let me out of an obligation for today, so I started on the job this morning @0900. Taking off the swing arm with the final drive attached was an experiment, and I don't recommend it, especially if you're working alone. Follow the book, and the job will be much easier. I had the prop shaft out in an hour, but the joint itself, took quite a while to replace. it's very small, and the half moon clips are difficult to remove...good thing the new one comes with replacements, as at least 1 flew off somewhere. The joint was stiff in one direction and smooth in the other. The symptoms of the problem were minor, but annoying. A resonance at 30 in 3rd gear, a vibration in the foot boards at 45 in 4th, and a feeling like an out of round tire at 70. I inspected the swing arm bearings and there was plenty of grease in them, but they got more, anyway. The joint cost me $22, and my labor was free, so I have a net savings of $300 in parts, alone for this job, and the new joint has a grease fitting on it! I took off the rear shocks, but it's probably not necessary. The only major snag was with the swing arm pivot shaft. I had to remove part of the washer head with my die grinder to get it past the exhaust pipe. Did it cure the problem? short answer is yes. I've only put about 15 miles on it since I put it back together, so more to come..The last picture shows the wear to the cross bearing, it's called spalling, and will eventually cause complete joint failure.

chief · August 05, 2011, 20:52:38 PM

Thanks for the update! I am very interested in how this proceeds... and your write-up on it! (so when I do it I won't have to re-invent the wheel!)

Troll · August 04, 2011, 18:53:18 PM

Ok, I got the u-joint today. My local Kaw dealer ordered it, and it only cost me $22 with the tax...Looks like the correct joint, so the next task is going to be getting the prop shaft out. I was, before retiring, an ASE master auto tech, who worked flat rate. The first rule of flat rate is know what you are going to do without having to look up anything...the second rule is never disassemble more than you absolutely need to. I am going to remove the swing arm with the final drive and wheel still installed, dropping only the brake caliper off and leaving the prop shaft on the trans. I will take pictures....After the swing arm is out, I will remove the shaft... I'm a little leery of this spring loaded lock pin, so I want lots of room to work. Just a note...I see that a lot of people think that the swing arm bearings need to be lubed every 7500 miles, but my factory manual says 24,000...The bike has almost 60,000 on it now, so I'm doing the bearings, whether they need greasing or not, but I have been investigating putting a grease fitting on the pivot shaft, like I did on the steering neck. The new u-joint has a needle grease zerk fitting on one cap, so I should be able to grease this joint periodically. I'm doing the work Monday morning...I am teaching an ERC class over the weekend, and I will be using the bike for demos. I suppose I could use my cafe' w650, but the class is made up of all H-D riders, so I don't want to hear any bitching about me using a "little" bike...Remind me to tell you about the new class I am certified to teach, now, the A.R.C.-ST... lots of fun and quite challenging.

chief · August 01, 2011, 16:55:37 PM

Hope it works out... for you and for us!

Troll · August 01, 2011, 16:50:12 PM

I have a sneaky idea, that I'll keep to myself for the moment, but I will take pictures, etc. as I go along. If it works, it could be a real time saver......or not

chief · August 01, 2011, 16:46:52 PM

Yeah, I try to get as much PM done as possible when I am pulling things apart. Let us know how it goes.

Troll · August 01, 2011, 14:20:01 PM

Ok, then... using the part number from Gadget's site, I ordered the tucker-rocky joint...$22 plus some change. I think I'm going to pull the swing arm anyway. I was checking in my service manual, and it calls for swing arm bearing lube every 24,000 miles, and it's been about that long since I bought the bike, and had the bearings replaced. 2 years this month!...8-16-09...wouldn't run, no 2nd gear, and covered with "barn stuff".

Troll · July 30, 2011, 13:35:33 PM

I went down to my local friendly Kawasaki dealer this morning, but since it's Saturday, nobody but sales people there. They told me to try on Tuesday, when the techs are back to work...Maybe, then, pretty soon, I'll have the answer to the riddle of the prop shaft...maybe not...When I was in the car business, every place I worked was open 6 days a week, what is it about motorcycle dealers and being closed on Mondays?

Troll · July 29, 2011, 16:33:36 PM

Yeah I read that a while ago, but I want to know if the shaft will come out without removing the swing arm. The service manual seems to say that, but I still have my doubts....

chief · July 29, 2011, 15:20:57 PM

Yep... http://www.VulcanDrifterRiders.com/reviewpost/showproduct.php/product/508/cat/78 (http://www.gadgetjq.com/ujoint.htm).

Troll · July 28, 2011, 16:42:59 PM

I looked in my service manual, and it leads me to believe that I can remove the prop shaft without removing the swing arm....Hmmm. I want to inspect the front joint, and lube all the splines at both ends, since I know have almost 60,000 on the bike. Anybody here had the prop shaft out? I have read that the u-joint is a front axle joint for an atv, and is pretty cheap. I'm a big fan of prevention, so this looks like a good thing to be inspecting, since there is nothing else to do except ride it....