my god i have been doing recent things like brake work, new wiper motor, and for me everything just has to be the hard way. never works the first time, etc, etc. but my question.. trying to remove the drive shaft. i have it all marked up for replacement but my god i cant budge it loose. i removed 2 bolts from the rear ( i know there is supposed to be four but i put my finger on the other two holes and there was nothing there). is there any tips you guys can give me for taking this thing out? please i am going crazy (have to take a break so i don't hurt anything on the car

 

You may have to gently pry the U-joint out of the yoke.

JamesC

 

yep. pry bar or long screw driver. But be careful. I blacked my eye doing that once.

 

thanks for the help guys, sometimes i forget that my car is 23 years old..

 

still got problems, tried prying it off but i just ended up bending a little bit of the end of the rear drive shaft. i noticed there is this black bar that runs on the side of the drive shaft (parralell) to the front of the drive shaft and on the rear end of it it is secured by two huge bolts. its blocking me from prying/ seeing the other half of the drive shaft, do i have to remove this?

 

No need to remove the torque arm. Rotate the drive shaft.

JamesC

 

No I dont think so. I dont want to insult your intelligence but do you have the car secure with chocks under the wheels? I would rather you get angry with me than not ask because I have heard of people taking down the driveshaft and then the car falls off the jack and rolls over them. Plus any pressure on the shaft might be making it harder to get loose.
I suggest making sure its secure, then take it out of gear so it can rotate around. Then you can see the other side more clearly. I hope this was helpful.

Kevin

 

my car is suspended in the air by four jack stands. thats ok right?

 

i can't rotate the drive shaft, i can only budge it a little (because of bad ujoints?)

 

Yes and safety is always on my mind. A friend from high school had a car fall on his head. He lived but with significant brain damage.
If its out of gear or in neutral you should be able to rotate the tires giving you more leverage. It should move if its out of gear. I have never seen them get locked up totally.

 

i have it in park, so if i have it in neutral, the driveshaft will rotate? oh and thanks for being concerned

 

With the rear tires off the ground(W/jack stands of course) Put the gear shift lever in neutral so you can rotate the drive shaft. Remove 2 of the bolts and the strap then turn the drive shaft until you can get the other 2 bolts and the strap. It is easier to use a impact wrench that way you don't have to hold the shaft from rotating,that is if you have air tools. Then pry the U joint out using care not to have the caps come off and you have the roller bearings all over the floor. It's tight with the torque arm and exhaust on each side but you shouldn't have to remove either one of them to gain access to the drive shaft bolts and straps. Good luck.

Mark.

 

Yes put it in neutral and your problem will be solved. If you have any leakage at all coming out of your tail shaft area then now would be a great time to replace the rear trans seal. Once you get the shaft loose it will pull out of the tail shaft.

Kevin

 

got all four of the bolts off and the driveshaft currently on my table. you guys really made my day today, thanks.

 

No problem. Just be careful. I would use some tape to hold on those caps to keep them from falling off when you try to reinstall. There are a lot of people who know much more than I do on this site. I hope you enjoy this site as much as I do. Happy New Year.

Kevin

 

Your welcome. Happy New year!!

Mark.

 

hey guys i got more problems .


tried to insert the drive shaft back on to my car except you know that saddle piece that connects the rear ujoint to the differential? well that stayed on when i originally took the car off. i tried pounding in the ujoints caps into the saddle but one end of the ujoint just kept falling off onto the floor each time I tried (causing frustration, insanity, etc,etc.) I remember jamesc said something about gently prying it off except that POS just wouldn't budge. should i just get a pry bar and rip it off and buy a new one? i can get pics if you guys need them to show what im talking about.

 

show pics

 

oh jeez these are terrible. il get better pics tomorrow in the daylight.

 

Yeah those are kind of hard to see. You have to press thme into the shaft.

 

i know what your saying, its just that when i try knocking them into place on the drive shaft, a ujoint cap falls. i need to remove that saddle thing. do you think a torch would work?

 

yeah kind of hard to see the pics, can't really remember how to do it but if I get a clearer picture I might just remember.

 

SOLVED

 

cool

 

i was gonna say break out the pry bar but nvm

 

Yeah you never want to use a hammer to beat them in. You need to press them in with a clamp or vice. If you hit them, then the little bearings fall out and then you are screwed. I am glad you solved your problem.

 

Y'all are awesome, I came across the same problem, luckily someone got as aggravated as I am and already posted this... so out to get it off I go, I'm sure I'll be on asking how to put the other in here in a few weeks.