Did a search, couldn't find much on this topic.
I am working on a 1993 Chevy K1500 4WD and want to replace all the driveline U Joint while I have it torn down.
It appears that Chevy did not use circlips to retain the U joints on this truck, but rather injected a plastic substance such are epoxy
or something similar to serve as a cap retainer.

I have read that I can just press out the old U joints and the epoxy will shear and I am good to go. And then on reassembly
I place new metal circlips on the inside of the U joint cap and not on the outside of the cap as was done for decades on older
vehicles. Do I have this right?

Any tips or suggestions are welcome on this topic.

Randy

 

Found some info on the web. Chevy did use injected Nylon for a number of years to retain the U joint caps and abandoned the use of circlips altogether during that time.
The solution appears to be heating the driveline yoke ears so that the Nylon expands and oozes out. I tried this tonight using an oxy/acetylene welding
torch and it worked. Nasty job and very toxic smelling. I got a loaned tool from AutoZone intended primarily for removing ball joints but also works for forcing the
U joint and cap free of the yokes. That worked too. Looks like I am on the right track but what a PITA. I hope to get all four U joints completed tomorrow.
I find that the old school circlips are a lot easier to deal with and worked fine. The new U joints have a provision for inboard circlips instead of the old type
outboard ones. And this is progress in design? I am not too sold on this theory.

Randy

 

Yuck. I am sure breathing the fumes of that melting nylon was good for you too! That seems like an asinine way to build something, and is likely so that you have to replace the entire drive shaft, and spend more money on parts. I've replaced a driveshaft and the U-joints on older vehicles before, and the clips were all I ever saw.

I've got a 1996 C1500 that I've owned since 2000, and am starting to piddle around with, fixing things towards a full restoration over the next couple of years, then put an antique tag on it (30 years in Alabama). Glad to know what I will face if I decide to mess with the U-joints...