U JOINT QUESTION -

Ford dealer parts guy checks my VIN for drive shaft u joint part number.(( steel shaft or aluminum / ETC))

On the computer Ford says not serviceable - they want to sell whole shaft with u -joint

He laughs and checks out seperate part numbers come up with proper u joint .

When they tried to replace the snap rings / u joint clips are to thick to seat proper ???

Anyone here have this problem ?

Thanks

What?


When I've replaced them, New ujoints have never come with new snap rings. Fitment must be tight. There can't be any play whatsoever. Tell the dealer to try harder. Or they've tried to put in the wrong size part...

^^What? Every time I've ever bought a u-joint, its come with new snap rings. Not that the old ones are ever bad enough to really warrant replacement.

OP: are you saying that the dealer is having a hard time installing u-joints? If so, they are idiots, or they have the wrong u-joint. If it helps them, they can look up...pretty much any earlier Panther, they all use the same u-joints. If the snap rings won't seat then the joint isn't seated right, or one of the rollers has migrated into the end of the cap instead of where its supposed to be and is stopping the cap from seating all the way. Had that happen a couple times. U-joints are a 1/2 hour job, even without the "correct" tools.

I've got a 2003 Town Car that my steering is starting to get sticky. I suspect it's the u-joint as there's some corrosion. Can anyone link the procedure for replacing this? Thanks!

the steering shaft u-joints? They are not serviceable. Just order a new steering shaft from the dealer, or tascaparts. They aren't that horribly expensive. My buddy just had to change them in his '03 CVLX, the lower shaft had been binding up so long that it wore out the collapsible section of the upper/mid shaft to the point that it was really sloppy. Pretty simple to replace, just remove the pinch bolt at the steering rack and at the connection to the mid shaft and push it up into the cab (it'll compress the collapsing section) until its free from its connection at the rack, then pull it back out and its free. Just be careful not to turn the steering wheel when the shaft(s) are disconnected since its very easy to damage the airbag clock spring that way.