# Driveshaft removal problems



## michaelrj9 (Jan 25, 2010)

I am trying to remove the drive shaft from a 70 GTO so I can replace the speedometer drive gear.

I removed the 4 rear u joint bolts but the drive shaft won't budge. I tried prying in between the u joint and the rear end, smacking the drive shaft itself with a mallet. Used brake cleaner all around the u joint, Pb blaster, rocking the car back and fourth.

Any other ideas except for taking it around the block without the u joint bolts in and hope the drive shaft falls out then? 

Thanks


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## rickm (Feb 8, 2012)

the transmission yoke should be free to slide deeper into the transmission so you have enough clearance to remove the shaft.


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## michaelrj9 (Jan 25, 2010)

rickm said:


> the transmission yoke should be free to slide deeper into the transmission so you have enough clearance to remove the shaft.


Yeah but nothing is budging.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

michaelrj9 said:


> Yeah but nothing is budging.


Its just stuck in the rear axle pinion. Don't know what you used to pry with, but a screw driver may not give enough leverage if you used one. Insert a crow bar, or something of the sort that will give you good leverage, between the back side of the U-joint and in front of the pinion nut. Should be able to get something in there and use the pinion nut as leverage to pry it forward. Any possibility of using a big chisel between the back of the U-joint/pinion nut and wedge it in with a hammer to force it forward? As long as your input shaft end of the driveshaft is not butted against your transmission, it should have room to slide forward. You cannot knock it out sideways as I believe there are some tabs on the pinion yoke that hold the U-joint end caps in place, so it has to be pried forward. 

I don't know how you have the car jacked up, if at all. Sometimes if the rearend is dropped low, ie hanging down/car body raised up, it can change the angle of the driveshaft and make it more difficult to remove and/or force the input shaft into the back of the transmission tailshaft leaving you no sliding room. Someone could have installed a longer driveshaft at some point in time if it is not the original. 

Just make sure you have that car properly supported when underneath and beating/prying things.


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## michaelrj9 (Jan 25, 2010)

PontiacJim said:


> Its just stuck in the rear axle pinion. Don't know what you used to pry with, but a screw driver may not give enough leverage if you used one. Insert a crow bar, or something of the sort that will give you good leverage, between the back side of the U-joint and in front of the pinion nut. Should be able to get something in there and use the pinion nut as leverage to pry it forward. Any possibility of using a big chisel between the back of the U-joint/pinion nut and wedge it in with a hammer to force it forward? As long as your input shaft end of the driveshaft is not butted against your transmission, it should have room to slide forward. You cannot knock it out sideways as I believe there are some tabs on the pinion yoke that hold the U-joint end caps in place, so it has to be pried forward.
> 
> I don't know how you have the car jacked up, if at all. Sometimes if the rearend is dropped low, ie hanging down/car body raised up, it can change the angle of the driveshaft and make it more difficult to remove and/or force the input shaft into the back of the transmission tailshaft leaving you no sliding room. Someone could have installed a longer driveshaft at some point in time if it is not the original.
> 
> Just make sure you have that car properly supported when underneath and beating/prying things.



Thanks for the suggestions. I will try again this weekend.
I was trying to pry with a over sized screwdriver and combination wrenches.
I tried to pry with a tire iron but could not get it in there as it was too long. (car is not jacked up)

Need to look again but I did not see much room for the input shaft to go into the transmission. I was thinking the same thing someone might of put a different drive-shaft in it. I sure hope there is an inch or more


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

"Need to look again but I did not see much room for the input shaft to go into the transmission. I was thinking the same thing someone might of put a different drive-shaft in it. I sure hope there is an inch or more."

Yep, you need some room there to slide the driveshaft forward. My S-10 pickup was a salvage vehicle, which I did not realize until after I bought it. The rear frame had been spliced on. When I went to change out the clunking universal at the rear, I could not get it out. They had spliced the frame a bit too short and the driveshaft was jammed into the transmission tailshaft. This is why the U-joint had gone bad. Had to unbolt the rear end at the leaf spring perches to get some movement. Then, being leaf springs, redrilled the alignment holes on the spring perches to shift the entire rear axle back a good inch or so. It worked, and am still driving it this way.

Worst case scenario if someone swapped in a driveshaft that is now too long, you may have to unbolt the lower control arms to allow the rear axle to be rolled back slightly to give you that needed play to get the U-joint loose and driveshaft dropped. Again, prop the car securely if you have to do this.


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## michaelrj9 (Jan 25, 2010)

PontiacJim said:


> "Need to look again but I did not see much room for the input shaft to go into the transmission. I was thinking the same thing someone might of put a different drive-shaft in it. I sure hope there is an inch or more."
> 
> Yep, you need some room there to slide the driveshaft forward. My S-10 pickup was a salvage vehicle, which I did not realize until after I bought it. The rear frame had been spliced on. When I went to change out the clunking universal at the rear, I could not get it out. They had spliced the frame a bit too short and the driveshaft was jammed into the transmission tailshaft. This is why the U-joint had gone bad. Had to unbolt the rear end at the leaf spring perches to get some movement. Then, being leaf springs, redrilled the alignment holes on the spring perches to shift the entire rear axle back a good inch or so. It worked, and am still driving it this way.
> 
> Worst case scenario if someone swapped in a driveshaft that is now too long, you may have to unbolt the lower control arms to allow the rear axle to be rolled back slightly to give you that needed play to get the U-joint loose and driveshaft dropped. Again, prop the car securely if you have to do this.



It looks like to me that the driveshaft is too long. I only see 1/4"-3/8" max that it could move depending on if the splines go all the way to the end allowing it to move that much. It could be bottomed out now that's why I don't get any movenent.  

Couple questions:

You said I would need to unbolt the lower control arms and then it should move back.

Seems easy but is it a PITA?
I don't have much experience in rear end and or axle removal experience but did remove it in a 64 Impala a few years ago but don't remember a thing about it.  :banghead:

Once I get it out I will probably have the driveshaft cut how much shorter should it be?

Thanks


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## Colorado67GTO (Sep 11, 2014)

Have you tried jacking up the back of the car by the frame, not the axle? It looks like the drive shaft goes pretty much straight back. If you let the axle hang, it might give you the needed travel to get it out. You should be able to see it pulled out of the transmission a little from your previous picture if that is the case.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

Wow, looks like someone installed a longer driveshaft. You should have a lot more input shaft showing. So I suspect that is your problem, not any "slide" room.

Make sure your car has wheel chocks so it will not roll.

Not sure if allowing your rear-end to drop will help give you any more "slide" room. I was thinking that as the rear-end drops down and pivots, it may get tighter, but can't swear to it so you might give it a try as Colorado67GTO noted. If no luck, then read on.

Dropping the lower control arms should not be too difficult to do. You will see a large bolt that connects the lower control arm to the rear-end housing bracket. There is also one at the other end that attaches the arm to the frame bracket. I would work with the one at the axle as I think it is easier to get at -if I am not mistaken.

I think you should be able to leave your shocks on to do this. You want to raise the back of the car up and securely place the rear frame on jackstands. Always put a rim/tire, solid cement block, etc. under the car as well should the jackstands kick out -you won't be crushed if you have additional supports in the event of the worst. 

I would next try to loosen the large bolts, one side at a time. Put some penetrating oil on the nut/threads. Then loosen the nut until it is flush with the bolt end, don't remove it just yet. You may want to squirt some more penetrating oil on the bolt where it goes through the bushing. Put your ratchet on the bolt side and make a few turns to help free the bolt within the bushing. If it won't turn at this time, with the nut flush with the bolt end, you can use the nut to help get the bolt out by using a big hammer and hit it until it moves or slides. The nut will protect your threads from getting hit. Once you slide it in as far as it will go, do the same to the other side. 

Now if you can't get the nut undone or bolt to slide/move, you are in trouble as it may take some heat from a torch to get it to move which will burn up your rubber bushing and this means bushing replacement. You may have to torch/cut the bolt ends if it is really rusty and then you replace the bolt & bushing(cutting takes some skill so you don't destroy the bracket on the rear axle). So don't know what level skills/tools you have. If it is more than you can do, then simply tighten the nut back up and it is time to take the car to a local shop.

If it looks like you can get the bolt free, the next thing I would do is put a floor jack under the rear axle and raise it up a few inches so it is not hanging down on the suspension. You* don't* want to lift it high enough to raise the car by the rear-end! Just enough to get it up so its not pulling down on the control arms. 

Once the rear axle is raised a bit, I would them remove the bolts from the control arms which will allow the arms to be free of the rear end. Remove the nuts and you may need another smaller bolt to be used as a punch to knock the control arm bolt out. Just don't damage the threads on the bolt so you can re-use it. *Here is where you need to use good judgment.* I would then try to pry the U-joint out with the lower control arms in place, but unbolted. My thinking is they are not connected and your rear end should be free enough to move back as you pry the U-joint forward to get it free of the pinion yoke and you won't have to mess much with the lower control arm positioning. If you can free up the U-joint, the lower control arms should slide right back into position and you simply bolt them back up. If you can move the U-joint forward slightly, you should be able to pull a cap off of one side at a time. With the caps off, you should gain some room in freeing the U-joint at the pinion yoke. 

Once you get the driveshaft out, bolt your lower control arms back up as you are done with them. Now you have 2 options on the driveshaft. Get the correct length driveshaft or cut your existing driveshaft to the length you need.

*Again, these directions are off the top of my head and not looking at the car itself, so I may have missed a step. You need to use good judgement in what needs to actually be done once you get under the car.* I think I hav covered the process that I would do, basically unbolting the rear end from the lowe control arms to allow the rear axle to be moved backwards when you pry the U-joint out of the pinion yoke.

Take a look at it with these directions and see if it something you think you can tackle. Ask more questions or get a few more opinions if needed.:thumbsup:


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