Attention! We disassemble the universal joint only to replace the cross assembly with bearings.
Removing the driveshaft (see Removing the cardan shaft).
Remove the four circlips with round nose pliers.
We mark the parts of the hinge so that they are placed in the same position during assembly.
Marking with paint..
...or a chisel.
Install the puller on the fork of the hinge flange.
We press the bearing housing out of the socket of the cardan shaft yoke until the crosspiece stops against the yoke.
In the absence of a puller, we support the propeller shaft flange yoke on the support (vise jaws) …
... and through a suitable section of the pipe we strike with a hammer on the propeller shaft yoke, shifting it down until it stops against the cross.
Similarly, we press out the bearing housing located on the opposite side of the propeller shaft yoke.
Leaning the propeller shaft yoke on the vise jaws, we alternately press the bearing housings out of the flange sockets.
With both methods of pressing out the bearing housing, they do not completely come out of the holes of the forks,..
... therefore, even if the cross is moved all the way into the fork, the cross spike is not removed from the bearing housing.
For the final pressing out, the bearing housing must be clamped in a vise. So that it does not turn in the vise jaws,..
... with a cutting machine («grinder») we grind flats on the bearing housing.
Now the bearing housing can be securely clamped in a vise by the flats.
Turning the cardan shaft around the bearing axis, remove the fork from the bearing housing.
We remove the flange with the cross.
The housing of one of the bearings of the cross, installed in the flange, is pressed out in the same way as the bearing housing of the cardan shaft yoke.
We take out the cross.
Clamping the driveshaft yoke in a vise, with a punch we knock out the housing of the other bearing remaining in the yoke. Similarly, we knock out the bearing housing remaining in the flange.
Before installing a new cross, we make sure that there is grease in the bearings - 0.8–1.2 g of Fiol-2U grease is put into each bearing.
We put the seals on the spikes of the cross and insert the cross into the sockets of the cardan shaft fork.
In a vise with soft metal jaw pads, we press the bearing into the fork socket until its end stops against the vise jaw.
At the same time, we insert the spike of the cross into the bearing socket so that the bearing needles do not fall out. In the process of pressing by swinging, we control the ease of rotation of the cross in the bearing.
With a suitable piece of pipe, we press the bearing into the fork seat deeper than the groove for the retaining ring.
Using round nose pliers, install the retaining ring into the groove of the fork.
Similarly, we press the bearing into another seat of the shaft fork until the opposite bearing stops against the end of the retaining ring and install the second retaining ring.
Orienting the flange according to the marks relative to the propeller shaft yoke, insert the spikes of the cross into the sockets of the flange.
We press two bearings one by one into the flange sockets..
... and install the retaining rings in its grooves.
After assembling the universal joint, we strike with a hammer with a plastic striker on the fork and flange in order to select the gaps between the ends of the bearing housings and retaining rings (selection of the thickness of the retaining rings, see the description of the design).
We check the ease of turning the universal joint.
Helpful Hints
Device for dismantling universal joints: 1 - bolt M14x70; 2 - upper support plate; 3 - coupler (2 pcs.); 4 - bottom support plate; 5 - nut M12 (2 pcs.); 6 - pipe segments
Dismantling the universal joints will be easier and more convenient if you use the tool shown in the figure. The distance between the base plates is selected depending on the dimensions of the hinge.