1976 280Z Restoration Project

[Captain Obvious]

On ‎2‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 10:11 PM, wheee! said:

That's what I meant about only the tips of C-clip legs making contact with the yoke and the center portion floating out in air.

Because of the beveled edges of the yoke, you've only got contact on maybe 25% of the entire circumference. Here's to hoping that's enough!

[Captain Obvious]

Oh, and hoping I don't sound pessimistic. I forgot to mention... Hoping it works great, and thanks for digging up the alternative! 

[Zed Head]

If the clip is pushed around the slot, like it typically does over and over again when you're trying to remove one, does it hang anywhere?  Doesn't seem like there's much driving force to pry it off otherwise.  If you mentally/calculate the loads on the caps, they are in to the parts of the yoke that aren't cut away, rotational loads under acceleration.  The clips just need to be  as strong as the six weak stakes, to keep the caps from pushing out under centrifugal force.  Looks sketchy at first glance but big-picture seems okay.  A good thought experiment.

I mentioned my early experiences with u-joints.  They use a strap with a small nut and washer on the ends.  All it does is pull the caps in to the seat on the flange.  When you look at it it looks very weak.  But somehow it holds up.

Found a couple of examples.

[wheee!]

I think it will be fine in the end. The new caps seat further into the U Joint flange than the old staked bearing cap and the fit is extremely tight. I couldn't press the caps in on the bench vise without a snipe on the handle so I had to use the hydraulic press. In the end, I snapped a bearing cap on the second joint while I was pressing it in. I will need a new joint...

Once the caps are in tight, the clips are a secondary safety to the already super tight bearing caps. I doubt that there would ever be enough rotational force to dislodge them from the flange.

[Zed Head]

If you cruise across the Nevada desert at 100 mph in summer heat could cause expansion.  The clips are a good backup.

You must have jinxed yourself when you posted about how "smooth" things went on the first one.  

[wheee!]

13 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

If you cruise across the Nevada desert at 100 mph in summer heat could cause expansion.  The clips are a good backup.

You must have jinxed yourself when you posted about how "smooth" things went on the first one.  

I was cruising through the second joint, no issues, when "SNAP".... sad face

No big deal in the long run. I'll git'er done!

[EuroDat]

12 hours ago, Zed Head said:

If the clip is pushed around the slot, like it typically does over and over again when you're trying to remove one, does it hang anywhere?  Doesn't seem like there's much driving force to pry it off otherwise.  If you mentally/calculate the loads on the caps, they are in to the parts of the yoke that aren't cut away, rotational loads under acceleration.  The clips just need to be  as strong as the six weak stakes, to keep the caps from pushing out under centrifugal force.  Looks sketchy at first glance but big-picture seems okay.  A good thought experiment.

I was thinking that too. You could spin the circlip around to the back of the cup to get more contact. Captain Obvious and I mentioned doing that around post 1870, but if you look at the photo's in post 1860, theee is not enough clerance. The circlips would bind on the back section.

[Captain Obvious]

Yeah, you can't spin the clip around the back because of the shape of the yoke. The way it's on is the only way it will fit.

If Wheeeeeeeee!! had to use the hydraulic press to get those caps in, I suspect the clips are like belt and suspenders. 

19 hours ago, wheee! said:

I was cruising through the second joint, no issues, when "SNAP".... sad face

Haha!! Sounds like something I would do. That unmistakable sound of something going awry under much pressure.  Might not have needed them then, but I hope you were wearing safety glasses!!  

[Zed Head]

3 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

Yeah, you can't spin the clip around the back because of the shape of the yoke. The way it's on is the only way it will fit.

I'm not 100% on that.  The clip sits in the cap groove and I can't tell how much sticks out.  The picture I looked at seemed to have a small edge available.  My point was that if there was a force causing the clip to rotate in the groove that the tips might get levered out as it rotated.  Like you do when you're removing them.

Took a second browse and found another picture that doesn't look 100% either.  Maybe a powder coat buildup?  I don't know.  The clips don't seem to fit the groove super-tightly.  Probably not a problem.  Makes me feel funny but I'd still run them.

Edit - the Nissan parts are just so precisely done that they make everything else look "bad".  Color-coded super-precise u-joint clip fitting procedures and all that.  Probably why last 200,000 miles.

Edited February 24, 2018 by Zed Head

[wheee!]

Finished the prop shaft with a new u joint and some loctite for good measure.

[wheee!]

More small progress. Sand blasted the rusty gas pedal assembly and gave it a shiny new powder coat and cleaned up pedal skin. Looks good!




The devil is in the details. Small stuff like this takes time...

[wheee!]

Next up, this rusty mess...