How to Install Universal Joints in Axles Properly - Using OEM U-Joints

[inline6]

After my additional experience with "sizing" the snap rings on these axles, I will be revisiting the work I did previously to replace the u-joints on the driveshaft.  I did not check free play.  One of the joints, if not both, was a GMB (brand).  I don't recall ever seeing anything but a single size thickness snap ring supplied with aftermarket u-joints, so it should be interesting to see the free play I currently have on the each u-joint in the driveshaft.  I am guessing they are a bit loose.  
 

[Zed Head]

It's hard to imagine that Nissan would have a had a fixture that aligns the companion flange or transmission shaft with the future center line of the propeller or drive shaft, so that a worker could choose the proper snap ring thickness, while measuring play.  More likely that they had a set of go/no-go gauges and sorted the shaft yokes by the width between the ears and assigned them a snap-ring color.  The area between the areas would have been cut with the center of the yoke as the reference point.  I think that somebody rebuilt that u-joint in the past and just used the wrong color or was colorblind, or didn't care.

[inline6]

2 hours ago, Zed Head said:

It's hard to imagine that Nissan would have a had a fixture that aligns the companion flange or transmission shaft with the future center line of the propeller or drive shaft, so that a worker could choose the proper snap ring thickness, while measuring play.  More likely that they had a set of go/no-go gauges and sorted the shaft yokes by the width between the ears and assigned them a snap-ring color.  The area between the areas would have been cut with the center of the yoke as the reference point.  I think that somebody rebuilt that u-joint in the past and just used the wrong color or was colorblind, or didn't care.

I don't think they would have been able to keep the tolerances of the u-joint trunnions to the exact same distance in width.  Same for the width between the yoke ears.  I could see the total differences in both varying enough to total a couple of thousandths one way or the other, necessitating the use of different thickness snap rings.  Either way, I have a hard time believing the snap ring thicknesses were used to correct machining "off center" of the center line of the axles or output shafts.  But I don't know that wasn't done also.  Additionally, maybe a axle that is a thousandth or so "out of round" isn't a big deal?
 

 

[Zed Head]

You're agreeing?

[inline6]

8 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

You're agreeing?

Yep - it sounds like you and I are both of the opinion that using snap ring thickness to adjust center line of the shaft with the axle outputs is not likely.  Picking the right snap ring was probably done like you said.  I was just pointing out that trunnions probably vary a bit as well.

[Zed Head]

4 hours ago, Zed Head said:

I think that somebody rebuilt that u-joint in the past and just used the wrong color or was colorblind, or didn't care.

It might also be that they were putting in the extra effort to perfect the installation.  "Blueprinting" the u-joint and shaft with extra care.