CHRYSLER SERVICE MANUAL UNIV. JOINTS AND PROPELLER SHAFT—333

SECTION XII

UNIVERSAL JOINTS ANDPROPELLER SHAFT

CONTENTSPage

Disassembly of Cross Type Universal Joints 336

Disassembly of Ball and Trunnion Type Universal Joints. 336

Servicing Cross and Yoke Type Propeller Shaft 339

Servicing Rear Axle Control Strut 340

Service Diagnosis 342

DATA AND SPECIFICATIONS

Models

Propeller ShaftNumber used

DiameterWith Standard TransmissionWith PowerFlite TransmissionWith TorqueFlite Transmission

Diameter with Air ConditioningAnd Standard TransmissionAnd Power Flite TransmissionAnd TorqueFlite Transmission

LengthCenterline to Centerline of "U" JointsWith Standard TransmissionWith PowerFlite Transmission

With TorqueFlite Transmission

C-71

1

3.25 in.3.00 in.2.75 in.

3.50 in.3.00 in.3.00 in.

**59.72**59.72

56.27

C-72

1

3.00 in.2.75 in.

3.50 in.3.00 in.

59.41

56.00

C-73

2

2.50 in.2.75 in.

2.50 in.2.75 in.

Front 28.94Rear 38.88Front 25.49Rear 38.88

C-70

2

^ —2.50 in.2.75 in.

2.50 in.2.75 in.

Front 53.84Rear 29.31Front 50.39Rear 29.31

334—UNIV. JOINTS AND PROPELLER SHAFT CHRYSLER SERVICE MANUAL

PROPELLER SHAFT

ROLLER AND BUSHING ASSEMBLY

ROLLER AND BLOCK ASSEMBLY

BLOCK RETAINERBUSHING RETAINER

BLOCK RETAINER

LOCKWASHER

ROLLER DUST SEAL

DUST SEAL RETAINER

CROSS ASSEMBLY

BUSHING RETAINER

ROLLER AND BUSHING ASSEMBLY

SHAFT BOLT

ROLLER AND BLOCK ASSEMBLY

ROLLER DUST SEAL

DUST SEAL RETAINER

Fig. 1—Rear Universal Joint—Cross Type (Disassembled View)

CENTERING BUTTON-

BUTTON SPRING

BALL AND ROLLERS

GREASE COVER

THRUST WASHER BODY

BALL AND ROLLERS

PROPELLER SHAFT

LOCKWASHER

SHAFT BOLT BUTTON SPRING

CENTERING BUTTON

Fig. 2—Front Universal Joint—Ball and Trunnion Type (Disassembled View)

CHRYSLER SERVICE MANUAL UNIV. JOINTS AND PROPELLER SHAFT—335

DATA AND SPECIFICATIONS (Cont'd)

Models C-71 G-72 C-73 C-70

Flange to Flange LengthWith Standard Transmission. . .With PowerFlite Transmission.With TorqueFlite Transmission

Lubrication

Universal JointsType

Bearing Type

61.7861.7858.33

61.5058.05

68.3764.92

83.5080.05

*PRE-PACK

(Front) Ball and Trunnion(Rear) Cross Type

Cross Type(Only)

Cross Type(Only)

ANTI-FRICTION

*Every 20,000 miles.**Town & Country Wagon 59.41—Power Package 59.41.

SECTION XII

UNIVERSAL JOINTS ANDPROPELLER SHAFT

UNIVERSAL JOINTS

Two types of Universal Joints are used on1956 Chrysler Models and are as follows: TheCross Type, as shown in Figure 1, and Ball andTrunnion Type, as shown in Figure 2.

The ball head of each joint of Ball and Trun-nion Type, is an integral part of the tubularpropeller shaft and is covered by the joint body.The pin, with balls, needle bearings, thrustwasher, centering button, and button spring ateach end, extends through propeller shaft balland rides in ball channels in body of joint as-sembly. This balanced installation is designedto absorb thrust and torque of the drive line.This type of joint is used in Models C71, C72at front universal joint.

The Cross Type universal joint is used atrear joint of all models, and front and centerbearing joints of C-70 and C-73 Models. TheC-70 and C-73 Models are equipped with centerbearing and two propeller shafts.

No adjustments are provided to compensatefor wear in universal joint assembly. Parts thatshow excessive wear must be replaced.

CAUTION

When disassembling universal joints, keep partsidentified as to original position. Failure to as-semble parts in their original positions maycause an unbalanced condition in propellershaft.

336—UNIV. JOINTS AND PROPELLER SHAFT CHRYSLER SERVICE MANUAL

CROSS TYPE1. SERVICING CROSS TYPE UNIVERSAL

JOINTS (Fig. 1)

Disconnect front end of propeller shaft at trans-mission flange. Disconnect rear end of propellershaft and remove propeller shaft. Remove twobushing retainers and remove bushings. Tiltcross so that it may be removed from propeller

shaft yoke. Straighten out end of retainer lockand remove two roller and block assemblies.Remove dust seals and retainers. Inspect partsand replace parts that show wear. Lubricateroller and bushings with universal joint grease(extreme pressure) and assemble joint in re-verse order of disassembly.

BALL AND TRUNNION TYPE2. SERVICING BALL AND TRUNNION TYPE

UNIVERSAL JOINTS

To disassemble universal joint for repair orinspection of all component parts, refer to Fig-ure 2 and proceed as follows:

Remove joint body metal cover and gasketby bending tabs of cover away from body; thenremove cover and gasket. Slide body down onpropeller shaft exposing two centering buttons.Remove centering buttons and springs fromends of trunnion pin. Side two balls, rollers,and thrust washers off trunnion pin. Wash allparts with solvent and blow dry with com-pressed air. Inspect and replace worn parts.

NOTE

Reconditioning of ball and trunnion type uni-versal joints will only be necessary when exces-sive free backlash exists between balls and trun-nion. In some instances, it will be found thatuniversal joint body has worn, and it will benecessary to replace all parts, including bodypin, thrust washers, and centering buttons. Wornrollers should also be replaced.

3. UNIVERSAL JOINT MAINTENANCE(BALL AND TRUNNION)

The universal joints, propeller shaft, and handbrake drum are accurately balanced duringprocess of manufacture. Care should be exer-cised to maintain this condition of balance byclose adherence to the following: Do not usemore than 21/2 ounces of lubricant in a univer-sal joint (ball and trunnion type) of the C-72and 2 ounces in the C-71 at any time. Keep pro-peller shaft, hand brake drum, flanges, etc. free

from undercoating, dirt, and ice.

CAUTION

When installing trunnion pin in propeller shaftcare should be taken to see that trunnion pinis centered in shaft. Each end of pin shouldprotrude the same distance, with variation ofno more than .003 inch. If one side of pin ex-tends more than .003 inch farther than theother, propeller shaft will be out of balance.Tool C-3534-C-71 Models, Tool C-3211 on theC-72) as shown in Figure 3, will facilitate re-moval, installation, and centering of trunnionpin.

Failure to observe these recommendations

Fig. 3—Installing Universal Joint Pin

CHRYSLER SERVICE MANUAL UNIV. JOINTS AND PROPELLER SHAFT—337

UNIVERSAL JOINTCENTERING PIN

PROPELLER SHAFT

55x766

Fig. 4—External Type Dust Cover

may result in an out-of-balance condition caus-ing vibration.

4. SERVICING EXTERNAL TYPE UNIVERSALJOINT DUST COVER

To replace an external type universal joint dustcover (Fig. 4) that is damaged, remove propel-ler shaft assembly from car and clamp lightlyin vise. One end of shaft should be resting onbench in a horizontal position, and proceed asfollows: Disassemble joint, removing all partsexcept body and pin. Clean body, ball head, andpin thoroughly.

A complete coating of grease (or suitablerubber lubricant) must be smeared on outsideand inside of dust cover, entire surface of ballhead, pin, and inside of body. (It is very im-portant that this instruction be followed.)

Stretch grease-soaked boot or dust cover overpin and ball head as shown in Figure 5. Workdust cover into body as far as possible.

CAUTION

USE NO TOOLS FOR THIS OPERATION.

With body in position so pin can enter ballchannels, pull body sharply over pin, therebyforcing dust cover into body. With one hand,grip end of dust cover, protruding throughback end of body. With other hand, pump bodyback and forth, as shown in Figure 6, untilentire dust cover has passed through body.

During operation cone may have reversed it-self inside dust cover. Pull it out to its normalposition.

UNIVERSAL JOINTDUST COVER ORBOOT

UNIVERSAL JOINT BODY

49x910

Fig. 5—Sliding Cover Over Ball Head and Pin

Slide dust cover in ball head groove and overneck of body, then secure with clamps provided.

Insert 2% ounces of heavy fiber, universaljoint grease in joint of C-72 (2 ounces in theC-71) and install cover.

Install shaft, using new lockwashers. Be sureto double check flange bolts for tightness, toinsure against grease leakage. Recheck after1,000 miles of operation.

CAUTION

Never attempt to use a needle-like arrangementfor forcing lubricant into boot (or dust cover)on universal joints. Excessive grease can beforced into boot and cause shaft to be thrown

Fig. 6—Working Dust Cover Through Body

338—UNIV. JOINTS AND PROPELLER SHAFT CHRYSLER SERVICE MANUAL

CLAMP GROOVE(LARGE)

55x77}

Fig. 7—Internal Type Dust Cover

out of balance, burst boot, or lubricant can belost through injection hole during high speedoperation. The joints must be disassembled andpacked with universal joint grease.

5. SERVICING INTERNAL TYPE UNIVERSALJOINT DUST COVER

The propeller shaft incorporating internal typedust covers (Fig. 7) are standard on New York-er Models equipped with air conditioning.

To replace a damaged dust cover proceedas follows:

Remove propeller shaft from car, and lightlyclamp shaft in vise, with other end supported

BODY

BALLHEAD

DUST COVER

PIN55x768

Fig. 8—Sliding Dust Cover over Ball Head and Pin

JOINT BODY

CLAMP(SMALL)

PIN

BALLHEAD

\

DUST COVER 55x772

Fig. 9—Installing Small Clamp on Dust Cover

in horizontal position. Disassemble joint; re-move all parts except body and pin. Clean allparts including body, ball head, and pin thor-oughly. Push body all the way back, install bootby stretching it over ball head and pin, asshown in Figure 8. No lubricant applied to anyparts thus far.

Position boot as near to ball head as possible,then form small clamp around boot and threadone end of clamp through slot provided in otherend of clamp. Use suitable pliers to constrictclamp as far as possible by hand (Fig. 9). Se-cure clamp by bending end of clamp completelyover. Do not cut off excess amount of clamp.

DUST COVER

BODY

Fig. 10—Working Dust Cover Through Body

CHRYSLER SERVICE MANUAL UNIV. JOINTS AND PROPELLER SHAFT—339

Apply light coat of universal joint grease toinside of body. This will aid in working bootthrough body. Install thrust washers, balls, roll-ers, etc. on ends of pin. Pull body over ballhead and work back and forth until boot pro-trudes enough to be grasped with fingers; thenpull boot through body, as shown in Figure 10.

CAUTION

Do not use any sharp tool for this operation.

Wipe off any lubricant from contacting sur-faces on both body and boot (Fig. 11). Cleanclamp groove also on outside of boot. THIS ISIMPORTANT!

Install clamp, using same procedure as de-scribed for the small clamp. Cut off excessiveamount of clamp and completely bend end ofclamp over. Coat ball head assembly and insideof body with two ounces of universal jointgrease. Work body back and forth so thatgrease will be distributed on all parts. Install

55x770

Fig. 11—Cleaning Lubricant from Contacting Surface

of Dust Cover

gasket and grease cover. Bend tabs of coverover to secure cover.

CROSS AND YOKE TYPE PROPELLER SHAFT

6. SERVICING CROSS AND YOKE TYPEPROPELLER SHAFT

a. Removal

Remove nuts, lockwashers and bolts holdinguniversal joint and propeller shaft to differ-ential and transmission companion flanges. Re-move propeller shaft assembly.

b. Disassembly

Place assembly in bench vise and remove crossroller bearing block tie retainer which holdscross roller bearing blocks on cross. Removebearing blocks, dust seals, and dust seal retain-ers. Remove retainers from cross roller bear-ings. Press out bearings and cross. Remove dustseals and retainers from cross. The cross rollerbearing block and its component parts, alsoform an assembly. These parts are not servicedseparately. After disassembly, clean and inspectparts and replace, as necessary, those worn ordamaged.

c. Assembly

Lubricate all parts before assembling. If splinedjoint at rear of front propeller shaft has beendisassembled, fill cavity with one ounce (byweight) of MS 1124. The center bearing is asealed bearing and does not require lubrication.

Install dust shields and retainers on cross.Press cross roller bearing and bushing assem-bly into yoke with cross in proper location.

CAUTION

Make certain that all of roller bearings are cor-rectly placed in roller bushing. Also, be surebalance arrows are in alignment (Fig. 12).

d. Installation

Place propeller shaft in its correct position un-der car. Make certain that slip-spline end ofshaft is located toward front of car. Insert at-taching screws and tighten securely.

340—UNIV. JOINTS AND PROPELLER SHAFT CHRYSLER SERVICE MANUAL

BUSHING SEAL

.RETAINER

RETAINER

SLINGER

BOLT

HOUSING

BEARING

SLINGER

SHAFT

NUT SPACER 56x320

Fig. 12—Propeller Shaft and Center Bearing Assembly (Disassembled View)

7. SERVICING PROPELLER SHAFT CENTERBEARING (FIGURE 12)

The center bearing and housing must be re-moved as a unit, together with front propellershaft, for servicing.

CAUTION

Do not extend two piece center bearing propel-

ler shaft to its full length. The seal may bedamaged by the splines on universal joint yoke.

With yoke all the way into front propellershaft, bend up tang on dust seal cover.

Remove cover, seal, lock and dust slinger andremove center bearing assembly. Inspect bear-ing, bracket, seal. Replace necessary parts andreassemble.

REAR AXLE CONTROL STRUTThe 1956 Imperials are designed with two pro-peller shafts and a propeller shaft center bear-ing, as shown in Figure 13. Conditions mayarise under certain passenger loads which maycreate a propeller shaft shudder or vibrationat speeds of 15 to 20 miles per hour.

In order to control shudder or vibration arear axle control strut, as shown in Figure 14,

has been incorporated in rear axle design forpurpose of controlling rise of nose of rear axlecarrier under varying load conditions. Correc-tions of propeller shaft shudder should be madeas follows:

Before diagnosing a shudder condition makesure engine has been tuned and is operatingsmoothly with no hesitation or stumble on ac-celerator.

CHRYSLER SERVICE MANUAL UNIV. JOINTS AND PROPELLER SHAFT—341

FRONT PROPELLERSHAFT ASSEMBLY SEAL NUT LOCK

CENTER BEARING

OIL SUNGER

REAP PROPELLERSHAFT ASSEMBLY

56x242

Fig. 13—Center Bearing Installed

NOTEA rough engine can encourage or produce ashudder.

Check the indexing of universal joints andpropeller shafts assembly, as shown in Figure12. The letter "0" on front face of splineshould be lined up with key slot at rear offront shaft.

If car is equipped with a TorqueFlite ratherthan PowerFlite transmission, inspect rear en-gine insulator to be sure that there is a ~/32 inchspacer present between insulator and transmis-sion extension.

NOTE

The seal retainer must be removed to enableseeing of key slot in shaft.

With fuel tank approximately half full, de-termine under what speed and passenger loada shudder is present, if shudder is light, mod-erate or heavy.

Measure rear universal joint angle. This an-gle should be three degrees at zero passengerload. Reasonable care must be exercised to ob-tain accuracy in this measurment.

If measured angle is not three degrees, cor-rection should be made by either adding orremoving spacers between control strut brack-ets and rear axle brackets. Adding a %6 inchspacer will reduce measured angle about onedegree; likewise, removing a y16 inch spacerwill increase this angle about one degree.

After rear universal joint angle has beenadjusted as near to three degrees as possible,measure middle universal joint angle. This an-gle should be 21/2 degrees for rear universaljoint angle of three degrees at zero passengerload. The middle universal joint angle is ad-justed by adding or removing shims betweencenter bearing insulator and crossmember.Adding i/g inch shim will increase middle uni-versal joint angle about % degree; likewise,removing Vs i n c n shim will reduce angle about1/2 degree.

If large number of shims must be added orremoved at center bearing, rear universal jointangle should be rechecked to be assured that ithas not been appreciably altered from threedegrees.

When these adjustments have been made, theleast amount of propeller shaft shudder shouldoccur at a loading of two passengers.

If, after road testing, it is desirable to obtainthe least amount of propeller shaft shudder atlarge passenger loading, center bearing mustbe raised slightly by means of shimming. Low-ering center bearing will move point of leastshudder to a lower passenger loading.

K56x237

Fig. 14—Rear Axle Control Strut

342—UNIV. JOINTS AND PROPELLER SHAFT CHRYSLER SERVICE MANUAL

Fig. 15—Checking Front Propeller Shaft Angles

8. CHECKING PROPELLER SHAFT ANGLES

Locate car over pit with wheels supporting car.

NOTE

If car is located on a hoist that supports rearof car on axle angle of axle, the universal jointswill be influenced.

Check universal joint angles with a spiritlevel protractor, as shown in Figures 15 and16. Measure angles of front propeller shaft,middle propeller shaft, and rear axle piniondrive shaft flange.

(The rear axle drive pinion shaft flange an-gle should be obtained by removal of rear endof rear propeller shaft, and measuring angleof front face of companion flange, as shown

_

Fig. 17—Checking Companion Flange Angle

in Figure 17).

The angle of middle universal joint is deter-mined by combining angles of front and rearpropeller shaft angles. Care must be taken todetermine which direction the shafts are slantedfrom horizontal. If both shafts are slanted upin front, readings should be subtracted; if theyare slanted in opposite directions, readingsshould be added. The rear universal joint an-gle is similarly obtained from a combination(addition or subtraction) of rear propellershaft and rear axle pinion drive shaft angles.

|56x256f?

Fig. 16—Checking Rear Propeller Shaft Angles

SERVICE DIAGNOSIS

9. PROPELLER SHAFT VIBRATESa. If propeller shaft, drum, and flange are

not shielded while car is being undercoated, theundercoating material may accumulate on un-derside of propeller shaft and cause vibration.To remedy such a condition, inspect shaft andremove undercoating material (if present) withsolvent.

b. Check transmission flange nuts and rearaxle differential flange nuts for looseness.Tighten to Data and Specifications.

c. Check alignment of balance arrows onboth shaft and front universal joint. These ar-rows must be exactly in line. If not, repositionsplines so that arrows are properly aligned.

CHRYSLER SERVICE MANUAL UNIV. JOINTS AND PROPELLER SHAFT—343

10. UNIVERSAL JOINTS NOISYa. Check universal joints for possible dam-

age and tighten propeller shaft flange bolts toData and Specifications.

b. Disassemble universal joints and inspectall parts for wear or damage. Replace parts asrequired, pack bearings with universal jointgrease and reassemble.

c. Inspect universal joint bearings for wearand replace as necessary.

d. Check for flange runout. In many in-stances, it is possible to correct a flange run-out condition by repositioning universal joint180 degrees with companion flange. Repositiononly one universal joint at a time and road testcar after each repositioning operation.

e. Check splines. If excessively loose, inspectsplines on shaft or in flange for wear or dam-age. Replace shaft or flange, as necessary, tocorrect condition.