Frozen slip joint on drive shaft

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I’m working on a 1997 Tahoe 4wd…replacing the U-joints. Front drive shaft.

The slip joint (I think that is what it is called) is frozen up…and I mean frozen.

I heated the joint with the torches, removed the seal, and after it cooled a bit I taped a baggie around the two halves and filled it with PB blaster so it would soak all night. The bag was empty when I got to the shop this morning, so I know it got a good soaking. I removed the bag and reheated the joint again. I did get it to budge about an inch, and I was putting pulling pressure on the joint using the scissors lift.
I’m afraid I’m going to break something as the lift is not really made for this type of pulling.

Any of you guys ever find a good way to pull…putting pressure on the joint while you hammer it off.

I was thinking of finding someone with a bucket loader and hook one end to the loaders frame and the other to the bucket to get a little pull while I pound.
But I’d have to find someone with a bucket loader.

Yosemite

2

Is there a grease fitting on the side? If so pump many strokes of grease in and then work the joint in and out.

3

I pumped about 12 pumps of grease and it didn’t do any good. It doesn’t move a bit except under a lot of pressure.

Yosemite

4

have you tried it again since it cooled?

5

Yes I did. I even heated it up to a dull red with the torches and then pulled with the lift.

I did that at least 4 times and have gotten it about an inch. But if I keep doing this by jury rigging the lift, I’m going to break something on the lift.

I just thought…we have a fork lift. I’d have to dig it out tomorrow and maybe I can use that.
I could attach one end of the shaft to the forks and chain the other end somewhere on the frame.

I don’t expect it to pull it out all on it’s own, but it would put a little pulling pressure while I pound.

Yosemite

6

You should be able to unbolt it from BOTH ends…or take the u-joint apart and remove the slip-joint from the vehicle…Sounds like salt-water submersion has rusted the joint solid…

7

if you heated the female part of the joint, it may have contracted and clamped down on the male part, after it cooled and its molecules settled in .

doh!

8

I ve cambered huge structural beams with heat. that nice dull red is the perfect temp to get steel too, if you want to shrink it…

9

I tried the forklift and as the hydraulic’s were pulling, I hammered on the yoke end where it’s welded to the shaft. I had that sucker cherry red three times, and I only got it to move another 1/8 of an inch.

I managed to really beat the heck out of that yoke and even broke loose the band that had the weight welded to it. I had marked it so if that happened I’d be able to reweld it.

I finally gave up and called a recycle’r and they will have one in on Thursday for $100.

I should have gone that route to begin with. It would have saved a lot of time and effort.
But then you never know until you try!!!

Thank’s everyone for the suggestions!!!

Yosemite