Grinding And Rumbling Under The Car

[frasern]

Glad that worked out. My '67 front had the worn ball you mentioned, so I swapped in my '66 driveshaft. Someone picked up the '68 with a forklift before I got it, so I have no extras available. ( I have a video of the '68 slapping the floor, but can't post it here.)
A little off topic, but I put a '63 driveshaft in my '62, and they are different! The front u joint is larger.

[TonyC]

Thank you, Wayne! It feels really good to have folks cheering me on, even more so considering how few there are in general.

Wow, Fraser, I didn't know that! I was always under the impression that the drive shaft was unchanged from '61 thru '63, making it interchangeable among those years. (EDIT, 18 May: Actually, I should have known this already, being that I read it before. Based on your discovery, I did a little review research, and it turns out that both Car Life and Motor Trend made note of larger universal joints being installed as an upgrade for 1963. So, what you saw was not an unlucky fluke, but a production fact. In a case like this, a MPC's part-number listing would prove important.)

More often than not, Dan, you'd be right; it's usually the rear joint that breaks up first, which was the case twice with me, once with Grand's Man-Of-War, and once with Frankenstein. I am aware of the kind of noise the rear joint gives off when it's failing (which was not what I was hearing). But not this time; it was the front joint. I can't help but wonder how long I had driven it like that, being how dry and chewed up inside that yoke was, before finally giving me warning signs while I was in Florida. But, at least the grinding damage was restricted only to that yoke.

I am thankful that I do not need to pursue another drive shaft after all. I should have, because that center-socket yoke was bone-dry and eating itself up; but the stud had no sign of wear or damage, which was such a relief to see. I did, however, remember how much of a frustration rebuilding a double-cardan joint can be. But, I used all-new parts for it this time, so it ought to last another good quarter-million miles. Can't say the same for the rear joint, but it was in much better shape, and I touched up the grease on all three parts of it yesterday and today. However, when I can, I want to get another C-S yoke, for the rear when its time comes. Since I learned that one piece is now beyond the reach of parts stores, it may be good to take proactive measures to acquire one.

It feels so nice now: No grinding noise (I thought I still heard some, but that was likely paranoia that had been building for the past month), and no shaking or rumbling. Car should be ready for the highways now.

---Tony