Jason Rowe » Auto Repair http://jasonrowe.com enjoying the web Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:03:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= How to Replace a Universal Joint on 95 Dodge Ram http://jasonrowe.com/2009/12/27/how-to-replace-u-joint/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-replace-u-joint http://jasonrowe.com/2009/12/27/how-to-replace-u-joint/#comments Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:43:47 +0000 Jason http://jasonrowe.com/?p=910 Broken Universal Joint The broken universal joint is in the middle of the picture with a missing cap. It’s the hole with grease coming out of it. When you are driving you will know it is broken because it will make a loud knocking noise. Disclaimer: I recommend that you visit and seek the expertise of a mechanic before making any auto repairs. Therefore, I assume no responsibility for any problems, breakdowns, or accidents experienced from readers of this post. It is the responsibility of the individual to safely maintain his or her vehicle. Needed Tools:
  1. Lift or Jack and Jack Stand
  2. Lug Wrench
  3. Socket Wrench and Set
  4. Set of Hex Wrenches
  5. Rubber Hammer
  6. Hammer
  7. Large Flat Head Screw Driver or Chisel
Replacement Steps 1. Loosen lug nuts on tire 2. Lift or Jack vehicle. If you use a jack also use a jack stand. 3. Remove brakes. On the Dodge Ram you will find two hex bolts on the back. Hex Bolts on back of brakes You may need to use a large flat head screw driver to carefully pry around the edges to get it free. You will not need to disconnect the hoses. Set the braking system on the frame of the vehicle to get it out of the way. 4. Remove the rotor. 5. Remove bolts on back of wheel Bearing housing. It will have three bolts on the back side that you can remove with a 9/16 socket and wrench. Removing Rotors Bolts 6. Carefully pull out the drive shaft by holding onto the wheel bearing housing and drive shaft. (if it’s stuck you may need to build a pulling attachment like this one. That is beyond the scope of this post). You don’t need to remove the bearing housing. You must be careful when pulling out the drive shaft because inside is a rubber seal and you don’t want to tear it. Pull it out straight and gently to prevent causing major issues. 7. Now that you have the drive shaft out of the vehicle. You will now want to remove all 4 clips (circled in red in the picture below) that are holding in the Universal Joint. Do this using a small screw driver and working under the edge and pry them out from one side. 8. Once all clips are removed you can pound out the old Universal Joint from the yoke. Spray some WD-40 on the old universal joint. Put a large heavy duty socket that is larger then the universal joint cap under it and on top of a piece of wood. On the side you are going to pound on, use another socket which is one size smaller then the cap. Use the smaller socket to pound down the Universal Joint into the larger socket. Then you can remove the cap. Do this on both sides and then pull it out and dispose of properly. 9. Now you can take out the new Universal Joint from the packaging and remove the 4 caps and place them to the side. You need to be very careful with the Universal Joint caps because they have needle bearings in them which are only held in by grease. 10. Check inside the yoke (where you removed the old clips) for any metal burs. If you see any that might effect the new clips use a metal file to sand those down. Do the same for the areas that are attached to the drive shaft. Getting the new clips on tightly and secure are critical to making sure your Universal Joint does not come loose and break again. 11. With the caps off position the Universal Joint into the wheel bearing housing. Then carefully place the cap on one side over the Universal Joint. Make sure it is far enough down so the needle bearings cannot come out. Then using a rubber hammer to gently pound the cap and universal joint far enough in so you can put on the clip and the other sides cap. With the clip on now pound back the other way until it stops and you have enough room to put on the other sides clip. Repeat these steps for the portion that attaches to the drive shaft. putting in Universal Joint clips 12. Before putting it back together put Anti-Seize on the bolts and portion where the wheel bearing connects. When putting the drive shaft back in do it carefully so you do not tear the rubber seals where it attaches inside the motor.
Anti-Seize
Anti-Seize
Anti-Seize 2
Anti-Seize 2
]]> http://jasonrowe.com/2009/12/27/how-to-replace-u-joint/feed/ 1 Subaru WRX 2002 Digital Clock Fix http://jasonrowe.com/2007/02/17/subaru-wrx-2002-digital-clock-fix/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=subaru-wrx-2002-digital-clock-fix http://jasonrowe.com/2007/02/17/subaru-wrx-2002-digital-clock-fix/#comments Sat, 17 Feb 2007 09:59:00 +0000 Jason http://rowejason.com/?p=69

Over the last month, the digital clock in my car started to go out. I knew it must be a bad connection because it would work intermittently.

Then a few weeks ago, it stopped working all together. I decided I would try to fix it myself. Thanks to scoobymods.com, I was able to figure out how to get the clock out of the dashboard.

First, I removed the facing around the radio. Then the top piece with the vents and the hazard switch. To do that, I pull out the cup holder and unscrewed the two Phillips screws inside on both sides.

I know it seems like you could skip taking the facing off but I would suggest doing it. I made the mistake of trying to take the vent cover off first and wasted 15 minutes putting it back on before going forward. Others, have reported being able to do it without problem.

The facing around the radio has four clips, one on each corner. I was not worried about scratching the surface and just used a butter knife. A good suggestion was to use a flat screwdriver wrapped in electrical tape and slowly pry at the corners until the facing pops free.

Then, I removed the plug from the hazard switch and radio using my fingers. I took out the clock module. With a flat screwdriver, I had to press firmly on the clips in the front of the clock pod until it pops up. It took some time to look at how the clips were angled into the plastic and bit of jiggling while pushing on the clips. Eventually it popped off. At this point, I was able to disconnect the plug from the clock. Then pull the four clips off the plastic molding and bring the unit inside to inspect the issue.

Note: If you decide to fix your clock, make sure not to lose the buttons for the hour, minute, and second. A rubber and plastic piece connect with the main board.

Now that I had the module inside I searched online and found reports of issues with resister 510. Here is a picture showing where the break occurs. It appears this happens frequently on all Subaru’s. I’m not too upset because this is the only part on my 02 WRX that has failed out of warranty.

I pulled out my fine pointed solider iron and got the connection fixed up. I did not see any other problems so I put it back together.

Final Result!

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