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OK I have to admit I have not worked on rear wheel drive cars much, especially the drive train. I'm trying to remove my engine and trans ('51 200). The service manual says to remove the clips and then remove the two universal joints. The front joint looks obvious, just remove the bolts/nuts. The rear is puzzling me. I removed the clips, but they fell apart and I had to struggle and tap them out. Now that they are out, I do not see how the joint comes apart! Two sizes have a slot which I thought meant I have to unscrew them but they do not budge. Any suggestions?

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Once upon a time, before mother nature and her rusty welding torch got there, one would tap the shaft toward one side to push out one cap then tap it the other way to push out the other cap. This late in the game, PB Blaster and eventually heat may be necessary. The caps do not unscrew--the slots are there to help the mechanic align the caps with the clip. on installation.

Clean off any rust you can, then with a big brass punch or a block of wood try to push the caps in so as to push out the other side.

They should drive out. Were those clips on the outside sitting in a groove in the yoke? If so make sure the grooves and cap area on both sides is clear of any remaining clip pieces, rust or dirt then use something just slightly smaller than the cap to drive one side down into the yoke. I used a deep socket. The cross piece will drive the opposite side out where it can be removed. Note that there are several little rollers that are held only by grease so those may be free and fall out as the cap is removed. Don't lose any. When one side is out, the cap you drove in may be loose enough to go back in the yoke. More likely you will have to use something to drive the cross back so it can force the first cap back out. If you are going to reuse the U joint don't mar the ends or any of the bearing surfaces.

If the U joint was well rusted then it may be a pain. I struggled to get the ones on my 47 out. It took heat, a lot of banging, swearing and a general foul mood.

You can also use a tool like the one shown to press out the bearing caps. Both sides need to be removed in order to get the joint apart. As Ross and Howard have said, it takes a lot of force to move old bearing caps.

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Thanks guys! Step 1and I'm already stuck! I would have never thought they had to be banged out. I'll start the PB Blaster soak tonight!

I would have never thought they had to be banged out

Please, press them out, don't bang them out!

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I agree. Banging was a poor choice of words on my part but it was frustrating and I did get aggressive since I was replacing the U joint. You want to be sure and not damage the yoke -- or anything else. The 46-50 service manual says tap them out. Tap is overly optimistic but Packard probably never dreamed someone would be removing them 60+ years later.

A press doesn't seem a viable option but maybe you could use a large but inexpensive HF C clamp to rig up something like the one shown. Use a large socket to support the end of clamp and receive the cap as it comes out.

Oh OK, glad I read this before getting the hammer out! I do have a large C clamp and using sockets seems like a good idea if I can get enough leverage on the end of the clamp. I guess it does not matter if I damage the joint, but it seems OK so I might as well try to preserve it as a spare.

U joint 1, Charlie 0

Tried the C clamp with socket. C clamp began to bend in an alarming way. Left it on with more PB Blaster. Maybe something will happen overnight!

I sympathize. Sounds as if that one will be just as frustrating as mine. Heating the yoke right before the next attempt may help some and with luck you won't accidentally burn yourself. Driving (not banging) it out may be the next step.