Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

My u-joint broke, I got another and installed it on the rear of the shaft.
When I reinstalled the shaft and connected it to the transmission end the new ujoint installed does not match with the yoke on the rear end. Apparently the carrier bolts are just off a little. How do I find the correct ujoint that will fit the toke on my rear end? Just another situation I have seemed to get myself into.

New u-joints often have to be squeezed into place so if the bolt-on type, put a c-clamp over them to get them into place.

If the shaft side fit without issue then perhaps the squeezing will do the job but if there appears to be a distinct mismatch with hole positions or sizes of parts you also need to verify you are installing the correct replacement. Packard used both Mechanics and Spicer brand U joints which are not mechanically just a drop in swap item between brands. There could be a mismatch in bolt hole or a machined size on the flange because of that. Presuming the car had the stock items that were broken the choice of U joint varied by model and whether the car was standard trans only or had overdrive. You can check the parts manual to see what U joint and matching flanges SHOULD have been present but if someone changed things over the years and tried to make do with what could have been available you might need more items than just a U joint to make things match again.