Drive shaft UJ

[Flatfan]

Hello,

I am currently reassembling the rear suspension and drivetrain of my 350i.

I noticed that the bearing caps of the U-joint (Spicer 1310) on the wheel-side yoke of the left-hand halfshaft are rotating inside their bores.

I removed the U-joint and installed a new one, but I can still pull the bearing caps out by hand without applying any force.

There is a slight amount of play, and I suspect that the yoke bores have become worn due to the bearing caps spinning inside them.

Is there a way to repair the yoke? I was considering building up the worn areas by welding and then machining the bores back to their original dimensions.

Alternatively, would it be necessary to replace the yoke welded to the shaft tube, or even have a complete new halfshaft assembly made?

Thank you in advance for your advice and recommendations.

Edited by Flatfan on Saturday 24th October 09:47

[Wedg1e]

Do the bores look damaged? I'd expect to see some sign of fretting if they've opened out enough to make the cups loose - it's not as though they should be rotating, that's the job of the spider and needles.

Might be a bit obvious, but have you measured the new cap diameters vs. the old ones? Could be they've been modified since first fitted and aren't original size.

I could see some difficulty in welding up and reboring; might be slightly easier if the yoke wasn't welded to the tube, but also establishing centreline and keeping square to the axis - but you've probably already considered that.

I think I'd be chasing a secondhand shaft, but meanwhile maybe a quality engineering adhesive would have sufficient grip to keep the caps in place - the circlips stop them falling out.