[DeTomaso] Stock U-joints

[asajay at asajay.com]

I got my half-shafts back from my local driveline shop today.  They  
look very nice.  I never really knew what color they were until today.  
  They still have what looks to be a factory green sea-foam kind of  
appearance.  The shop had not trouble putting the stock u-joints in.   
Well, they did say they had to shrink one yoke a bit to be tight  
around the caps, but it was no trouble.  They had some problems  
getting the old sleeves out but once done, everything assembled just  
great.

They also balanced them. This is where it gets ugly.

One yoke had the snap ring grooves cut at different depths from the  
outer edge of the yoke.  i.e. it was about an eighth inch in to the  
cap on one side, about a quarter inch in on the other.  So now there  
is this nice large piece of steel welded to one side of that yoke to  
balance it out.  It may look ugly, but I know the half-shaft is now  
properly balanced.

I'll take photos later today.

Cost?
about $50 each for the u-joints from Wilkinson ($200 total)
about $150 for the service to clean, R&R and balance.
Total, about $350.  Sure beats buying new ones for the time being.

BTW,  who saw that single half-shaft on ebay go for $202 this weekend?  
  Great Buy.  (It wasn't me)

Asa Jay