Ever heard of this? (Universal)

[Terry, NJ]

So I figured it was time to get over my hissy fit and get to work and find out what the heck is wrong with my transmission and fix it! So I proceed to take the top off the transmission and see just how bad it is. Funny thing, It looked OK. The oil level was a little low, but that's the only thing I could find that wasn't as good as the day I installed it. I took the shifter plate and stuck it in a vice and went through the pattern, sharply and crisply. The shifter was functioning perfectly. I say sharply and crisply because I had welded, forged and filed the ball to where it fitted the slot with maybe .010 of clearance and this is with new shift rods. The fit and motion seemed like perfection. So what's problem? I started to poke around with a screw driver and the 2nd gear started to move. As they say WTF is going on here? The gear would rotate about 1 - 1 1/2". I have yet to tear into it,but I think I'm deal with a broken universal. Has anyone else had something like this?
Terry

[1930-Pickup]

If it seems fine in a static condition, but it doesn't work in a dynamic condition, the fault must lie with something the transmission is interacting with, such as the clutch or, as you say, the U-joint.

I don't think the U-joint is the culprit here though, but hey, you never quite know for sure until you dissect it.

You did verify there was enough travel in the clutch right...?

[Tom Wesenberg]

Remove the speedometer gear from the axle tube, then see if the tranny output shaft and driveshaft turn in unison. If they don't, then look for a bad universal joint.

If they turn together fine, then look for something bad in the rear end.

[Railcarmover]

put car in gear, jack up rear end, release e brake and rock the rear wheel back and forth..till it 'clunks'..listen for where the 'clunk' is

[Terry, NJ]

I haven't had a chance to use Tom's method, but I did jack it up and spin the back wheel. More noise, but I couldn't zero in on it. I was trying to turn the wheel and look down at the trans at the same time. My arms just weren't long enough. More to follow. The car is in the garage and they're predicting heavy rain tomorrow.
Terry

[J Franklin]

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The torque tube has a tendency to make noise travel, so listen carefully.

[midgetracer]

I lost a universal joint on a car I had just sold. My son drove it up to the neighbors to tell me the purchaser would be there tomorrow. When he backed up to turn around, the drive train locked up. I hauled it home and frantically jacked it up and pulled the differential. We found the universal joint broken. We replaced it with a spare and reassembled the car. Still locked up. We pulled the differential again, split the axle housings and discovered the nut on the drive shaft broke off and locked up the ring and pinion. We worked all night and had the car assembled with parts we had on hand and the purchaser came the next day and drove the car 100 miles to where he loaded it on a truck to deliver it to his home three states away.

[Terry, NJ]

Midget racer, I was thinking of something like this! I never had a rear go in an A before and from the sounds...... I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It seems that no matter what tack I take, they all involve removing the rear. So today, I remove the rear. More to follow!
Terry

Originally Posted by midgetracer

I lost a universal joint on a car I had just sold. My son drove it up to the neighbors to tell me the purchaser would be there tomorrow. When he backed up to turn around, the drive train locked up. I hauled it home and frantically jacked it up and pulled the differential. We found the universal joint broken. We replaced it with a spare and reassembled the car. Still locked up. We pulled the differential again, split the axle housings and discovered the nut on the drive shaft broke off and locked up the ring and pinion. We worked all night and had the car assembled with parts we had on hand and the purchaser came the next day and drove the car 100 miles to where he loaded it on a truck to deliver it to his home three states away.

[racingrufus]

If when you remove the rear end, remove the drive shaft tube and check the pinion nuts. My rear end would try to lock up on deceleration and pull normal when you accelerated. I found the pinion nuts had come loose and would let the pinion slide back into the ring gear and try to lock up rear end.