yoke from hell

when i replaced the starter i had to remove the driveshaft to remove the flywheel cover (not sure that's what it's called but you know the piece). one of the bolts clamping the u joint down snapped in it. drilled it out (pain because the exhaust is in the way got a flexible driver goes between drill and bit) now had no threads. started tapping the hole and when i tried to remove the tap it snapped off in the hole. tried drilling but the bits barely scratch the tap ( too hard). tried removing the yoke can't turn the nut without yoke spinning. can't wedge something to hold it because i have the busted bolt so no place to wedge. tried clamping it bent the clamp suckers on there tight. thinking of cutting nut off but figure i can do that when i get new yoke. anyway thinking of just using a big hose clamp to hold u joint to yoke. wonder if anyone has been here or has any ideas?

The hose clamp will break, and strand you miles from a phone, and probably with no cell phone service in the area ( it really will) I wouldn't even try that as a temp fix, but you can probably clamp a bar in there, and use the bar to stop it from turning. Did you try just putting the transmission in gear.

When I changed my starter 3 weeks ago, I just removed the cross member under that flex plate cover (mine's an automatic). It just unbolts with 6 bolts on my 85. Then I unbolted that cover. It just easily moved out of the way just enough to remove the starter (easily), although it was hanging on the exhaust. I was done my starter within an hour using air tools, but working in 3" of snow

I didn't have to remove the driveshaft, and I really can't see why you would ever have too.

WOW,can you post a picture of that? Really!!

Dam that Murphy!

Ok, so cant get front yoke off on transfer case?
Try putting the u-bolt clamp on and slip prybar in to hold yoke while turning. use the bigest braker bar or put a pipe on the end of a 1/2 in drive to brake nut free. Get somebody to help you so you dont drop a nut or pull your back out. Its a bitch ,I know, I just pulled the yoke off mine of last week. You can use heat as a last resort ,but make sure its not a propane torch. If you need something go to Home Depot or Lows and get a brazing/light welding kit. It comes with MAP gas and OXIGEN. Cost is about $50.00 or so. They come in real handy. Also if you use heat ge a new seal. Better to do it now the to repeat the whole job again. Good Luck

Actually you can probably rent an air compressor, air gun, and the right size socket for a good price too. Air tools should just zap it right off in a moment, make sure that your turning it the right way. Of course if you can afford to buy some air tools they pay for themselves within a year and I would highly recomend it.

I bought all mine 3 years ago, and wish that I would have 10 years earlier (now I need a torch, and mig welder)

i can't use the clamps to hold it because i only have one clamp. tried air tools yoke spun. tried in gear chased truck down driveway. tried using a c clamp bent it (by hand). going to grind away the nut (yeah yeah careful not to grind shaft)
btw needed to remove driveshaft because the cover isn't stock

How about getting 2 friends to help you.

1 to stand on the brakes, with the truck in gear, and the second to use the air tools while you hold onto a BIG pipe wrench hooked up to the yoke.

They are always tight, but I've never seen any that bad. Even on my last streetrod, which came with the origional 63 drive system... all never touched.

there's a idea

Provided you didn't mess the tap up to much by attempting to drill hardened steel but are the flutes on the tap still visible? If they are, you might want to get a tap extractor and remove the tap and then retap the hole.

the tap snapped off in the hole. the end is now in the woods. are you saying they make something that grabs the tap as if from the other end? please explain. btw took today off in disgust

Good for you, I know that this isn't the case for people that only have 1 auto, that they need... But I personally find that if I'm frusterated the job will never go right, and I'm better off taking the day off relaxing.

dzbuster you need to heat the nut up.Like I posted I had the same problem with pulling my yoke off. Even an air gun would not brake nut free. When I heated the nut up and put the air gun on it I was home free. Just heat only the nut not the shaft. This will work!

the tap snapped off in the hole. the end is now in the woods. are you saying they make something that grabs the tap as if from the other end? please explain. btw took today off in disgust
Yes, a tool is made called a tap extractor. They come in various different sizes depending upon the size of the tap. It is a cylindrical device that has an outer sliding tube that when slid down will have either 3 or 4 fingers (they come in 3 or 4 flute versions) that come out to slide into the flutes of the tap. You can then lock the sliding tube and turn the tap out.

The fingers are inserted into the end of the hole where the tap is broken. You then use a wrench to back the broken piece of the tap out.

If you broke the tap, chances are that you didn't have the proper tap drill or you failed to clear the chips as you were cutting.

Not sure if this will help, but I have had many experiences with broken taps.

If you have access to a Tig welding machine, try welding a piece of wire (or round bar if the tap is large enough) to the visible end of the broken tap. Let it air cool, then use the wire or bar to twist the tap out.

This has worked for me in the past, but your mileage may vary.