I rode the Log Truck to Mac's ride last fall, and after our
good ride through the woods , we went down I-40 for the last 30
or 40 miles... hiways speeds, 80, whatever... I had this feeling when
I'd chop the throttle, maybe a vibration, maybe my imagination.
I use I-85 for about two miles on the way to work, gotta cross
over Lake Hartwell where the bridges are. There was a log
jamb of cars and a Mac truck the other day, and when I had my
chance, I nailed it and went around them, down the hill, probably
80 or 90. I got around and took my slot in the slow lane
just as I hit the bridge, chopped the throttle, and there
was that feeling or vibration again... something wrong
in the drivetrain? Road surface changed as I hit the bridge?
Anywho... can't let the Log Truck go bad... I just took the
wheel off, pulled the driveshaft, and got the u-joint out.
It doesn't look or feel bad to me. I'm going to root around
with search and see what people say about evaluating
a u-joint.
I haven't cleaned up any of the "normal" stuff (I don't
usually take the u-joint out when I do all that other
stuff at tire-change time), but nothing's dry. Since I
have the new Valkyrie now, I change tires on the Log
Truck less, so I haven't been in there since December
of 2014. The flange looked like this then, I don't think
it is any worse now:
I wiggled the dampers, they don't seem like new, but they don't seem awful.
I probably won't start putting it back together until in
the morning (Saturday)... any ideas on what to check?
How would you evaluate the u-joint?
-Mike
