Correct Front U Joint

[anlauto]

Working on an AAR Cuda, front U Joint should be a 7260, but everyone I've bought is about 1/16" too wide between the clips....Does anybody have the correct part number to order ? I have about a half dozen here that should fit but don't 

[Mr Cuda]

Could the yoke be compressed from improper u joint removal?

Before I get flamed for insulting your ability,  I'm sure it's not the first u joint installed in the driveshaft.
I'm still finding stuff I f'd up on my cars when I was 20.

[anlauto]

Could the yoke be compressed from improper u joint removal?

Both the driveshaft and slip joint are the same size, I removed the original U joint (I think)  myself. When using a caliper, the body of the old U joint is narrower than all the new ones I have 

[Mr Cuda]

U joints
Ball joints
Wheel cylinders
Master cylinders

For $500, I'll take auto parts that are junk, Pat

[anlauto]

You really need to dig through my scrap bin then...LOL 

[MoparCarGuy]

 

[anlauto]

@MoparCarGuy Does this help ?
1st picture is the original that came out, measuring the distance across the body.

2nd picture shows the difference in width of what is supposed to be the replacement MooG 317 and MooG 315G ...both are the same, I have other brands here and they all seem to be the same....

3rd picture is the front yoke held up against where the clips go...NO way will they fit ?

....annnd..... I can't just take the new caps off and put them on the old body because the inner shaft is smaller on the old body even though the outside diameter of the new caps is correct for the yoke and driveshaft 

Keep in mind I think the one I pulled out is original 

[MoparCarGuy]

Can you provide the yoke dimensions at A and B? The picture makes it look like the yoke surfaces are not parallel.
I suspect the yoke is no longer square. Does re-installing the "original" U-joint still fit?

Also, the 7260 U-joint is supposed to be 2-1/8" for Dimension A in the diagram below.
Is the "original" U-joint 2-1/8" or 2.125 decimal for this dimension?
Are the other dimensions correct?

Dimension A = 7260... 2.125 inches (2-1/8 inches)
Dimension B = 7260...3.125 inches (3-1/8 inches)
Dimension C = 7260...1.078 inches (~1-1/16 inches)

[Katfish]

Not ideal, but what about opening up the yoke and driveshaft?
If only a little, precision milled?

[anlauto]

The yoke is perfectly "square" using the caliper and it measure exactly 2 1/8" , as does the driveshaft...They were not compressed or damaged in any way....not my first rodeo

I can put the new U Joint into my 10 ton press and I cannot get the distance between the clips down to 2 1/8" no matter how hard I try because the body of the U joint is wider as shown in my other pictures

The new U joints are supposed to fit, but they measure 2 3/16" from clip to clip

Dimension A = 7260... 2.125 inches (2-1/8 inches) NOPE 2-3/16"
Dimension B = 7260...3.125 inches (3-1/8 inches) NOPE almost 3-1/4"
Dimension C = 7260...1.078 inches (~1-1/16 inches) YES

[jetmech]

@anlauto  Alan
For my 70 340 Cuda front 7260 U-joint, I used an upgraded SKF Brute Force UJ246 U-joint. They are available at Rockauto. The standard 7260 SKF U-joint is UJ317.

Detroit 7260 front   Standard SKF UJ317     Brute Force SKF UJ246
Detroit 7290 rear    Standard SKF UJ316     Brute Force SKF UJ248

Here's a link for more info and the cross references

https://static.summitracing.com/global/images/instructions/skf-ujn9553sf.pdf

Pictures below are for some reference of the SKF UJ317 (front 7260) that I ordered also but did not use. I never did measure the Brute UJ246 as it installed without any issues.

Vic

[jetmech]

Another pic. It measures 2 1/8"

[anlauto]

Exactly the info I was looking for @jetmech  ....Wanna sell me the UJ317 ? I'll give that a try...
I forget, are you close by Georgetown ?

[jetmech]

sent you a PM Alan

[anlauto]

Member jetmech sent me his extra SKF U joint and it fit perfectly...

For future reference SKF UJ317 fits in a 1970 Cuda 7260 front U joint driveshaft