OTC 7248 U-Joint C-Frame Press Removal and Install Tool

A C-frame press is the only clean way to change a universal joint on a driveshaft or halfshaft. The OTC 7248 clamps over the yoke and drives the cap straight out under screw pressure instead of sideways under a hammer, so the yoke ears do not spread and the new joint still centers when it goes back in. It handles automotive U-joints with needle bearings, including the GM plastic-injected pin CV joints where the plastic has to be sheared out of the yoke before the cap will move.

The same frame doubles as a ball joint press on most cars and light trucks with press-fit ball joints, and it works with the control arm still on the vehicle - no A-arm removal, no alignment rack afterward if you are careful with the setup. It also presses wheel studs in and pushes brake anchor pins out on heavy trucks. Adding OTC adapter No. 6935 extends it to the U-joints in Dana 60 four-wheel-drive front axles.

Use it on the bench with the driveshaft supported: pull the snap rings first, seat the press cup over the cap you are driving toward, run the forcing screw down until the cap starts, then reverse the setup and push the joint the other way to free the second cap. On installation, press one cap partway, drop the cross in, then alternate sides so the needles stay standing in their cups. If a needle rolls over you get a bound joint and a driveline vibration at speed, so pull it back apart rather than forcing it.