Champion driveshaft

[Jester74]

Well, I picked up my new to me 2009 gl1800 champion IRS trike on Saturday, rode it home and noticed a thumping on highway. Long story short, I pulled the drive shaft and found the front u joint bad. I called champion trike arizona and they don't have spare driveshafts, all are on backorder and no idea when will come in. He gave me part # of the ujoint, which cannot be serviced...lol. no driveline shops will touch it. So sad she has to sit on lift in garage for an undetermined amount of time. But at least I can get one someday....to the tune of $1200!. Frustrating to have a new ride and not be able to RIDE. does anyone have any ideas on how to repair this driveshaft?

[Jack Klarich]

What is the part number?

[ROAD DOG]

Well, I picked up my new to me 2009 gl1800 champion IRS trike on Saturday, rode it home and noticed a thumping on highway. Long story short, I pulled the drive shaft and found the front u joint bad. I called champion trike arizona and they don't have spare driveshafts, all are on backorder and no idea when will come in. He gave me part # of the ujoint, which cannot be serviced...lol. no driveline shops will touch it. So sad she has to sit on lift in garage for an undetermined amount of time. But at least I can get one someday....to the tune of $1200!. Frustrating to have a new ride and not be able to RIDE. does anyone have any ideas on how to repair this driveshaft?

I think I might have one out of my 2008 gl1800 Csc kit ? can you post a picture of the driveshaft ? You may be able to use the front half of mine bring it to a machine shop have it cut and welded,should cost a lot less $ 1200. I will give you the driveshaft you pay shipping, It's one of the mountain man driveshafts that was made to fix the Csc driveshaft problem.

[Jack Klarich]

Well, I picked up my new to me 2009 gl1800 champion IRS trike on Saturday, rode it home and noticed a thumping on highway. Long story short, I pulled the drive shaft and found the front u joint bad. I called champion trike arizona and they don't have spare driveshafts, all are on backorder and no idea when will come in. He gave me part # of the ujoint, which cannot be serviced...lol. no driveline shops will touch it. So sad she has to sit on lift in garage for an undetermined amount of time. But at least I can get one someday....to the tune of $1200!. Frustrating to have a new ride and not be able to RIDE. does anyone have any ideas on how to repair this driveshaft?

If this is a staked u joint even that is no reason a joint cannot be installed

Staked joints are nothing new, the problem is incompetent mechanics have destroyed drive shafts for lack of training

If you can get your hands on a replacement joint that has internal spring clips ( snap rings) any competent mechanic can replace these joints

I could walk you thru how to do it if you like

[Jester74]

What is the part number?

They didnt give me a part number for the drive shaft, but they did give me part numbers for the ujoints. the rear, which is serviceable and has a zerk fitting is Neapco 1-0443 and the rear (next to the transmission) which they said is not serviceable is Neapco 1-0170NPL. Which is weird because the replacment is a c clip internal ujoint which by what i can see would then be able to be removed and replaced. I originally thought that it was a "staked" u joint but i cannot see any marks to prove this. tonight i will go and look to see if i can see the c clips. I'm new to this so I apologize for not being more informed.

[Jester74]

If this is a staked u joint even that is no reason a joint cannot be installed

Staked joints are nothing new, the problem is incompetent mechanics have destroyed drive shafts for lack of training

If you can get your hands on a replacement joint that has internal spring clips ( snap rings) any competent mechanic can replace these joints

I could walk you thru how to do it if you like

Jack,

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I posted a pic of the u joint and i will be looking tonight to see if its a c clip type. the replacement that champion called out is a c clip type one. I am so confused as to why they would say that this is not replaceable and that a new shaft needs to be ordered. I understand the need to make money but damn. If this is a c-clip, can someone tell me the process to remove and replace? I have never done this before. I'm willing to buy a press from harbor freight to do it right, it would still be a ton cheaper than the $1200 they want for a shaft that they do not have...lol

[Jack Klarich]

They didnt give me a part number for the drive shaft, but they did give me part numbers for the ujoints. the rear, which is serviceable and has a zerk fitting is Neapco 1-0443 and the rear (next to the transmission) which they said is not serviceable is Neapco 1-0170NPL. Which is weird because the replacment is a c clip internal ujoint which by what i can see would then be able to be removed and replaced. I originally thought that it was a "staked" u joint but i cannot see any marks to prove this. tonight i will go and look to see if i can see the c clips. I'm new to this so I apologize for not being more informed.

The picture I am looking at I do not see a staking, it may have what is called crimping, I need to see a clearer picture if you can. So if in fact the replacement joints have infernal clips they are serviceable, it is just a matter of removing the old joints without damaging the shaft. I will be here looking at your thread later today

[ROAD DOG]

The picture I am looking at I do not see a staking, it may have what is called crimping, I need to see a clearer picture if you can. So if in fact the replacement joints have infernal clips they are serviceable, it is just a matter of removing the old joints without damaging the shaft. I will be here looking at your thread later today

We have a local machine shop that does driveshafts , they press in new u joints , make new driveshafts, you must have a machine shop in your area? Post a picture of the whole driveshaft

[Jester74]

We have a local machine shop that does driveshafts , they press in new u joints , make new driveshafts, you must have a machine shop in your area? Post a picture of the whole driveshaft

I will take a pic of the entire shaft when i get home from work, but i called 9 yes 9 driveline shops in Cleveland and all said "nope".

Jason at champion said that most would not touch it, but he has heard of a few that did do it but did not have names or locations. He did give me the replacement part# for that u-joint, which is a c clip ujoint but the one on the shaft doesn't seem to have the clips, but i cant confirm till i get home. I truly believe they are "crimped" in somehow. I dont mind paying the absurd sum for a new drive shaft, but he doesn't have any at this time and cant tell me when he will get any.

[Jack Klarich]

We have a local machine shop that does driveshafts , they press in new u joints , make new driveshafts, you must have a machine shop in your area? Post a picture of the whole driveshaft

I will take a pic of the entire shaft when i get home from work, but i called 9 yes 9 driveline shops in Cleveland and all said "nope".

Jason at champion said that most would not touch it, but he has heard of a few that did do it but did not have names or locations. He did give me the replacement part# for that u-joint, which is a c clip ujoint but the one on the shaft doesn't seem to have the clips, but i cant confirm till i get home. I truly believe they are "crimped" in somehow. I dont mind paying the absurd sum for a new drive shaft, but he doesn't have any at this time and cant tell me when he will get any.

By the looks of your shaft I see grinder marks, it must have been rebuilt at one time

This is typical of a staked or crimped joint

The stake or crimp will have to be ground off to press the joint out, the new joint will have inside cir clips, I have looked at the joint number you provided and that confirms the cir clips

Now it is just a matter of removing the old joint

[Jester74]

I'm in luck, the old u joint has c clips so it can be replaced. I have the new one coming in tomorrow, now I just need to be brave enough to tackle it myself or just take to a shop. Thank you all for you insight. I will post up when done this weekend and let everyone know how it turned out...fingers crossed.

Frustrating that they said it wasn't serviceable, that just isn't correct.

[Jack Klarich]

I'm in luck, the old u joint has c clips so it can be replaced. I have the new one coming in tomorrow, now I just need to be brave enough to tackle it myself or just take to a shop. Thank you all for you insight. I will post up when done this weekend and let everyone know how it turned out...fingers crossed.

Frustrating that they said it wasn't serviceable, that just isn't correct.

Good on you, if you want to do it yourself you can rent the tool from some of the local auto parts jobbers, or you can buy one fairly cheap now from Amazon

I am glad I bought mine when I did and had a warranty, I used it so much I wore out the threaded lead screw

I have had a Master set for many years way before they became cheap

If you clean the yoke holes good, use a bit of light lube you should have no problems with the replacement job, I caution anyone from not using hammers to beat them out, it causes damage to the yoke, and is frustrating at best

Take your time and use the right tools seen below in the link, and good luck

https://www.amazon.com/U-Joints-Remo...13417926&psc=1

[Jester74]

Great news....after finding out it wasn't a staked part, I took to local driveline shop and they replaced both ujoints and balanced the shaft while I was at work. $98 I can't complain at all. Got home, installed it and she runs like new! I'm a happy happy man. Thanks again to all of you for your help...this site is great!

[Jack Klarich]

Great news....after finding out it wasn't a staked part, I took to local driveline shop and they replaced both ujoints and balanced the shaft while I was at work. $98 I can't complain at all. Got home, installed it and she runs like new! I'm a happy happy man. Thanks again to all of you for your help...this site is great!

A happy ending Good on you

Thanks for the update, this may help others

[ROAD DOG]

Great news....after finding out it wasn't a staked part, I took to local driveline shop and they replaced both ujoints and balanced the shaft while I was at work. $98 I can't complain at all. Got home, installed it and she runs like new! I'm a happy happy man. Thanks again to all of you for your help...this site is great!

You Cant Beat That ! Good Luck

[cScjhb]

Great outcome! Thanks for letting us follow along. Always new things for us to learn. Passing this story on to Champion of Arizona may help enlighten them and others who would contact them with the same type of problem..... Jim

[JimsGL1800]

I Replaced both J-joints in my Wing with the Champion IRS kit two years ago. It was easier than replacing the air filter. I purchased both joints from Napa for around 60 bucks for both of them. You should be able to see the part numbers in the photo. I only used a small map gas torch to heat up the yokes to get the caps out easier. These are the old J-joints shown in the photo with it apart.

There was only 31K miles on the bike, so it was winter and I decided to pull the shaft and replace the joints as long as I was giving the bike a complete PM.

[rhino 2]

I Replaced both J-joints in my Wing with the Champion IRS kit two years ago. It was easier than replacing the air filter. I purchased both joints from Napa for around 60 bucks for both of them. You should be able to see the part numbers in the photo. I only used a small map gas torch to heat up the yokes to get the caps out easier. These are the old J-joints shown in the photo with it apart.

There was only 31K miles on the bike, so it was winter and I decided to pull the shaft and replace the joints as long as I was giving the bike a complete PM.

Jim …. Welcome to Trike Talk….👍👍..

[JimsGL1800]

Jim …. Welcome to Trike Talk….👍👍..

Thank you. I am looking forward to this great group.