Anyone changed U-joints on a Panther drive?

[SleekPanther]

If you have, can you advise me on how to do it and what u-joints (part number, brand)went in it?
Thanks,
Paul
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[dankirk]

Sleek, your best bet is to talk to Steve at Panther ((541)836-7641 ). He is a great guy and is very helpful. What kind of boat is your Panther in? As a Panther owner you will want to check out these movies that Panther had made in the late 70's. Check out "Go Wild" and "The Adventures of Panthera" here: http://www.cinemashares.com/video.html
Later, Dan

[PussyPusher]

I have not changed the U-Joint in mine but I have changed the steering cable. In order to change the cable you have to remove the motor hence the u-joint. You need to remove 2 bolts from the back of the pump. They are on the bottom of the Bell housing. This will release the motor from the pump. There is a peace of steel that is on the bottom that will come out too. Then just lift the motor up slightly till you can get to the U-Joint. Its a good weekend project. I think that you would be able to do it in a day given that you have all the right tools. It took me 2 days because I had a bitch of a time getting the motor mounts back on. If you have a decent cherry picker you should be fine. If there is anything else I can help with just let me know.
Good luck
Shawn :D

[SleekPanther]

Thanks Dan and Shawn, the boat is a '78 Sleekcraft 20' SST with BBC. I talked to Steve at Panther but he wasn't able to give me a part number for the U-Joints, he said they used a number of different models. So I guess the plan is to remove the u-joints and head to the parts store. I ran the engine on the trailer and heard a considerable growling coming from the area of the u-joints so will start there. I hope it's not the pump input bearings! I'm not sure if this problem coincided with my sucking up a rock and locking the pump up! I'm thinking it is.
Thanks again,
BTW those videos are great
Paul
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[dankirk]

Paul,
Sometimes the U-joints will rattle when run at an idle. When the pump is in the water and throttle is applied the pump is under a load, and the rattle should stop. This is normal. You may not have a problem.
Good luck, Dan

[PussyPusher]

I was just going to say the same thing. When I run my boat out of water(which is hardly ever) it makes a major rattle in the area of the u joint. You might not have a problem. What made you think that you had a problem in the first place.
Shawn :D

[Reno, Witchcraft]

Good to see some other panther owners out there. I have a 20' Witchcraft Miniday with Worked BBC and a panther. She GPS'd at 69. For not being ablr to do anything with these jets I am happy with the stock performance of these. And as far as the u-joints the guys are on the money, Pull the motor. But as far as actually replacing the u-joints I would take the assembly to a drive line specialist for the replacement. Any dual CV is usually somthing you don't want to do in your garage unless you have the experience. And finally if you panther guys want to post your boat pics on my web sight you are more then welcome. Someday we will be bigger then Berkly HAHAHA. Ya Right. Any nice to see There are more of us out there.
web page (http://groups.msn.com/JetBoatFun/_homepage.msnw?pgmarket=en-us) tmuhlenberg73@msn.com :cool:

[SleekPanther]

Thanks guys for letting me know that the rattling at idle might not be such a bad thing, I did detect play in the U-joint by rocking the pump shaft back and forth. I changed them out last weekend, the hardest part was getting the motor mounts bolted back up, what a pain. It probably would have been a lot easier with a decent cherry picker, I used the front loader on my tractor! The second hardest part was getting the right u-joints, I ended up with Precision 368 from "Carquest" the 368 from TRW was too small. Steve at Panther wanted to sell me a new setup for $350, it cost me $36 for the U-joints. I haven't had a chance to get it back in the water yet, can't wait!
Thanks again guys,
Paul
.

[PussyPusher]

Hey glad to hear your back in business. The hardest part for me as the damn motor mounts too!! Oh well at least you have it fixed now.
Enjoy!!
Shawn