84 Cutlass Drive Shaft Removal

The 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass is built on the General Motors G-body rear-wheel-drive platform. It shares many parts with the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Pontiac Grand Prix, which are also G-body cars. Rear-wheel-drive cars use drive shafts to transfer power from the transmission to the rear axle. The drive shaft has a U-joint at each end. The U-joints allow the drive shaft to rotate and pivot up and down in response to rear-axle suspension travel. The drive shaft can be removed by the DIY mechanic in less than 30 minutes.

Instructions

Park the Cutlass on a level, paved surface. Place wheel chocks in front of the front wheels.

Raise the rear of the Cutlass with a jack and support the rear axle with jack stands, placed under each axle tube. With the exception of changing a tire, never raise a vehicle and rely on the jack alone for support.

Place a drain pan underneath the front of the drive shaft where it slides into the transmission. When you remove the drive shaft, some transmission fluid will leak.

Move to the rear of the drive shaft where it attaches to the pinion yoke on the rear axle. Use some correction fluid to paint a mark across one of the U-joint caps and pinion yoke so you can put the drive shaft back in exactly the same position.

Use a wrench to remove the two nuts and washers from each U-bolt that slides over the U-joint cap and holds it in the pinion yoke. Remove the U-bolts.

Slide the drive shaft forward slightly to disengage the U-joint caps from the pinion yoke. Be careful not to let the two U-joint caps slide off of the U-joint. Wrap a strip of duct tape around the U-joint to hold the caps on. If you are going to replace the U-joint, you do not have to do this.

Lower the drive shaft and slowly slide it out of the rear of the transmission.

Slide the slip-yoke at the front of the drive shaft into the transmission. The output shaft on the transmission is splined and the slip yoke fits on the splines. It may take a couple of tries to get the drive shaft back in its original position so the two U-joint caps will line up with the pinion yoke.

Seat the two U-joint caps in the pinion yoke.

Install the U-bolts, washers and nuts. Tighten the nuts. Raise the rear of the Cutlass, remove the jack stands and lower the vehicle to the ground.