Bad axle U-joint?

[David Muench]

Going through the driveup today I heard a squeaking sound. It only seems to happen when I am turning. Braking or accelerating seems to have no effect, so I think it has to be one of the front axle U-joints. I've read a lot about the problems people are having with the driveshaft U-joints, but has anyone had problems with the front axle joints? Anyone know if there are any aftermarket replacements for the axle joints?



Thanks very much. .

 

[mconstable]

Just got my one of my u-joints done, but I know if it was front or rear... but it was squeaking during turning like what you are saying, wasn't long after that it locked up.

 

[Boonieman]

No problems with mine yet that I'm aware of at 32,000 miles. I've had them go bad though and not even know it on a Blazer. I did some looking and I did find this site that has some OEM u-joints.



http://brightauto.com



They show a listing for our trucks, but not sure how accurate it is. It says they're manufactured by AC/Delco, so who knows. The full link was actually,

http://brightauto.com/shop/partslist.asp?oaaia=1413560&ocat=017&osubcat=2392



(But I never was good at pasting these link thingies. )I'm going to Colorado in a couple weeks and I'm thinking more and more about dropping out the driveshafts, inspecting the u-joints and socking a little grease to them manually. I'd rather do it in the garage than deal with it out on the road.

 

[Boonieman]

And, before anybody asks yes, you can take apart the sealed u-joints and grease them because I've done it. I've not done it on either Dodge I owned because I didn't have to, but it's not that big a deal to disassemble the joints as long as you don't lose one of the needle bearings, cause then you're screwed. The way I take my u-joints apart is fairly easy and I can do both driveshafts in a couple hours providing I don't run into something weird. You need a good size vise to do this. Once I get the driveshaft out, I support one end with a rope from the garage rafters. Tie it securely. The end I'm working on I position at the vise. Remove the retainer clip from the first side of the u-joint you want to remove. This is the direction the u-joint cap will come out. I put a socket small enough to fit inside the yoke against the u-joint cap. On the opposite side (the side you took the retainer ring out) I position a larger socket. This socket needs to be large enough to press against the yoke and allow the u-joint cap to come out, going inside the socket as you press it out. As you tighten the vise, the small socket pushes against one cap and the big socket allows the opposite side cap to come right out. As the cap comes out, remove it from the u-joint cross very carefully, making sure not to lose any needles bearings. Once you have the cap off, you'll have to use the vise again to push the u-joint cross back into it's original position until the cap you didn't remove seats itself against the tab on the yoke in it's original position. At this point, naturally, you won't be using the sockets... the vise on one side against the exposed u-joint cross, and just let the opposite side of the yoke set against the vise jaw. Use a piece of wood or something on the end of the cross, never push the cross with the vise itself metal-to-metal or you could damage it. At that point, you should be able to manuver the yoke away from the driveshaft if it's still attached. Remove the other side of the u-joint cross the same way and then you can either grease it or replace the joint. If you're replacing the joints, just use the small socket to press the remaining caps out of the yoke. Anyway, there may be better ways but that's the way I do it without any beating and banging or exotic tools. Works just as well on the axle u-joints or CV joints. I do use penetrating oil liberally before starting and have a glass of tea while it soaks in. When I finally get the second driveshaft assembled, I might dump the tea and switch to a cold one.

 

[bighammer]

I had my front left go bad. I felt a shudder in the wheel on turns before the squeaking started. I was going to put in a greaseable joint, but couldn't get the hub off. :{ Dealer replaced it under warranty. (23,000 miles)

 

[Boonieman]

I did a little experiment today, although not very scientific. I took my truck out for a 10 mile spin averaging about 40 miles an hour and then took temperature readings on each u-joint when I got back using a hand-held digital thermometer with a probe on it. The temperature outside was 78 degrees. Here were the results:



U-joint temperatures: (the rear driveshaft is one piece)

Back differential- 84 degrees F

Transmission yoke- 84 degrees F

Transfer case CV joint (two u-joints) - 84/84

Front differential- 87

Front axle driver side- 82

Front axle passenger- 82



I realize a longer ride at higher speeds will change these temperatures, but what I was really looking for is differential temperatures between the joints. In other words, if I had one going bad I would expect it to be running hotter then the rest. By this test I am concluding that at this point I don't have a problem. The front differential joint may bear some watching though since it was somewhat higher than the others. I'm going to track these for awhile as time will only tell if this is a reliable method to keep an eye on them. It sures beats dropping out the axles or driveshafts.