Front driveshaft bolts

[HOBrian]

I have a bad vib in the front end. I had the death wobble two weeks ago and have had this vib ever since. The truck would feel like it is going over wash board road only when going slow, you would feel a little vib at highway speeds. This week the wash board has gone away but I still feel the vib at highway speeds. I looked under the truck and I wanted to take the front driveshaft out because both u-joints have spit their lube all over the t-case(I have no idea if this is normal but I am guessing it is not). The bolts that hold the shaft to the t-case are 5/8 but I have no idea what the front are and it seems it might be hard to get at those with the minimal clarence. Thanks in advance for any help Oo.

 

[JStieger]

I have a bad vib in the front end. I had the death wobble two weeks ago and have had this vib ever since. The truck would feel like it is going over wash board road only when going slow, you would feel a little vib at highway speeds. This week the wash board has gone away but I still feel the vib at highway speeds. I looked under the truck and I wanted to take the front driveshaft out because both u-joints have spit their lube all over the t-case(I have no idea if this is normal but I am guessing it is not). The bolts that hold the shaft to the t-case are 5/8 but I have no idea what the front are and it seems it might be hard to get at those with the minimal clarence. Thanks in advance for any help Oo.

I just replaced my front driveshaft u-joints a couple of weeks ago. The bolts were Torx T-45 heads if I remember correctly. With the transfer case in 2wd just jack up and support one front tire off the ground and then you can rotate the tire to turn the driveshaft to access each bolt. Don't forget to chock your rear tires just to be safe!

 

[HOBrian]

I did just that to get the t-case bolts loose. Thanks for the info. Did you replace the u joints at the t-case as well? If so how were they to change out? Thanks

 

[JStieger]

I did just that to get the t-case bolts loose. Thanks for the info. Did you replace the u joints at the t-case as well? If so how were they to change out? Thanks

Whoops- I should have wrote that I had a driveline shop replace the u-joints after I brought the driveshaft in to them along with new joints (greasable Precision brand purchased from Rock Auto). I would have replaced them myself with sockets and hammer, but one of the joints was staked in with melted plastic instead of clips so I didn't want to fart around with it. I just paid 1 hr labor ($50) for the shop to replace them.

 

[CIverson]

If your stock shaft has spit out lube it's probably not from the u-joints, it's most likely from the stud / socket portion of the cardan joint up by the t-case.



If the lube has spit out it's also probably worn out and time to replace the shaft. Or you can send it off to a driveline place and have them weld on a new cardan assy. and rebalance it.



I tried fixing mine when one of the u-joints on the double cardan failed. I got a new flange and socket portion, and rebuilt it with new joints. It ended up still being a little sloppy as the stud was actually worn. Not to mention it threw off the balance. In the end I bought a new shaft from an online chrysler parts dealer for a good price, and no more vibes from the shaft anymore.

 

[HOBrian]

The lube is coming from the u-joints, I can see the trail of grease out of the joint. It looks like you over filled a ball joint, grease spilling out.