How long do U joints last?

[Dieselnerd]

Has anyone replaced their U joints? How long did they last before going bad? Reason I'm asking is I'm getting a new sound or vibration at certain speeds that I never had before. Sounds like a harmonic sound, gets weaker and stronger. U joints look OK and don't seem loose but it reminds me of similar sounds in other trucks before the U's went south. I have 72,000 miles on my truck and do tow heavy.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

I have 115,000K on mine. Just checked them Friday. No play. Still tight.

 

[Dennis Garrett]

U-Joints & drive shaft problems are something you don't hear much about here. I Have over 155k on mine, & they're fine, the least of my worries. They must be tough as hell, I had never had a set last half this long on anything else.

 

[RVPILOT]

I had my u joints replaced at 277k miles as preventive maintenance as I had the trans replaced (auto) they were not to bad I believe that the would go another 100k miles. I now have 183k on the replacements.

 

[Dieselnerd]

Thanks guys, mine do look good and I can't detect any play in them but sometimes they can fool you. I'm glad to hear that they are running good for so many miles.

 

[LandShark]

I replaced both front axel u-joints and a rear drive shaft u-joint at about 45,000 miles. Work was done on the way to Alaska from Texas, at the Dodge dealer in Smithers, Canada. Only dealer I've ever used that had a clue as to what they were doing!



All 3 joints were bone dry. Looked like they were never greased when new! My other 2 drive shaft joints are original at 125,000 miles.

 

[GSchlegel]

I had my u-joints replaced at 190,000 miles. Had to put it in a truck driveline shop because I couldn't take them apart myself.



Gene

 

[bighammer]

They would last longer if they were greaseable.



I did my front left last year (~90k) and I'm doing the front right tonight (106k) My new ones got zerks!

 

[redramnc]

On a thread a while back illflem pointed out that an IR temp gun/meter can be used to assess the relative heat load in certain applications - u-joints, wheel bearings, exhaust mainfolds, tires, etc. For u-joints, if one side is hotter than the other side after an extended run then it may need to be looked at.



Every time I replace a joint I try to get one with a grease fitting so I can PM them periodically. My 96 has 112K and when I manually checked them at ~103K they were fine.



If you have the two-piece driveshaft you might want to check the center bearing for play also. Under load they can twist a little and possibly create some drive-line angle issues that can cause vibration. Just something else to think about.