rear u joints when to do?

[KParsons]

my 06 has 65k on it . i did the front axle u joints last year. the rears look fine but you never know ,there is no play in it. just plan on it this year?

 

[AH64ID]

On my I swapped my OE driveshaft out for a 1 piece when the carrier bearing was worn out, that was at 96K miles. The u-joints were all fine, but it was cheaper for me to get a 1 piece aluminum shaft with 1550's than replace the carrier bearing and 3 u-joints on the rear... I'm not pulling the shaft to replace a carrier bearing and not replace the u-joints. I sold the truck with 140K and the front u-joints were still stock, but I installed a spin-free kit at 86K miles.

Whatever you do, be sure to go with OEM non-greasable joints. They are stronger and last longer.

That being said, I have known of stock joints lasting hundreds of thousands of miles... carrier bearings, not so much.

 

[p-Bar]

199k never touched a u-joint

 

[Ozymandias]

Let them alone until they got play, they don't fail from one second to the next.
As long as there are no rust traces out of a bearing cup they are still sealed and fine.
Rust water traces are a first indicator of a failing sealed unit.