Replacement of front cross joints?

[N8LHG]

Folks,

I’m wondering what is going to be involved in replacing the front U joints on my 3500. I have a noisy one on the front right that needs to be replaced. Am I going to need any special tools to replace this joint? Or is it going to be a simple fix?

Will I need to remove the shaft from the housing to remove and replace the bearings? If so, how difficult is that going to be? Will I need to replace any seals?

Any help, tricks, or hints would be appreciated.

Thanks!


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Mark Wardell
1996 Dodge 3500, 4x4, Duel, Green and silver, Shocked farm pin hitch, Goose Neck hitch.

 

[Macmc01]

You may try Front Seal Replacement

I think there are other threads on it also.

Mac

 

[GSchroeder]

Pull the brake caliper and wire it up,Remove the axle nut and four bolts holding Knuckle on and slowly pullknuckle off axle. Remove axle while supporting the weight to prevent seal damage. Oh, you might put it in 4wd to make it easier to put axle back in. The bearing cups are very tight inthe yoke. You may want to take it to a shop to have them change the joint.

 

[Extreme1]

Just did mine.
Getting the bearing/hub assembly out of the spindle is the hard part, use a slide hammer type unit. I used a puller a couple years ago and seperated the bearing. That is bad, the whole bearing needs to come out to get the axle out.

Plan on doing the ball joints while you're there, you'll need a 1 1/4" wide opening ball joint seperator to get the bottom one loose.

Knock the top one loose first (has a alignment sleeve that will push up with a standard seperator), drive the seperator into the lower one in tight. I used a mall. Then hold the mall against one side of the housing it's stuck in and hit the other with a 3 lb hammer. Comes right out.

Try oiling both sides of the bearing hub for a few days before you do it, it will help it to come out.

The actual joint replacement was straight forward. Wish I knew about the 4wd engagement before. Take a good look at your spray shield and rotor before you start, now is the time to replace them. They are cheap (shield 15 bananas, rotor 80 bananas) in comparison to the time you will have into it.

You will also need:
32mm socket (Lower ball joint)
1 11/16 Socket (Axle nut)

e-mail if you want more info.

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'94 3500 4x4, 211,000 miles, Never had a cat, Auto w/shift kit (thanks Dave G), 3. 54 Gears, TST #5 plate, 235-85-16s, Rancho 9000s w/remote, Isspro Gauges & Amsoil Air, Oil & Bypass Filters & Lubes, AWOL intake boot.
Punchlist: 14 cm Turbo Housing, Torque Converter & 215 Injectors.
NRA member.
Blue Ribbon Coalition member.
"I am my own performance station"