U-Joint Problems

[Wheezy]

I have researched U-Joints via the search function for the last few days... . I am having a problem figuring out which joint is bad. The front Axle U-Joints have a little play, but on the rear u-joint (one right before rear pumpkin) you can see the rubber seal coming out around the cap. It squeaked at first, then it started vibrating pretty badly, but like I said, I can't figure out which one it is.

The rear-most u-joint was replaced under warranty at 6000 miles. This is the first problem I have had since then.



John

 

[jwilliams3]

Do you have a long wheel base truck?

 

[j.m.mcfly]

pull out the driveshaft and check to see if jounts are tight or loose,as for the front they should not have any play

 

[Wheezy]

I have a SWB 4x4...



I will pull out the drivshaft and check them out.



Thanks for the input.



John

 

[Big_H316]

Get this... ... first time I had a HORRIBLE, I MEAN HORRIBLE bad vibe in the truck I took it to dealer and told them the u-joints were out they said they would have to diagnose the prob. An entire day later they said it was a driveshaft issue but not sure which one. I told them to pull out the rear shaft and drive it in 4wd to find out which one it was. A day later they called and said it was the u-joints in the rear shaft. DUH!!! They were seized up tighter than a clock (you could not even move the joints). Had I have known this was going to be a 3-day process I would have pulled a joint and taken it to the nearest NAPA and had them x-reference it. THEY ARE OUT THERE... . TRUST ME... . AND WITH ZERKS!!!! That friggin dealership screwed me out of 3 days worth of work all for a u-joint problem. TIP: Replace them ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A dealership joint will only have a small amount of grease in them, I went to the parts store and bought a can of marine bearing grease to put in the joint caps and after 50k miles have had no more troubles (after 3 sets). I think there was a no grease issue from the factory because the set that I put marine grease into had little if any grease in them to start with. When I pulled the caps lose the needle bearings fell out of the cap... thats the reason for the heavy duty marine grease. Save yourself the time and heart-ache and do this job yourself..... it's easier than you think and will go MUCH FASTER. The aftermarket joints are about $34 a piece as apposed to $110!!!!!

 

[Kry226]

I would have pulled a joint and taken it to the nearest NAPA and had them x-reference it. THEY ARE OUT THERE... . TRUST ME... . AND WITH ZERKS!!!! TIP: Replace them ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The aftermarket joints are about $34 a piece as apposed to $110!!!!!

Yeah, but I have yet to see a confirmed, 100% accurate post that gives exact aftermarket u-joint part numbers without having to file the joint here or there to make it fit. If there is a direct aftermarket replacement for our u-joints, could you please post part numbers. Thanks.

 

[jwilliams3]

295 for auto's

351 for 6 speeds.

NAPA

 

[FDavid]

I had my u joints replaced at the local hilljack dealer under warranty. Two weeks later the same problem happened. So I took it to another dealer (5 star) and told them that I just had the darn things replaced. They said fixing the u joints is like putting a bandaid on an open wound. They went ahead and replaced my driveshaft which was out of balance causing the u-joints to fail and as an added bonus when I went to go pick up the truck they said they went ahead and replaced my alternator bracket as well. Try and get to the root of the problem.



Dave

 

[JHardwick]

I've been up and then down this road. Dealer won't listen to me and add some grease and/or check carrier alignment. They have replaced shafts and u-joints 3 times in 60,000+ miles. I'll be out of warranty soon and at that point, have a good joint put in and have the rear carrier properly aligned.

 

[Ftuttle]

My rear u-joint went at 34k. What hacked me off was that I called them ahead of time, told them it was the rear u-joint, and asked if they had the part in stock - "sure, no problem" I was told. What a load of crap. I was without my truck for 2 days: 1 day to "diagnose" and 1 day to get the part and install it. (thankfully, I don't earn a living w/ mine, but it shouldn't matter!)





-frank

 

[Cattletrkr]

295 for auto's

351 for 6 speeds.

NAPA

Yep, perfect fit. The name on the box is Precision. If you don't have a Napa close by, someone else should carry them. Some routine clean up is necessary on the shaft, but no filing of the joint itself.

 

[Wheezy]

Well, here's the scoop...



Took the truck to Texas Offroad Trucks in Magnolia, TX since I am out of the powertrain warranty to get some opinions being the second time I had U-Joint issues. When he called me today he said that the front axle u-joints were in the process of going bad, right along with the bearing located within the sealed hub assembly on both sides. I trust him and his shop, so I called the Dodge Dealership and got some prices $363 for one hub assembly and $410 for the other hub assembly... THEN the axle u-joints were $75 per side and $8 per side for seals. I am pretty ****** with only having about 80k on the clock with very little pulling.



OH YEAH... The vibration (the actual reason I took it to a shop) was coming from the two u-joints on the rear driveshaft, that were replaced at 5k Scott at Texas Offroad swears there is a Spicer direct replacement, so as soon as he gets a part number, I will share it with you guys.



I go on a 2500 mile round trip on Friday... Glad I had it looked at instead of just doing the rear u-joints myself.





John

 

[Mathew Clausen]

Feel the joints

Here is an idea for diagnosis ... . When one of my rear u-joints started sqeeking and vibrating I crawled under and felt each yoke after driving at freeway speed for a while. One was very warm, all others were cold. I put a big felt tipped 'X' on that ear and took it to the dealer who replaced it under warranty. Not sure if they would always get warm when failing, but that worked out as an easy way to find the bad one for me.



Mathew

 

[Wheezy]

Here is an idea for diagnosis ... . When one of my rear u-joints started sqeeking and vibrating I crawled under and felt each yoke after driving at freeway speed for a while. One was very warm, all others were cold. I put a big felt tipped 'X' on that ear and took it to the dealer who replaced it under warranty. Not sure if they would always get warm when failing, but that worked out as an easy way to find the bad one for me.



Mathew

That's how the shop I took it to diagnosed it... Except they used a temp guage.

 

[Jeremiah]

Replace ALL u-joints AND balance the d/shaft

If one u-joint goes bad, a good dealer will suggest you replace 'em all. YOU will have to INSIST that the driveshaft gets balanced too. The dealer will try to avoid the latter because he has to sub it out and is held hostage to what the drive shaft shop charges him.



Dealers don't like feeling the way we feel when we bring our truck to him.



Just insist on the drive shaft being balanced because chances are good it will need it. The shop foreman will say it doesn't because all the splines lined up and blah, blah, blah, but don't believe it. Drive it on the highway, then bring it back and say you felt a slight vibration or noise that wasn't there before.

 

[rbattelle]

Yep, perfect fit. The name on the box is Precision. If you don't have a Napa close by, someone else should carry them. Some routine clean up is necessary on the shaft, but no filing of the joint itself.

I think Kry226 means direct fit, NO filing of anything (joint, yoke, fingernails). Just press-in and go.



-Ryan

 

[Kry226]

I think Kry226 means direct fit, NO filing of anything (joint, yoke, fingernails). Just press-in and go.



-Ryan

Yeah, that's it exactly. I don't want to make a bad problem worse. Thanks Ryan.

 

[Cattletrkr]

Yeah, that's it exactly. I don't want to make a bad problem worse. Thanks Ryan.

In that case you have to clean up the parts before you put them back together. That's all I had to do with mine. Here's how it goes with anything you fix like this.



1. Take broken part out



2. CLEAN UP RUST AND WHATEVER MARKS YOU MADE BY PERFORMING STEP ONE, ie. sharp points or cuts from imperfect hammer swings or slipping with the air chisel.



3. Put new pieces in. This step is much easier to do if you performed step 2.



I knew my last post was going to cause some confusion, but that parts have to be cleaned up before reassembling them. If you took a brand-new-never-been-driven drive shaft apart, you'd still want to clean it up first. I'm not suggesting putting a grinding wheel to it to make it fit, just clean up the rust or whatever from the edges. No changes need to be made in dia. on either the shaft or the joint to get the above mention Precision #'s to fit.



I hope this clears things up a little.

 

[COSEng]

U-Joint saga of the day.....



Had the joint closest to the pinion changed by the dealer at 27. 000. This week (about 34,000) I started getting driveline vibration again. Took it to the dealer and told them another rear driveline joint is going bad.



In their wisdom they removed the rear driveshaft-nothing bad, removed the front drive shaft-nothing bad, inspected the fron axle joints-these have play-must be the cause of the problem (even if the noise/vibration is in the rear)-parts ordered see you when the get in.



On the way home while listening/feeling the noise/vibration, I just stopped at NAPA and picked up a Precision 351. Got up this morning and removed the rear drivehsaft. Sure enough the center joint was dry and binding badly. I have saved the joint to take into the dealer monday and have some fun... :-laf



Observations:



If your vibration is on deceleration (when almost stopped) it is the rear joint closest to the pinion.



If you vibration is when starting out (going slow) then goes away it is the middle joint.



I had to grind the caps slightly on the 351 joint to get the snap rings to go in correctly.



Carl

 

[rbattelle]

I had to grind the caps slightly on the 351 joint to get the snap rings to go in correctly.

This is what me and Kry226 are talking about. Cattletrkr says they fit with no problem (other than cleanup... thanks for clarifying that, I understand now), and COSeng says he had to grind the caps to get the snap rings in.



Who's right?



-Ryan