u-joints again?!?!?!

[JasonHolmes]

my 03 2500 4x4 has 86000 miles on it and I will be puting my fourth set of rear joints in. Is this at all normal? I had the first two sets put in at my dealer in upstate N. Y. When i moved to O. H. I had to get a new dealer when it came time for a third set in feb. this year. The new dealer told me the drive shaft was bent. I thought perfect, no more chasing u-joints. WRONG... A new drive shaft,joints and 10,000 miles later i need joints again. I very rarely haul the gooseneck and have never loaded the bed. what is going on? The only thing i can think of is the way i drive. Six speed and 4. 10's make it very easy to start from a stop in 3rd gear. 2nd seems useless on level ground unloaded. Am i shooting myself in the foot driving that way?

Thanks in advance

Jason

 

[jwilliams3]

You need greasable U joints. Keep grease in them.



Go to www.rockauto.com and order some Precision #351's.

You will need to grind a little off each cap for a perfect fit but you wont have to change them for about 100,000 miles or more if you keep them greased up.

 

[steved]

my 03 2500 4x4 has 86000 miles on it and I will be puting my fourth set of rear joints in. Is this at all normal? I had the first two sets put in at my dealer in upstate N. Y. When i moved to O. H. I had to get a new dealer when it came time for a third set in feb. this year. The new dealer told me the drive shaft was bent. I thought perfect, no more chasing u-joints. WRONG... A new drive shaft,joints and 10,000 miles later i need joints again. I very rarely haul the gooseneck and have never loaded the bed. what is going on? The only thing i can think of is the way i drive. Six speed and 4. 10's make it very easy to start from a stop in 3rd gear. 2nd seems useless on level ground unloaded. Am i shooting myself in the foot driving that way?

Thanks in advance

Jason

Your driving habits have nothing to do with it...



They are just bad OE joints... probably find they might be getting installed too tight and they are wearing out prematurely... or they are most likely just junk.



Could also be the shaft is out of balance... mine was off quite a bit...



steved

 

[oneshotkyle]

if the driveline was out of balance you would for sure feel it. make sure you greese them at every service interval. should always check yourself cause most lube shops places get lazy.

 

[steved]

if the driveline was out of balance you would for sure feel it. make sure you greese them at every service interval. should always check yourself cause most lube shops places get lazy.

Umm, mine was out for over 70k and I never felt a vibe... the driveshaft shop put over an ounce on it... do not think that you will feel a vibration every time... they attributed the rear of the shaft being out that caused the rear shaft to fail...



steved

 

[Cattletrkr]

Precision 351

Spicer 5-188X--I think



I had a 351 go out when my hanger bearing went out. Dealer replaced it with DC issue and it's still going strong 81K later. knocking on wood Original that I replaced with the 351 lasted 45K.



3rd gear starts = fine for SBC DD launches. I doubt that has anything to do with your joints going out, but it could be indicative of other bad habits that might be hard on stuff.