Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) U-joints

[pbell]

Its time to replace the u-joints in my D/C. any sugestions on which brand to use and where to get them? Is it wise to replace both u-joints on the rear driveshaft?

 

[Reb.B]

i use spicer. Are the joints bad? they tend to last for a long time if the truck is well maintained.

 

[Mad Bomber]

U joints

I agree the spicer are a good one to use they also have a Better zerk on them. It is in the center of the joint not on one of the caps so grease get to all four caps. Eric

 

[tarussell]

Thumbs up for Spicer U-Joints !!!!! Thomas

 

[stevek]

Not to sound ignorant, but how can you tell when the u-joints go south?

 

[Ncostello]

You'll sometimes hear a real bad binding sound. The binding occurs when the needle bearings lock up and dont allow it to pivot properly. When you gas it, the torque wants to cause the axle housing to rotate (spin the opposite direction that the tires are turning) which then causes the angles to change in the drive line... which is where the u-joint comes in to compensate for such angle variance. A bad one can echo through the drive shaft and be quite loud. Or you may just notice some slop in them by tugging them around under the truck. If you ever notice any of this... they are history. I usually dont suspect they are bad until something really makes it obvious.

 

[Mad Bomber]

They also squeek at low speeds under load

 

[FFutch]

another question...

... how many miles are you guys getting out of your factory joints?... Doug

 

[Hohn]

use a synthetic lube

If you use an axle grease from Redline or Amsoil, those joints will almost never wear out. They make break, but you will almost never wear them out. .



Hohn

 

[RobbyRam]

"U Joints" Now I have to worry about something else going wrong?? I can't take this!

Bob in Sacramento

 

[Texas Diesel]

Bob, your truck is composed of 2,344,567,955. 1 parts, as are all the rest, I hope you like to worry...

 

[baby.driver]

109,000 miles on mine.

 

[JJW_ND]

Over 200K

I had my factory original rear drive shaft rebuild/balanced at 210K. Ujoints had to be shot... Right!



Truck pulled lots of trailers, ran through four sets of rubber and one 5sp transmission. Joints never touched. Ever!



Driveline shop saved the worst joint. They said it had little if any wear and it was only because it was dry others like new! Nothing was loose or out of balance.



They put in all new spicer joints with zerks. Strongly recomneded that I grease every oil service and I do.



I read a comment a while back that the "Mitchells'" found the factory zerkless joints to be the strongest. After seeing how many miles a zerkless joint can go, and how much of a mess I now have on the onderside from the surplus grease, I wish I would have put the factory originals back in or at lease the spicer ones without zerks.



jjw

ND

 

[fj40charles]

I don't think it matters much what brand of grease you choose to lube the ujoints with as long as it is a high temp.



The most important thing is to do it frequently and don't let it dry out.



Not trying to start a grease war.



charles

 

[pbell]

i called the stealer to go with the original equipment but they want about $65 each. is that about what they cost at other places. that seems expensive to me and you cant even grease them. where else can you get spicer at?



i appreciate the help!

 

[Mad Bomber]

Get them @ NAPA they are about $23. 00

Eric Wagener

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I got mine for $28 each from the dealer - that was with a 25% discount. So they should be around $40 at list price - try checking at another dealer. I put 80,000 on my rear u-joints and that was with a lot of running at the sand dunes and a lot of general abuse (drag racing, etc). Still had grease in them. The only one that was bad was the rearmost one. I always replace them all at once rather than taking the shaft apart multiple times. Just lazy I guess. IMO I would only go with the stock u-joints. I found the rear one bad when I was at Enterprise Engine getting my clutch installed. Couldn't find a stock one in stock so I bought a spicer from NAPA to get home on. I then replaced all of them with OEM ones along with the carrier bearing (it was bad too). The OEM u-joints were WAY heavier duty than the spicer, I would estimate it weighed at least 40% more. The center was solid rather than hollow and the nubs that the bearings ride on were at least twice as thick. JMHO

 

[Mad Bomber]

U Joints

Steve, can you add grease to the stock one's? the ome's don't have a zerk to grease them?





Thanx Eric Wagener

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

No you can't - there is no zerk. After 80,000 miles they were still full of grease and no contamination had gotten in there. I run my truck on the sand dunes regularly and expected to see some sand in there but didn't find any. The center of the stock u-join is completely solid so the only way that they could be greasable would be to have a grease fitting in all 4 caps. I've never gotten 80,000 miles out of a u-joint before this truck and that includes greasable ones so for me at least that's not a big consideration.