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Car Forum / Dodge / Dodge Trucks / September 2006

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Front Driveshaft U Joint Replacement in 98 2500 4x4

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WTP07 - 05 Sep 2006 18:02 GMT
Hey all,

I need to swap out the U joint in my right side front driveshaft in the next
week or so.

Any forseeable problems?  I just had the brake rotors replaced, so the hubs
should still be "fairly" easily removable...

Is it simply a matter of removing wheel, caliper, anvil, rotor/hub assembly,
drive axle, then replacing the U joint?  I did my rear driveshaft U joints
last week with no problems other than finding the correct ones....(Napa,
Crappy Tire, & PartSource all showed them having 3 different U joints...they
were all the same)

TIA,

Randy.
Tom Lawrence - 05 Sep 2006 23:26 GMT
> Is it simply a matter of removing wheel, caliper, anvil, rotor/hub
> assembly, drive axle, then replacing the U joint?

Pretty much...  need a big socket for the axle nut (1-11/16 maybe?).  Loosen
this with the wheel on the ground (pop the hubcap off, remove the cotter
pin, then loosen nut).  Raise the wheel, remove it, remove the brake caliper
(two 3/8" allen bolts - don't let caliper hang by the brake hose - tie it up
to the coil spring with a bungee cord), loosen the four hub bolts on the
back side (14mm 12-point socket) a little bit, and tap them with a hammer to
"press" the hub off of the knuckle.  If they were just done, it should be
pretty easy to take off.

Slide the hub/rotor assembly off the knuckle, and off of the axle shaft.  If
the axle shaft wants to come out with it, so be it - you can just pull/tap
it out of the hub once it's removed from the axle housing.

The axle u-joints use external snap rings, as opposed to the internal style
you saw on your driveshaft U-joints.  They clip around the U-joint cups on
the inboard side of the yoke ears.  Tap them out with a small, sharp cold
chisel or similar.  The rest of the procedure is identical to your
driveshaft joints.

For re-assembly, torque the four 12-point hub bolts to 125ft.lbs., and the
axle nut to 175 ft.lbs.
WTP07 - 07 Sep 2006 20:36 GMT
Tom,

Thanks...I will give it a go next week....

R.

>> Is it simply a matter of removing wheel, caliper, anvil, rotor/hub
>> assembly, drive axle, then replacing the U joint?
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> For re-assembly, torque the four 12-point hub bolts to 125ft.lbs., and the
> axle nut to 175 ft.lbs.
JLAKE - 14 Sep 2006 16:05 GMT
I did the u-joints on my 99'ram 1500 4x4 not to long ago. One thing I
learned is it is not nessary to take the hub apart. You can slide the axle
shafts out from the knuckles,axle without the extra uneeded work of taking
the hub apart.
Tom Lawrence - 15 Sep 2006 02:34 GMT
>I did the u-joints on my 99'ram 1500 4x4 not to long ago. One thing I
> learned is it is not nessary to take the hub apart. You can slide the axle
> shafts out from the knuckles,axle without the extra uneeded work of taking
> the hub apart.

How exactly did you remove an axle shaft with the hub still bolted to the
knuckle?
JLAKE - 15 Sep 2006 16:40 GMT
The only bolts you need to remove after you take the brake caliper and
rotor off are 3 14mm 12pt. bolts on the back of the steering knuckle(they
are at 125lb-ft, so they will be tuff to remove. Then you have to work the
outer hub bearing race out from the knuckle. I did this to my 99' ram with
a dana 44 front axle, yours may be different? I/m not sure.
Tom Lawrence - 15 Sep 2006 17:23 GMT
> The only bolts you need to remove after you take the brake caliper and
> rotor off are 3 14mm 12pt. bolts on the back of the steering knuckle

Yeah - that's what holds the hub to the knuckle.  I'm confused by your
statement, "it's not necessary to take the hub apart".  The hub is a sealed
unit - it can't (or at least isn't supposed to) come apart, but it does need
to be removed from the knuckle.  It was never stated to disassemble the
hub - only to remove it from the steering knuckle.
JLAKE - 15 Sep 2006 17:51 GMT
Your right. Someone earlier in the post was talking about removing the
1-11/16" axle nut to take off the hub-bearing assemble from the axle
shaft. That is what I was saying doesn't need to be removed, if your just
going to replace the u-joint. Sorry if I've been giving you info you
already know.
JLAKE - 15 Sep 2006 18:21 GMT
Go to PAVEMENTSUCKS.COM Click on the TECH section near top of page. Then
scroll down to DRIVTRAIN section and click on HUB AND AXLE JOINT
REPLACEMENT. It has pictures and good step by step how to's.
Tom Lawrence - 15 Sep 2006 19:59 GMT
> Your right. Someone earlier in the post was talking about removing the
> 1-11/16" axle nut to take off the hub-bearing assemble from the axle
> shaft. That is what I was saying doesn't need to be removed, if your just
> going to replace the u-joint.

Okay - now I see.  So, you left the hub attached to your stub axle while you
changed the U-joint?  I guess you could do that... kind of a pain to work
with, but it could be done.

Unfortunately, on a 2500/3500 truck, the hub is also pressed into the
rotor - so now you have a much bigger hub/rotor assembly hanging on the stub
axle, and getting in the way.  The axle really should be removed from the
hub.
JLAKE - 15 Sep 2006 21:56 GMT
After you remove the brake caliper the rotor should just pull off. At least
that is how it is on my truck. Again your right the hub is kinda in the
way, it makes cahnging the u-joint a little more difficult.
Tom Lawrence - 15 Sep 2006 22:08 GMT
> After you remove the brake caliper the rotor should just pull off. At
> least
> that is how it is on my truck.

2500/3500's are different than your 1500.  Trust me, I've done enough of
them - the hub is pressed into the rotor.
 
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