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Car Forum / Jeep / February 2007U joints again.
Well my u joint in the rear was not bad as I suspected, but what I found was a strap was loose. It was allowing the shaft to move laterally. Took it to the mechanic, he said u joint was fine. Bearings were good. He said to center it in the yoke upon reinstallation. There are tabs or stops to contain the bearing caps on either side of the yoke, but it is not a tight fit. How can you center it? There is about 1/16" gap. If not centered, won't it vibrate? Thanks, Greg The caps should fit tight. If they don't, there isn't enough grease in the joint. Grease it up real good through the grease nipple and put the caps on.. You'll have to compress the caps with your hand just to get 'em to fit. If the joint doesn't have a grease fitting, it's probably original so go ahead and replace it anyway. Better to learn in your garage at home then on the side of the road. Carl > Well my u joint in the rear was not bad as I suspected, but what I > found was a strap was loose. It was allowing the shaft to move [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Greg > The caps should fit tight. If they don't, there isn't enough grease in the > joint. Grease it up real good through the grease nipple and put the caps [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Hey Carl, thanks. My mechanic said there wasn't enough grease in them so he put some in for me. I put it back together and there is a gap. If I loosen the straps, I can move it laterally. I cannot center it. Also mine do not have grease fittings. It will be out one way or the other about 1/16" Should I take it off again, remove the bearing caps and pack it full? I cant get new ones till next week and I need to drive it. After I put it back on the first time, not knowing to center it, I went for a test drive and was still getting some vibration. Greg Pack it with enough grease to take out that 1/16" gap and put it back on. The cross piece will center itself within that 1/16" difference so long as the caps are tight against the stops. Carl Carl >> The caps should fit tight. If they don't, there isn't enough grease in >> the [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > Greg > Pack it with enough grease to take out that 1/16" gap and put it back on. > The cross piece will center itself within that 1/16" difference so long as [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Thank you so much, I'm on it!! Greg No. As soon as the grease oozes out, it will let the driveshaft run off center, causes vibrations and premature joint failure. > Pack it with enough grease to take out that 1/16" gap and put it back on. > The cross piece will center itself within that 1/16" difference so long as [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] >> >>Greg > No. As soon as the grease oozes out, it will let the driveshaft run off > center, causes vibrations and premature joint failure. [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Yea I've decided to just have it replaced. Greg Greg, Your best bet is a new joint. If the new one doesn't fit tight, you'll need a new yoke (PITA). The re-packed joint will work fine for a week or so untill you get new ones. Be sure to replace the upper and lower at the same time. Carl >> No. As soon as the grease oozes out, it will let the driveshaft run off >> center, causes vibrations and premature joint failure. [quoted text clipped - 62 lines] > > Greg > Greg, > [quoted text clipped - 73 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Excuse my ignorance, but I'm new to all this stuff. Upper and lower? As well how involved is installing a new yoke? Thanks again, Greg Two joints are on the shaft, one at each end. The one near the t-case is the 'upper'. The one in question (the one that attatches to the yoke) is the 'lower'. The new yoke requires some serious torque and a specifically torqued nut to hold the yoke on. IIRC, it's got to be exact or no dice. Just get the joint changed for now and worry about the yoke if the new joint is a problem. I would try to VERY gently tap the cap retainers on the yoke before tacking a yoke replacement. HTH Carl >> Greg, >> [quoted text clipped - 93 lines] > > Greg If the joint is not snug in the yoke, it is likely that the U joint was physically blown out sometime in the past. Not unsual on the short shaft in a CJ/YJ/TJ. And it will cause vibration and premature joint failure. Proper fix is to replace the yoke. $50 plus installation charges. I know other Jeepers who have VERY CAREFULLY tapped the tabs on the yoke in to tighten the joint back up. Not really reccomended but it sometimes works. Your yoke has the straps to hold the U-joint rather than U bolts, replace the straps when you replace the joint. The straps stretch with age or abuse, no longer hold the joint properly. $5 a pair. > Well my u joint in the rear was not bad as I suspected, but what I > found was a strap was loose. It was allowing the shaft to move [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Greg Convert it to a U-bolt like the Real Jeeps: http://www.off-road.com/jeep/tech/axle/aub.html God Bless America, Bill 0|||||||0 mailto:LWHughes3rd@aol.com http://www.billhughes.com/ > Well my u joint in the rear was not bad as I suspected, but what I > found was a strap was loose. It was allowing the shaft to move [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Greg Unfortunately the yoke has been damaged by the loose strap. I have never seen a successful fix for that. The slop will always allow vibration which will destroy the pinion seal and bearing as well as the u-joint eventually or just blow the yoke apart... I have 'heard' a good welder can fill the hole, then regrind a new seat, I have also heard of shims and just plain welding the cap to the yoke. No matter how you decide to try and use it, you should get new straps. They are very inexpensive. Mike 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2115147590 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page) > Well my u joint in the rear was not bad as I suspected, but what I > found was a strap was loose. It was allowing the shaft to move [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Greg > Unfortunately the yoke has been damaged by the loose strap. I have > never seen a successful fix for that. The slop will always allow [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > - Show quoted text - I'm going tomorrow to buy the joint. I pulled the driveshaft again and took a look at the yoke. It looked fine, Took a measurement across the tabs to see if they were bent out. 3.875". Good. Measured across the bearing caps, relaxed, I could squeeze them a little, but a good .125" under. I hope a new one will work. Things did not look that bad under there. Will get new straps. Am going to have a mechanic put it in. And I will reinstall the driveshaft myself. Thanks guys for all the help. Greg> Greg Greg, If you have the choice between an less expensive unit that you have to grease and an expensive premium "sealed for life" joint with a lifetime guarantee I believe most of the Jeepers here would recommend you get the greasable units. (and keep them greased) >> Unfortunately the yoke has been damaged by the loose strap. I have >> never seen a successful fix for that. The slop will always allow [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > > Greg The sealed units are garbage. You want the cheapie greaseable kind. Carl > Greg, > [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] >> >> Greg >The sealed units are garbage. You want the cheapie greaseable kind. I laugh every time I hear this. I have 2 YJ's, a '95 and a '94, both with over 218,000 miles on them. Both with 4 original u-joints. The 4x4 S-10 that I had before got sold with 387,500 miles on it. The 4 factory u-joints in that one outlasted 3 engines and a couple of trannies. -- Old Crow "Yol Bolsun!" '82 FLTC-P "Miss Pearl" '74 XLH chopper(gone but not forgotten) BS#133, SENS, TOMKAT, MAMBM  SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com I will add to the fact the sealed units are garbage, at least for my Canadian Off Road use. I have had to replace 'all' the sealed units in my CJ7 within 2 years of it's complete rebuild. One only lasted 8 months! It (one ear) was contaminated with water when I had to pull it to replace an axle seal so I changed it. I also stupidly put the things into our Cherokee and had to replace all of them withing 2 or 3 years too. These had a 'lifetime' warranty on them and I saved all the receipts so got to take them back for 'money' when I showed I replaced them with ones costing 1/4 as much. I will also add they 'every' time I come back from a bush run and grease my u-joints, I always get water out of them. These sealed units might be great for desert rats and for those that run strictly 'on' road, but not for mud runners or creek crossers.... Mike 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2115147590 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page) >> The sealed units are garbage. You want the cheapie greaseable kind. > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > BS#133, SENS, TOMKAT, MAMBM > Same here but as Mike says no mudding for me. Otoh, if you get an aftermarket "lifetime warranty" part is it the same as or better than the OEM part it is replacing? Sometimes not. It's that magic UAW "factory touch" I guess. Earle > >The sealed units are garbage. You want the cheapie greaseable kind. > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > '74 XLH chopper(gone but not forgotten) > BS#133, SENS, TOMKAT, MAMBM |
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