Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

rear u-joint on driveshaft keeps failing

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • rear u-joint on driveshaft keeps failing

    HI, I just bought a 98 2500 5.9l, 35in tires, with around a 4 inch lift. I've had it two weeks and went through 2 u-joints. Both were on the rear of the drive shaft. No off-roading, no hard driving, and probably less than 200 miles total driving. Any ideas about what I should be looking for in a way of a fix?

  • #2
    Are the caps wallowed out in the yoke? What kind of failure is it? Does it spit the cap out, is the trunion cross failing? And lastly what brand of Joints? Who is doing the install? Paying someone or are you doing it? Is it at the rear axle, carrier bearing or transmission output?
    1942 WC53 Carryall in progress.

    Comment


    • #3
      It's the rear of the driveshaft where it connects to the rear axle, so no to the transmission and no to the carrier bearing. one cap is missing and one is still attached in the yoke of the rear spindle.

      the rest of the u-joint is still intact. the yoke looks gouged where the u-joint probably came out at. The strap on that side is also worse for the wear.

      I paid someone to replace these and I do not know what brand or model he used.

      Comment


      • #4
        Find your local driveshaft shop and get a set of Spicer Joints for the truck and put them in yourself. Also replace the straps and hardware. Its possible that the person that replaced them did not replace the straps and if they are stretched then can let the cap wallow, crack and then eject. That guy is really spinning under there when you think about it... about 3 to 4 times faster than the tire rotation.
        1942 WC53 Carryall in progress.

        Comment


        • #5
          u joint

          Friend of mine had a 99 furd superduty with a similar problem, due to heavy use and even heavier burnouts, he successfully spread the yoke. as a result it consumed u joints untill he finally decided to replace it. I'm also not a fan of the strap and 2 screws used to hold the caps in, the old style with one u bolt per side seems to be a far better design.

          Comment


          • #6
            With a lift kit on the truck you may have an angle issue with the rear axle. It may need to have shims added to the spring perch to help. Universals are not happy outside of their designed angle parameters. The earlier statement about the 2 bolts and straps vs the u-bolt style is valid. I fixed that on the front axle of my old '78 Wagon by drilling the yoke and installing the u-bolts.

            Comment

            Working...
            X