Nick02Ram

I noticed a vibration on decel, climbed under it tonight at work, and turns out to be exactly what I thought....uni's on rear shaft. I've replaced em twice now in the past yr anda half or so. Are these known for having problems? It seems like they started going out right after I put my Edge in, maybe can't handle the added TQ? I put a set in from Advance the first time, I forget what they're called, but the guy said they were their heavier duty ones. Second time I put in NAPA's. And now, same problem. Front one on the T-case seems ok, but the one on the diff feels like there's no needles left in one cup. Anyone have any ideas on maybe whats goin on, and opinions on good U-joints would be appreciated...and I always keep em greased, so thats not an issue.

dodge24

Well first off, since you have a six speed, the u-joints will tend to see a little more abuse. Second, only install high quality joints like Spicer. Spicer ujoints are the only game in town as far as ujoints are concerned. It's personal preference, but I try to use the non greasable sealed joints as I have had good luck with them at both work and on my own vehicles. However you may want greasables if water contamination is possible or if road salt is used. Good luck!

RPegram

Do you do a lot (or any) playing in mud and water? I've seen mud eat up a set of joints in less than a month (not cheap joints either). Mud will go places you never knew existed. If you like mud, just keep a couple of extra sets laying around.

Nick02Ram

She doesn't see mud very often, a lot of salt, though. I know how mud can be, every time I tear into my quad I find more and more mud in the strangest places. I did destroy a deer the other night, that's the whole reason I climbed under there, thought maybe it knocked somethin loose. I'll check into some Spicers and see how it goes. Thanks for the quick replies... Darn truck is fallin apart suddenly, may be at the shop all weekend for VP44, Universals, and ball joints

G1625S

When they start going that frequently, I tend to start thinking about the pinion bearing, or the yoke itself getting a little tweeked. JMO.

nickg

if you grease them all the time, you could have "popped" the seals, this allows the grease to exit the U-joint, only put in enough grease till you heard a quiet "pop" then stop greasing!

lovinCTD59

I had a problem with on of my old trucks, i replaced the U joint 2 times in 1 year and it was a greaseable joint. Turned out after inspecting the U jount after I got it pressed out that one of the 'canals' for grease to one of the caps kept gettin "plugged" and not allowing grease to go to that one cap.
I installed a Spicer greaseable just before I sold it to my buddy, that was almost 3.5 years ago and over 100,000 miles ago. No problems to date with that spicer..

dieselman2300

If its a 2 piece shaft, check your carrier bearing. They are an awful design.

I only run Spicer NON-GREASABLE or the USA made NEAPCOs.

I like the NON-GREASABLES because they are a sealed design and MUCH stronger.

Nick02Ram

Thanks for the replies guys, there does seem to be a little bit more than the normal tailshaft play. I grease regularly, but correctly. I couldn't find anyone who had a Spicer uni' for me, but I got one of NAPA's heavy duty ones. It looks to be pretty good. It is greaseable, but the zerk is actually in the end of one of the caps, which I have never seen. We'll see how this one does, and I will take a closer look at finding any play anywhere else. I was only under there long enough to pull the shaft today, was short on time.

OUTDOORSMAN

I have had to replace the same u joint a couple of times. I always use a press and believe I am doing it correctly. What are the signs of a bad carrier bearing? Mine seems to be "soft". Easy to wiggle back and forth but not torn.

Just recently the u joint at the rear differential started to sqeak. I oiled it real good and it quit. I fear that u joint is dry and ready to be replaced. I plan to check it out tommorow.

Cowboy_Customs

Best way in my opinion to find a bad or going carrier is to simply push up or pull down on the driveshaft and see how much play is in the carrier bearing rubbers. It it seems like you can wiggle it around alot, it may be time to replace it. Thats just my opinion anyway.

My initial thought on the u-joint issue was something other then cruddy u-joints. Carrier, out of balance driveshaft.... Those kind of things can put a lot of undue stress on other wear parts, and cause them to fail prematurly.

Do you have a lift on the truck?

caper

IMO the proper way to grease is to flush the joint out.Pump untill you see fresh grease from all four cups. This gets rid of any sand , dust, water etc... thats in there . If you drive on dusty roads alot ,grease alot same for watery roads . These seals on greaseable joints are made to bleed the grease as you put it in , just giving it a couple of pumps without flushing them out just leaves contaminants in there. my experiance it that greaseable joints last alot longer , as long as you grease them according to conditions they are being used in . Its a bit more work but it puts you under the truck more to where you may see any other problems starting ie... leaks , rusted brake lines etc......., which are good things to catch early. Yes I have a greasing fettish.