My truck now has 78K miles on it. I bought the truck new, so I have not driven the truck many miles. I never tow and rarely drive faster than 70 mph. I have treated this truck very carefully and never abuse it However, I have lost the center drive shaft "U" joint 3 times and the front axle "U" joints twice. I lowered the driveshaft center bearing 1" to reduce the driveshaft angle and this did help. At the same time I installed a rplacement "U" joint that was greasable. This too has helped, but 25K miles is not a reasonable "U" joint life expectancy. I have used the highest quality replacement parts I can find, but it appears to no avail, as the front axle and driveshaft joints must again be changed. So I guess I'm posting this experience in hope that others here might have faced the same issue and can shed some light on a solution for an otherwise, flawless truck.

Thanks in advance,
Steve

 

Welcome to one of the problems of early 3rd gen trucks. Although mine has never had a mechanical failure, it has always gone through u-joints like they were candy. In 310,000 miles I've gone through 29 joints all around the truck. I've tried cheap greasables, high-end non-greasables, and factory joints (dealership put in 6 on the rear shaft under warranty) and at some point they WILL fail and most likely prematurely.

Yes, I know how to properly install u-joints, but I have to agree with you, they SHOULD last way longer than they do. My dad's 92 Ferd diesel has about 288,000 miles on it and the factory non-greasable joints are still in that truck......I'm impressed with that.

 

Hi Justin,
Thanks for the reply! I'm sorry you have experienced all those failures, but I'm glad I'm not alone. I had a '96 Dodge 1500 4x4 and I never lost a joint. I hope the later generations are better. Question: If the later trucks are better, what are the changes that made that so?
Steve

 

That's a good question....I'm not real sure what all has been done to the newer trucks other than 1-piece driveshafts to eliminate the carrier (hanger) bearing in the rear.

 

And then I have a 170k on the stock joints... never replaced one, all still tight.

 

I was just wondering how long mine were going to last in my 2004 the other day. They are still good at 78,000 and I think I had to replace the ones in my 1992 at about 100,000.