Well, its that time again, truck just turned 60k and the u-joints are shot again. (They failed the first time around 25k) I know there has been alot of discussion on this subject, but I haven't seen much lately. Is there a cure for this problem I can tell my dealer, or is it still a hit or miss thing still? Any info would be appreciated. I've read about this problem on mostly '03's and '04's, so did they change somthing? How about the newer trucks, any problems there?

Cat Cracker.

 

I found some extreme duty u-joints online, CTM was the brand. Two problems though, they were only shown for the Dana axles and they were $200 EACH.

They sure sounded and looked nigh indesctruble though.

 

those are for wheeling rigs
for street use they will be destroyed in 1 day

they are ment for slow speed crawling only

 

Bullocks. Why on Earth would they be destroyed in one day on a street vehicle? Seems absurd to me. They can't stand high rpms? Explain to me what feature of making an extremenly strong u-joint out of thicker, better, and heat treated material would result in a unit that fatigues and fails quickly under normal rpm driving conditions.

There is nothing on their website that even mentions offroading, although they are used by offroaders since they stress them the most and are the only ones who would require such beefiness. How does a u-joint know where it is?

 

they do not have bearing in them at all, thats why they cant stand high rpms

so you have the cap, thin layer of grease, bronze sleeve, another thin layer of grease, then the cross pin

i will see if i can find you some pics and writeups

 

you can see it here

EDIT: below

 

Or not.

 

Your link doesn't work for me, but I can only assume your correct. I wouldn't have conceived of a u-joint with no needle bearings, crazy. You'd think they would have a huge warning on the CTM website.

 

sorry for the link
ill find the pic again and host it myself
stay tuned

 

these are for a dana 44
stocker spicer joint on the left and ctm on right

 

Great pics. Too bad they don't make a regular u-joint for daily use that's built with the same quality. Not that they make anything for AAM axles anyway.

 

i have never looked but does spicer make joints for these axles?
i have always had great luck with their stuff, and have yet found the need to upgrade to cromo shaft and ctms

 

its a good practice, around here, to not link to a site with there kind of language just givin you a heads up

 

I was hoping that having to replace my u-joints around 24000 miles was just because I got a bad set of u-joints but it sounds like that is not the case. I thought that was rediculous that the u-joints went out on my truck that quickly. Let me know if anyone here finds aftermarket heavy duty u-joints for these trucks.

thanks,

Matt

 

i didnt link to the site, only to a picture
if you went searching for the pic then i apoligize