I'm tired of bringing mine to shops and paying to get u-joints replaced. I have seen many tools for this and i found out the hard way that a hydraulic press is not the best way after i ruined an axle. Who does their own and how? Special tools? I have been looking at some like Tiger Tools kit# 20503.

 

I use a vise, sockets and a hammer. You dont need any special tools.

 

I agree with Nazty. I just did mine using those same tools except swapped hammer for 3lb sledge. Oh and needle nose pliers.
Use the pliers to remove the retaining clips on each side of the U-joint cups. Find a socket that is just about the same size as the cups. Use vise to hold driveshaft in place. Put the socket in the hole for the U-Joint cup and use sledge to motivate the socket through. Remove cup from opposite side and flip shaft over in vise. Put socket in same location on the other side of the driveshaft and pound it through until you can remove the opposite cup. Then remove the U-joint. Clean as needed. Carefully remove the cups from the new U-joint, DO NOT DROP ANY NEEDLE BEARINGS!. Position the new joint where the old one was being careful not get it dirty. Put one cup in the hole in the drive shaft where it belongs and gently insert the joint into the cup as far as you can. Use your vise to ease the cup into the hole. Put the other cup in the other hole and position the joint so it will slide into the cup without damaging the needle bearings. Use your vise again to ease the cup into it's hole. Now reposition shaft in the vise and use your socket and sledge to seat one cup just far enough in to get the clip back in place. Flip the shaft over and repeat. Grease your U-joint and reinstall in the truck.

Wow this seems like so much more when you type it as opposed to knowing it in your head. Hopefully other members will review and correct any errors I may have made in the description. It is really pretty easy.

 

Funny i didn't think my way was much different,set axle up on my press table supporting the yolk with nothing in the way of the cap and on the other side i used a socket on the opposite cap then applied pressure with the hydraulic pump= yolk bent cap moved a little=axle goes to junk pile. BTW dana44 axle! stepin up the rebuild of my dana60
edit: i used a steel pipe nipple not a socket! like smoking, another bad habit i quit.

 

There is probably an underlying cause for your u-joint failure.

 

Yea it really shouldn't be all that hard at all and doesn't require special tools. Now granted I've only done it on the twin beam d44 for my 96, but I've change the axle u-joints on both sides with ease. Just gotta take the rotor, and the plate (don't know the name) and such after that off to access the u-joint.

 

Yea, a loose nut behind the wheel!
No failure took place, I just replaced all ball joints and wheel bearings so it only seemed smart to replace 34 year old non greaseable u-joints before i mount my 39.5 SS. I have a 78-79 hp-dana60 from a Snowfighter waiting for R&P then i can retire the 44.

 

Make sure you use dana spicer u joints! If not you will regret it. They are the strongest stock u joints! Check the needle bearings in your spindle while you have it apart.

 

Rather than pounding the new joints into place (which can deform the caps slightly, and increases your chance of losing the needle rollers) try this:

1) Agree with the earlier bit - take all four clips out, use the socket and hammer, pound the u-joint out one direction (holding it in a vise helps a lot!)

2) Remove the cap that you pounded out (it'll come out the bottom side, big vise grips are your friend)

3) Flip the driveshaft/axle and pound it back down the other way with the socket

4) Remove that side cap. It's it's an axleshaft, you'll probably need to repeat step three two more times to get the caps out of the other side of the shaft.

5) GENTLY sand the inside of the collars where the caps press through. You're just breaking the glaze and removing any light rust that's in there. If you remove too much material, you're going to hurt the shaft/joint life. Use something around 400grit

6) Once you've cleaned up the insides, wipe them down with a rag and WD-40 to remove any potential metal flakes

7) Take the caps off of the new u-joint cross. Store them on their heads so that the needle rollers can't fall off

8) Place one of the caps into the driveshaft or axleshaft - (I prefer to start with the one on the bottom) with the opening in the cap facing upwards (rotate the driveshaft/axleshaft if you start on the side.) If you press it in sideways, a needle roller may fall at a slant - if that's the case you either have to remove the cap to fix it, or try and get your fingers in there to push it back into position.

9) Use a BIG c-clamp, and slowly tighten it. Because of the light sanding we did, the cap should slide in fairly easily. Don't install the cap all the way yet!
10) Slide the body of the u-joint cross into the ears on the shaft. If it has a grease zerk, make sure the zerk is pointing in an accessible direction (you'd be amazed how many people forget this!

11) Now tighten the cap the rest of the way in with the C-clamp. putting the cross into place also holds the needle rollers in place.

12) Spin the driveshaft so that the cap you just installed is on top, and hold the cross body with your fingers. Use your other hand to slide another cap in the opposite side from the one you just did. Tighten with the C-clamp until it's flush with the ears. While doing this, you should hold the u-joint cross up - it'll help keep the needle rollers in the "top" cap from slipping out. However, once you get the bottom cap about half installed, make sure that the needle rollers are all still in place by letting the cross slip down into the bottom cap. If they've moved, you get to play the game of "pull the u-joint cap out with a huge pair of vice-grips!" (spinning as you work it out helps)

13) Once both caps are in place and feel smooth (if it feels oddly "tight", there's something wrong!), use the socket and the C-clamp to seat each cap a little bit further. As you move one side in slightly, put the clip in that side. Then flip the Clamp & socket to the other side, and repeat. Install the other side clip.

14) If this is a axleshaft or CV-style driveshaft, you'll need to repeat 8-12 for the other side of the shaft/CV assembly.


NOTES:
-I've never had a cap fight me on the way in if I cleaned the inside of the ears properly. You shouldn't have to muscle it too badly either - a smooth motion on the c-clamp is what you should feel

-Greasing the threads of the c-clamp will help. A lot.

-If it gets jammed or takes an abnormal amount of force on the u-joint, something's up. if the caps won't seat all the way into the "clip" position, there's a good chance one of the rollers has fallen sideways across the end of the cap and is jamming against the end of the body of the u-joint. If this happens, pull the clip on the good side out, and press it TOWARDS the cap that won't seat with a BIG socket over the mis-seated socket. once it's pressed out slightly (1/8") you can grab it with a big pair of vice grips. Spin the vice-grips back and forth (without tearing up the cap!) and slowly pry between the vice grips and the flange ear with a flat-blade screwdriver. This will let you get it out, reset the rollers, and try again. If you gouge up the end of the cap, it's either "new u-joint" time, or you can dress it with the sandpaper to clean it up.

-If I do another u-joint in the near future I'll take pictures of each step.