what are ujoints excactly, what do they do, where are they?

how much do they cost to replace?

Is it a good idea to replace on a regular basis?

ive had my truck since 99 and havent replaced them ever, would it be good to do as a preventative measure?

thanks

trojanman

 

U-joints are in the ends of the driveshafts to allow them to bend. The U-joint lets you move 1 end up and down while still transfering power through a "straight" shaft. Without it, you couldn't have a suspension that goes up and down. They are pretty cheap to replace, and easy, but you don't have to do it very often on a stock truck. One of the vehicles at my house has 90,000 miles and hasn't needed them. If the vehicle is lifted, that angle is increased, and when that angle is increased, it will wear them out faster.

 

well its a body lift so i dont guess that would cause them to wear faster.... whats a round about cost to replace all of them if i were to, as a precaution? or even if i did need to replace them?

 

At least 4 since you have 4x4. 2 for the rear driveshaft, 2 for the front drive shaft. you might have two more if there is one for each front tire (i believe there are).

 

Well a body lift won't cause your joints to wear any faster. The body lift only spaces your trucks body off the frame while leaving the engine and trans at the same level as it was. This means that all your suspension and drivetrain angles remain the same. If you use your truck hard it really isn't a bad idea to replace them from time to time. With a lift replace them more often than a stock truck.

 

It's under 100 bucks for all of them, depends on how good of a quality you buy.

 

Look up your truck here and you'll see where the u-joints are and how to replace them. A good lifetime u-joint should cost $15-25ea. Fulllsize trucks have 2 in the rear driveshaft (3 on a Bronco), 2 in the front shaft, and 3 in the front axle (2 for solid axles). I'm not sure about the little ones.

 

yea, i was just lettin him know it was a body lift so he wouldnt think there was more wear due to a lift..

 

more wear on steering u joints

 

You can get greaseable U-Joints with a grease zert and you can grease them from time to time. If you go that route, make sure that you can get to the zert with the u-joints installed and that they are all aimed the same direction. Some people swear by these and other people say that the greaseable U-Joints are weaker than non-serviceable ones. The non-serviceable U-Joints are pre-greased from the the factory.

Being as it is a small truck, no offense, I don't think I would worry about which type I got, if I was you.

I would recommend buying either Spicer or Napco brand U-Joints, not the cheapy ones from AutoZone or Checker.

I just pulled mine and they had 126000 miles on them and my truck was beat by the previous owner(construction truck) and I had one going out of the 5 I replaced.

Also, if you do it yourself, take a scribe or permament marker and mark a line on the driveshaft and the differential pinion yoke, the driveshaft and the slip yoke, and on the slip yoke that goes into the tranny and the output shaft housing. Do the same on the front, mark any place where there is a U-Joint. This way, you can put it back in exactly the way it came out. It is also a good idea to replace the rear output shaft seal, it should be about $10 and takes 2 minutes to replace. Drain the t/c first, or you might have tranny fluid everywhere.

Most of this is probably in Steve83's post, but sometimes little tips aren't in the manuals.

 

if you do happen to get the ones from auto zone make sure you get the Brute force brand for 12.99 and not the PDQ's for 7.99. the brute forces are the non serviceable but are much stronger and have a lifetime warranty