So I tried to do my U-Joints today. 2003 F150 1 piece driveshaft. It came off ok, hung up a little on the rear diff. I snapped a couple of the retainer springs trying to take them out. Got my socket to pound it out, and smacked my thumb so hard it took 10 stitches. I called the local transmission shop and they did them for me for $50. I have always done my own repairs, and it was really difficult to hand it off to someone else, but it had to be done. Back from the ER, my thumb is still throbbing like a cartoon. I thought it would know to duck when a 3 pound hammer is coming at it.

This is an attempt to get rid of the shudder when the truck hits small bumps and when I shift from reverse to drive. The other things I am considering to address this if it is not the U-Joints are fluid and filter change, and rear tranny mount. This is such a frustrating issue. I'll stay after it and check in when I get it fixed.

 

grease the splines on the end of the shaft with some heavy stuff when you reassemble. That area is a cause of noise during Fwd-Rev shift

 

I found out what the problem was (is). The bed mounts are not tight. This is NOT a simple issue of tightening the bolts in the bed. There are shims between the bed and the frame that seem to be missing. The bolts are not threaded all the way to the head, and they are bottoming out on the threads before the bed is tight to the frame/shims. The shims fell out, allowing the bed to bounce.

The way I verified this was by taking it to a body shop. The guy looked around at it and went to the passenger side, and lifted the bed right off the frame. It moves probably close to an inch! When the weather allows, I'll get some shims and fix it.

We need one of these smile things with the guy wiping the dirt off his hands after solving the problem.

 

So very true! I can attest to this on two trucks. The second truck was fixed a lot quicker knowing the symptoms and fix!



Glad you got her fixed. Sorry about the stitches...OUCH!!!!