Hi guys. '04 E350 V10 with 320k. I need to replace my u-joints, as to my knowledge, they are the originals, and I've got a pretty nasty vibration issue. Looking at rockauto, I'm kinda paralyzed by the sheer amount of options. Which do I get? Do the front and rear use the same model u-joint? Do I get standard or heavy-duty?

Btw, I believe I have a 4-speed automatic transmission. WB is 138.

 

Save yourself the headache and just let the driveshaft shop do them. I would only use Genuine Spicer joints and prefer the spicer life series these days.

 

Oh boy. So it's that bad of a job, huh?

 

Yep---this ^^^^ by a long shot! I was convinced Spicer without the grease fittings were the only way to go---not looked back since.

In order to save yourself all this mental anguish even dealing with RockAuto just have your drive line shop source the Spicer's or buy them through NAPA. Don't accept cheaper alternatives unless a few dollars will drastically affect the budget.

Good luck!

 

WITHOUT the grease fittings?! I feel like everything I've read or watched on YouTube says it's better to have the grease fittings. Shows what I know. Also, JWA, were you agreeing with him letting the shop do it, or using Genuine Spicer joints? Or both?

After calling a few places, parts and labor will cost me over $300. I guess that's why I was looking at rockauto thinking I could do it for less than 75.

 

I believe the spicer life series joints are about 65.00 each. The downside to the units with grease fittings is the weakness of the cross drilling. I was a long time believer in greasing U joints but switched to the life series and haven't gone back. Look how long your original sealed u joints lasted.

 

So are not the same as what you're talking about? I mean, I hope they are, because that's an awfully favorable price. I totally get it on the sealed ones. If I don't have to grease it, then great. I just didn't know the trend had shifted back to non-greasable.

Found another shop who would put Spicers in for 230. If I can do it myself for about $50... then I don't know. Maybe the PITA charge is worth it...

 

No it's not. But you do need a good vise to do it right. All you need is the std duty joints if all you do is normal driving. The non greaseable joints are stronger, but as they can't be regreased easily, they tend not to last as long. There's a compromise now, with joints that have one cup that can be greased with a needle fitting on the grease gun. I have these on my van. And they're not Spicer brand. I've never used Spicer brand and don't have any regrets..

 

I was agreeing on both counts of using the Spicer and having the shop do it. No its not overly complicated IF everything comes apart easily and you make sure you re-install the front yoke in its exact same orientation as it was during original manufacture. The driveshaft and yokes are a balanced assembly so you don't want to undo that.

The shop would do this, they have every tool including the proper vise so they don't have to beat the hell outta things to get them apart or back together.

That price sounds about right---I don't have my NAPA receipt handy for my purchase but IIRC I was into the pair for just about $100 out the door. I paid a trusted friend/mechanic to do the installation---he does this at least twice a week on fleet vehicles he maintains.

As I say without my NAPA receipt I don't know if those shown on Amazon are what I used. Its entirely possible they are the same as Amazon sometimes offers prices for the exact same part for unbelievably low prices. Double check Spicer's site or call their Customer Service people---they'd not steer you in the wrong direction.

This is a job a DIY can do but it does require a bit of knowledge going into first----its not like the old days we'd knock the U-joints out with BFH, install new ones pretty much the same way. Balanced drive shafts were for exotic vehicles only way back when.

Update us if you would---could be helpful to others in the future.

 

Don't think for a minute a shop will do everything correctly. I'm working on a member's 77 F100 that's proof of this. And in driving trucks professionally, I've seen dozens of incompetent mechanics. I call them "parts changers" If you want it done right, use a vise and mark the yoke and the driveshaft before taking them apart. Marking them ? I never do and never had one vibrate afterwards. On a two piece shaft, the main thing is to get the splined shafts back together with the joints lined up. Fail to do that and it will vibrate.

 

If you are mechcanicly capable,you can do them.Thjey are more of a PIA than anything else.supporting the oppisite end of the shaft is cumbersomeYou can use a large vise or,I have used a large c-clamp in the past. I have also done one in a NAPA parking lot!The shops use a press and it only takes them a few minutes each. Any more than an hour labor is excessive. The biggest problem is bending the yoke if the bearing cup is seized. A little heat will ease it out.You are not going to produce enough heat to take the temper out of the yoke.A van doesnt produce enough power to worry about a joint that has the grease fitting .I have greaseable joints on a 475hp corvetee and they hold up fine.Get the ones with the grease fitting on the bearing cap,not on the yoke,You are not going to be drag racing a van or turning the shaft 6000 + rpms..Besides,an automatic transmission doesnt produce the shock loads that a stick does when shifting under power.The biggest thing to watch out for is that the bearings stay put when pressing the cup onto the yoke.If one gets sideways,it will not seat correctly.Just my 2 c.

 

Well this certainly gives me pause to doing this myself. I generally value your opinion on the multiple forums I see you post on. But at the same time, money...


So would a press that you rent from Autozone not be adequate for this? My initial intention was to do that.

 

I am mechanically capable. I've just never done this job. It's one of those things I'm nervous about getting halfway in and then cursing myself for not spending the $200 to have someone else do it.

 

Harbor freight c-clamp, some extra sockets (smaller than the bearing diameter) (bigger than the bearing diameter), and your ready to do this job. While marking the driveshaft shouldn't be an issue it won't hurt to mark them so they line up where they were from the factory. Also if the vibration is bad you may want to have your tires checked. They are the more common culprit on vibration.

 

I don't know, I've always used a vice on my work bench (which makes it somewhat easy to support the other end of the shaft) The main thing is not letting the needle bearings fall out of place in the cups when you go to press them back in place in a vise. You get one cup in and even with the yoke collar, then get the joint into that cup and start the other cup in (using the sockets Spaznut mentioned to press the cups in the vise jaws) Once they're started, be careful to center the joint inside both cups while closing the vise, pressing the cups into the yoke. If the cups won't seat all the way to the clip grooves, then a needle bearing likely fell loose and you'll have to start over. Tacky grease should keep them in place when pressing the cups. This process doesn't always go smoothly at first, but once you've done it a few times it gets easier. Personally I would choose the joints with the zerks in the cross pins than the needle zerks in the cups, to use these you have to have a needle fitting for the greasegun. But one type's as messy as the other, the needle will squirt grease after you pull it off the zerk. The only joints I try to avoid are the store branded joints, "Precision" brand if they have them are what I've mostly used but they're not always in stock at the big chain stores.