well, i was replacing the rear seal on my transmission this afternoon, and was attempting to drop the drive shaft out of the way, when a u-joint cap popped off...and the little bearings fell out. i'm guessin its time for a new u-joint? whats the cheapest/best place to get them? i'm strapped for cash. also, i have no idea what i'm doing when it comes to u-joints, hence, not taping it when i was trying to drop the shaft....

 

The usual auto parts places all have decent ones. Get a greaseable one and not one of those "lifetime" deals.

 

sounds good. its the one that hooks up to the shaft that goes into the tranny. i'm gonna have to pull the u-joint out the rest of the way from the drive shaft then. any hints on how to re-attache it all instead of the pry-bar method i used to take it off?

also, someone by chance have a part number for the rear seal? the one the guy at O-reilly's sold me is too small by about a 1/4 inch in diameter. AND, the one i pulled out of the trany looks to be made of copper or brass. this common? it had a little bit of green corrosion on it like a penny gets.

 

Use a C-clamp and appropriately sized socket to press the caps out.

 

You need to disconnect the rear of the drive shaft from the differential to remove it from the tranny. Should be two bolt on caps for this. Once you drop this down, it is easy to slide the front end out of the tranny. BUT, mark which way the drive shaft fit at the rear, as reinstalling it in a different position (180 or 90 degrees off) can potentially create vibration in the driveline.

And most of the greasable U-joints can't be greased once they are installed, unless you install a different zerk (45 degree) then the one that comes with the U-joint. At least that is the way it works on my truck, so if you don't put in a different zerk the U-joint never gets greased, so the lifetime lubed ones will last much longer.

 

after talkin to my dad, he's gonna help me grease and refit my original u-joint. i hope i found all the bearings that flew out... won't the rear part of the driveshaft be as difficult to get out as the front?i don't know, i've never had to do it before. i'll have a look at it tomorrow evening after Fire School. gotta get a different rear seal first.

 

If you didn't find all the rollers throw it away. Also make sure you get the rollers and the cap very clean before you try to reassemble it. Use a little grease to hold the rollers in the cap until you get it put back together.

 

thats gonna be our course of action. i'm gonna check and see if all the rollers are there for sure before finishing up on it. found 2 more on the ground after the fact earlier this evenin. gonna scour the ground again tomorrow, then use the grease to hold them in, and then tape it on till its installed.

 

Sounds like the old man's got ya' hooked up.

 

Red,
Brother I hate to tell you this, but I have the Ujoints you need, sitting in my box on my truck. And I would love to just give it to you. But for the cost of Diesel, for us to meet, you could just buy a new one. Like Cookie said, if you don't have all the rollers, pitch it. But to find out, clean all the rollers and cap ( I like to use a coffee can with gas. Swirl it around until the gas turns dark or the rollers are clean. Then use a rag as a strainer to pour them out and catch them. Then lay everything on a clean rag and put some fresh grease in the cap. Use a little dab of grease on your fingertip to start picking up rollers and putting them in the cap. When you are done there should be no gap between rollers. If there is, there are some missing.) If you have them all, make sure there is grease in the cap when you put it back on. Don't fill the cap, just make sure that the rollers are covered and that should be pleanty. Also, I forgot some ujoints have a little bushing in the cap where the tips of the rollers ride in the cap. Kinda looks like a thin flat washer about the width of the rollers. Some do some don't. They usually come out when I clean the caps. Anyway, your disassembly was alot harder than it needed to be. MDB was partially right. You should be able to drop the carrier bearing and get the driveshaft out of the way without taking it loose from the rear axle. On either side of the carrier bearing there is a 15mm bolt (I think that's the right size.) Just pull those out, and the driveshaft will drop, so be ready. With that loose you can now use the slip joint in the shaft to pull it away from the yoke on the tranny. You were prying against the carrier bearing to get it out. Our shafts go like this......Tranny yoke, ujoint, shaft, carrier bearing, slip yoke, ujoint, shaft,ujoint, rear axle yoke. Trust me, if it's all clear as mud....it's really easy. I wouldn't kid you brother. Just drop the carrier bearing and you will see what I mean. And no,you didn't damage the carrier bearing by prying against it. It's housed in rubber to dampen vibration, and will give enough to clear that ujoint if you make it. So don't worry about it. I would love to help you more with this project if I could. But Wednesday is the earliest I could even make a trip to China Grove. But if it's gonna be down till Wednesday, let me know. I might just take a little road trip. Anyway, hope that helps brother.

RubberDuck

 

u-jpints are only $10, its worth it to me. in fact thats one less joint to replace later.

and the spicer life series are non-greasable and will outlast any greaseable ones (esp if you neglect to get under the truck with a grease gun)

-cutts-

 

Rubberduck, thanks a bunch, i tried getting that carrier bearing off yesterday, but it wouldn't budge with some WD-40, and i didn't feel like pulling out the impact wrench. gonna hit it again before i go grab the proper seal (i hope). gonna tackle it tongiht. i'm in a MUCH better attitude to fool with it tonight gnna kick its ***! thanks again for all your help, i'll keep ya posted.

 

well.....got the correct seal, and got it replaced succesfully with no leaks. also withthe help of dad, got the u-joint cap fixed up and on the truck, and all of it back together no problems.

downside, the originaly reason i tore it all apart is a sqeal....and its still there. i'm thinkin maybe a wheel bearing, cause thats what it sounds like, and it starts and stops at will when the truck is in motion. gonna fool around with it more tomorrow evenin maybe....

thanks again all for the great help

 

Red, describe the squeel again. Does it not do it when the truck is not in motion? Maybe the rear brakes aren't letting go all the way. Maybe a rock jamed in there. Tell me again.

RubberDuck

 

its hit or miss really. starting out going up the cul-de-sac, thers no noise, but then driving straight, it will start to squeel, and it doesn't matter what the engine or tranny is doing. in neutral its still squealing. mostly sounds like its coming from the right front. our first thought is a wheel bearing, but the hub/bearing assembly is not hot after driving. it will also stop/start if the truck goes overa bump/dip. its really hit or miss more than anyhitng. it will go for a while, then stop for a bit. quite confusing. i thought maybe something caught in the brakes as well, but its from up front, and its going constantly at times.