I began hearing squeeking in the rear of 2002 F-250 7.3. I replaced the u joint. I took the 2 brackets off of the carrier bearing to get the driveshaft to drop. All seemed well replacing the u-joint using the press and a torch. After replacing it there is a vibration between 30 and 55. I notice it in the steering wheel and the side view mirrow is vibrating. I didnt mark the driveshaft so I am not sure I installed it exactly how I found it. I rotated the shaft 180 degrees. on the rear diff and also rotated the u-joint in the middle (i think thats the carrier bearing). It did not help much at all. I greased the caps before I put it on, squeezed some grease in when I did it, thinking there was not enough grease in it I reapplied making sure there was grease pushing out of the joint. I did not have any vibration before I replaced the joint. When I was trying to pull the shaft out, I did move it a bit where the rubber boot is on the shaft near the carrier bearing, 4 or 5 inches but when I realized it was coming out of there I pushed it back in. I checked and all the clips are in the new joint and the old carrier bearing joint. What would cause this vibration? Thanks for any help!

 

Usually it's when you don't get the u-joints lined up the way they came off.

 

It could be a couple of issues.
As previously noted with improper installation, loosing or misaligning the needle bearings or improper indexing of the shaft. Try reindexing the shaft again, you have a few combinations to deal with. Worse case, redo the joints over. Although i have done several joint jobs in the past i had always marked the shafts and now i pay to have someone else do them because now i can.

 

We replaced it at the station about 1230 at night. Although the squeeking was gone, I noticed the vibration on my way home. My neighbor who is a mechanic said I must have the shaft rotated 180 degrees. I thought I just needed to move the rear yoke 180 so after I did that we took it for a test drive. It was worse. He asked if I moved both the front and rear and when he found out I had not moved the front said that may be the problem. I removed the brackets and moved the front (carrier bearing u joint) and it was back to the same way it was on my way home. Could it be because I didnt replace the carrier bearing u joint? I moved it all around and it did not seem to have any problems. If I replace the u joint again, how will I know which way to reattach the shaft? Will it cause any damage to the truck driving it like this for a few weeks while I try to figure it out or should I just take it to the garage for repair. Is there a place on the web where I could see exactly how the yokes are supposed to be lined up? I am at a loss. Read a few posts that said I need to smack it around with a hammer after it is mounted. Also, should I looosen the 4 rear bolts and try to adjust the rear where it mounts to the diff? Thanks again for any help. I am trying to get this fixed without draining my bank account. I got the joint from autozone, could the joint be bad? I got the 2 year warranty one with the grease fiting on it instead of the lifetime one without a grease fitting. Thanks again. oh ye, what does reindexing mean? Just unbolting the shaft and rotating it? Thanks again

 

If you u-joint caps are in a straight line that should be correct
It really sounds like you don't have the cups seated in the flanges correctly,or the u-joint is installed incorrectly,possible a pin layed down inside one of the caps
Did you put the carrier bearing back the way it origonally was?
Did you put enough heat or pressure to deform the end of the driveshaft?

 

Both times that I have replaced U joints on my F350 I have had to have the shaft rebalanced. Could be I just have a particularly picky truck because of the pinion angle,F350 2WD, but that has been the case with mine. First I would check out the joints you replaced as mentioned above for proper seating(roller pin did not fall over during installation). Also did you loosen your carrier bearing from the frame when you took off the joint, I have noticed just moving the carrier bearing side to side has made a difference on my truck. There is some slop in the two bolts holding it to the frame.

 

The vibration may be unrelated to the U-joint change. If you can feel it in the steering wheel that is a general indication that the source is in the front end somewhere. If the vibration is felt in the seat of your pants while driving, then it indicates the problem is in the rear of the truck somewhere.

I am not saying it isn't the U-joint swap that is causing this, just saying maybe you should look around at other causes also.

 

Did you ever get this fixed?

 

 

Does the hanger bearing have any play? Cpuld be an issue.