I've been hearing alot of clunking from the truck when, especially in parking lots, so that tight cornering/ low speeds etc. It happens other places but more so in these conditions. I figure the more the axle has to allow one tire to spin faster than the other, in tight turns, the result goes to the u-joints and they bear it. I have that annoying clunk when going from park to drive, but this other thing has me How do you tell if it's going or not? Also, how much are they each? Going to need three and I take it they come greaseable too right? Help me out over here- Thanks boys!!

 

There should be two u-joints on the rear driveshaft.

The front should have one u-joint and a CV joint (that is what they used to call em). The factory joints are not greasable, but the CV joint may have a cork 'plug' that you can use a grease needle to lubricate.

the u-joints that failed on me usually would squeak and the noise would increase in speed as I sped up. Much like a squeeky disk brake although in the center of the rear of the truck. Although, squeaking is not mandatory, if the rollers wear out, they could be sloppy. Set the parking brake, put er in neutral and give the driveshaft a wiggle. You should be able to see movement in the u-joint if they are bad.

I have not bought a u-joint in years, but I would purchase mine from NAPA before Autozone. I compared the tie rods of both after one broke, and teh NAPA part (more $) looked/appeared beefier although both were MOOG parts. This is just MY observation.

That clunk could be due to wear of the drive train/x-fer case (that is what mine is, 90k miles). Although you could have a problem in the rear differential. it is often cheaper to diagnose and repair before a failure.

 

It's not too much to remove the driveshaft so I'll take it off and have a peek. It too seems like suspension in the rear, but not sure. I'd guess this because I'm a hell of alot harder on the drivetrain than suspension. Really puzzled here.

 

Still puzzled, tried the parking brake trick, but have yet to remove driveshaft. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow as I have more time. Till then, any suggestions? It's actually doing it more frequent.

 

I came to ask the same question about how to know if the UJ's are going.

I have a 97 v6 2x4 5 spd, sometimes when shifting between reverse and 1st, I hear a thud from the rear end. I am guesing the UJ's need replaced. I've had the drive shaft off before for clutch replacement, but are there any special tools to replace the joints?

What service needs to be done on the differential? The truck has 80K and nothing has ever been done to service the rear end. Any recomendations?

thanks

 

Well boys, the shaft is fine. All u joints are good. I'm going to check my leaf springs and I'm hoping it aint the rear end. Shocks also look good. I'm back to thinking the clunking I've got is suspension. Gotta field out all angles. I'll wait and see.

 

maybe the u bolts that hold the axel on the the leaf springs are kinda loose. a buddie of mine had this problem with his ranger. or one of the leafs could be busted and you cant really see it.

 

I'm going to look deeper into the suspension, and yes, the u bolts will be checked too, good advice. I also heard putting those shims in may do something??? Another unsolved mystery.