Been gettin a noise from the rear end. Went under to look at the driveline and behold! worn U-Joints found. Now, time to buy a new set and have'nt changed a set in years, so I was looking for a good brand to buy, and a place to buy them at. There is Auto Zone, NAPA, Advance, Pep boys in town. Im headin toward NAPA, but was looking for anyone elses experience with certan brands to steer away from. Thanks.

 

I used Moog greasables in mine.

 

Do a write-up. How many miles are on yours? What are the symptoms? I've got a little driveline noise and think it might be the U-joints, but I don't know any better.

 

Mine were chirping and clicking, and giving me a slight vibration. I originally thought the vibration was a chattering limited slip clutch pack. I had them done around 70k, it has 90k on it now, I've greased them twice, I make sure greasing them is part of my oil change service. Make sure they use "EP" grease. The guy that did them asked me if I wanted sealed or greasable, I told him greasable, and Moog was the brand his parts supplier had. When I was in the repair business many years ago, I used a lot of Moog components and never had an issue.

 

Here's some info for ya
1. The truck has 121,000 miles on it now, and from the looks of it, the u-joints have never been changed.
2. The symptoms. noticed a slight pop, thunk or whatever it was when i was backing up then going forward. A quick look under the truck revealed grease slung out from around the bearing caps where the grease seals are and about 1/32"-1/16" movement in the inner assembly from the bearing caps. I checked this by parking on a level surface, gettin underneath, and while the truck was in park, rocking back and forth slowly to get a zero load on the driveshaft/yoke. then try to twist on the driveshaft while holding the yoke steady while the zero load was on there and noticed the slight movement between the u-joint bearing cap and the inner assy.
Hope this helps you diagnose your noise.

 

Contact one of the custom driveshaft makers. www.shaftmasters.com comes to mind. They have some real tough replacement stuff.

 

I have no idea or not if Spicer offers U-joints for our trucks, but hands down they are the toughest joint on the market.

 

I've got a set of Spicer zerked U-Joints on my Dakota... they are mean.

They use them on tractors, school buses, etc.

 

Dana/Spicer or Neapco!

 

Thanks to all of you for the inputs.
Went with NEAPCO greasable u-joints from carquest. They seem a little beefier than the factory ones.

The rear factory u-joint was not much longer for this drivetrain. 3 of the 4 caps were almost dry, and the needle bearings were siezed in them. one of the cups had siezed to the companion flange, and when i went to drive it out, the thing shattered! Good thing i was wearing safety glasses.
The fwd u-joint probally could have went another 50,000 miles. grease was still good, and the caps came out easily.
Anyway, the new ones are in and bye-bye driveline noise!!

 

When I had my 97 F150 I went with Neapco from Carquest also.I like how they put the grease zerk in the end of one of the caps instead of the center of the u-joint.Makes it easier to grease!

 

Any good tips for getting those blasted 12mm 12 points loose.

Tried to work them loose yesterday and they are SOLID in there.

I have air and a 1/2 impact available, but I am afraid of twisting the heads off with too much air power.

Didn't try any heat as I ran out of time.

Jason

 

Spray them with a good penetrant (Deep Creep,Areokroil,PB Blaster) and let them set for a bit.Then,get a good 12 point wrench (Craftsman) and a small cheater bar and go at it! Been there,done that!

 

CTM is the best route for new U-joints. IMO

Either way, make sure they are greasable !

 

Yeah, a good soaking with penetrant. get the back side of the threads too.
Then,what i used, a 12 point 12mm 3/8" drive socket attatched to a 4" extention with a 3/8"-1/2" drive adapter. attatched to that, a 1/2" drive ratchet with a handle about 2' long. I love leverage.