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Pre-mature rear u-joint wear. Why?

Ritter4.0

NAXJA Forum User
Location
SOMD
I have a 1990 Cherokee, 4.0l, AX-15, D35. It has a 3" lift, and 33" tires.

I replaced my rear u-joint (don't recall the brand name) about 1 year ago. I recently noticed that it has worn quite a bit on the driveshaft yoke side. The axle yoke side is still in good condition. What would cause this? I'm thinking I over greased it when I installed it, popping the seals and allowing dirt and water to get in (I live on a dirt road). But why would it only eat up the driveshaft yoke side?

I'm just wondering if there may be other issues that I am unaware of, like angles and such, that some of you may know. Or do you think I just got a crappy joint.

Thanks.
 
what brand did you replace them with. if you went to advance auto and got their junky "brute" joints then yea..youll be replacing them every year.

I got a friend who buys those cheapo u joints for everything and its just a fact of lift that he only gets about 6 months out of them
 
I actually ordered it from carpartswholesale.com. The box it came in had an Omix-Ada and Rugged Ridge catalog, so I'm guessing it's an Omix-Ada. It cost like $30. I'm just curious why it got worn on only one side, and not the other.
 
Then why have the ones on the rear of my dads 1996 lasted for years, and I don't even remember the last time they were lubed?
 
I have a 1990 Cherokee, 4.0l, AX-15, D35. It has a 3" lift, and 33" tires.

I replaced my rear u-joint (don't recall the brand name) about 1 year ago. I recently noticed that it has worn quite a bit on the driveshaft yoke side. The axle yoke side is still in good condition. What would cause this? I'm thinking I over greased it when I installed it, popping the seals and allowing dirt and water to get in (I live on a dirt road). But why would it only eat up the driveshaft yoke side?

I'm just wondering if there may be other issues that I am unaware of, like angles and such, that some of you may know. Or do you think I just got a crappy joint.

Thanks.

Got vibes? How are your rear driveline angles at 3"? If you are getting vibrations or the angles are not set then you will have premature u-joint/bearing wear. You fix this with a transfer case drop or sye/cv driveshaft.
 
i dont have a drop or sye with a 3" lift, and it vibes a bit... i go through one of those u-joints every year.

That just might be your issue. Get rid of the vibes and you will have a longer u-joint life.

I haven't changed my u-joints in almost 2 years now and i have 4.5" lift and sye.
 
another possibility, not already listed, for driveshaft ujoints to wear on a 5-speed is parking on an incline with out the ebrake engaged. the weight of the vehicle is resting on the joint.

also the increased load put on the driveshaft ujoints from the 33" tires if you still have stock gearing(3.07) with the 5-speed.
 
That was one possibility I thought of because I do have stock gears still (not regearing until I get new axles). I do have some vibes, but I'm pretty sure they're from the worn u-joint.

It probably is just the bigger tires that did it, I'll just change it and see what happens.
 
You should always replace the straps when you replace u-joints. The straps are not a great retention method to start with but old ones don't hold the caps in place as well as new ones.
 
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