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Squeaky u-joint question

C

cherokee89

NAXJA Forum User
Location
St. Louis, MO
I am trying to pin point an intermitent squeak/squeal. Has anyone ever seen a u-joint get louder after it has been lubed? I was hoping to lube one at a time, and test drive, then replace the one that went quite, but this is not working. I cannot replicate the squeak in my driveway. :puke:
 
I'd say pull the front driveshaft and then see if the squeak continues. If it's gone, replace the front driveshaft u-joints. How many miles do they have on them??
 
The entire driveshaft was rebuilt professionally last December, so it isn't even a year old. I would say there are probably 10,000 miles on it. Maybe a little more. The joints are all greasable Spicer u-joints, and they have all been greased about 4-5 times since installation. I am going to pull it this weekend, though. I will be really annoyed if it is one in the DS because it cost me $340 to have it rebuilt. I started out thinking it might have been a brake pad or calipeer squeaking, so I took it all apart, and greased up the parts where the pads contact the caliper and bracket. I also lubed up the pins. No change. I then hit my front left axle joint, and this is when I thought it seemes louder. I am hoping it is a u-joinit and not a bearing in the diff. Not familiar with the sound of one of those, but I would think that would be more of a lower pitched grinding noise. This squeak seems to be in the open air, and not inside something.
 
I have a U-joint squeak that started after I replaced it. The old one was worn out and scraping, so I replaced it with a non-greasable style. Filled it with grease and put it on, now the damn thing squeaks all the time.

Last Brute Force U-joint I buy.
 
I am thinking a squeaky u-joint should be warm to the touch since the squeak is from friction. I guess that could help me figure out which one is making the noise. It is cold and raining here, so I can't go mess with it, but does this make sense to you guys?
 
Squeaks don't usually cause enough friction to create any heat.

I've had a squeaking u-joint seal, just sprayed the outside with spray lube and it's gone.
 
I know that this might be leading you down completely the wrong track, but I had what I took to be a squeaky u joint: it turned out to be warped rotors. It went away recently, after having the brakes completely redone, but is now back with a vengeance (and getting progressively louder) as I seem to have warped the new rotors. Since the rotors are always in contact with the pads, I'm guessing that it doesn't take a lot or warp to produce a squeak. Does it appear after you've been driving about for a little while, and go away when you brake?
 
It typically appears whenever I am not accelerating. Fairly intermittent, though. In general, it is only noticeable under 45 mph, but sometimes above that speed. Under acceleration, it stops completely. When I hit the brakes, it doesn't change, until I am going less than 5 mph. It squeaks in relation to the speed, but almost never below 5 mph. I was originally thinking brakes, too, but there is no shimmy when I hit the brakes. I will get to it tomorrow.
 
Which driveshaft was rebuilt? Front or rear? The front centering joint often dries out after a few years and will produce a squeak with almost the same characteristics you describe.
 
Front was rebuilt. I installed it in late December. It has been out a few times while I have been doing other work, and I hit all the grease points at those times. I will take a close look at that tomorrow, though.
 
Yucca-Man said:
Which driveshaft was rebuilt? Front or rear? The front centering joint often dries out after a few years and will produce a squeak with almost the same characteristics you describe.
Click to expand...

Thanks Yucca-Man!! :worship: That was exactly the problem. I have greased it before, but I guess it dried out. Seems like a PITA design, to me. With the ball being exposed to the elements, I don't see how it can help but dry out. There are 2 zerks on it, but I can only get to one of them without taking the whole thing apart. All is quiet, now. Thank you all for the input. Once again, NAXJA has saved me a lot of headache. :party:
 
It's quite the PITA design...almost as annoying as Torx bolts and we even willingly add a second one to the Jeep after doing an SYE but that's the price you pay for playing I suppose. Glad to hear you got it resolved relatively painlessly.
 
I should have this thread moved to the den so I can tell you how I feel today. The mother fawking squeak is back!! I am going to pull the DS and I will call the guy who rebuilt it tomorrow. I am not paying for any more parts or labor for it, though. If he tries to charge me, I will tell him to shove it. GDMF'n POS :flame: :flame: :flame:
 
dude. instead of tearing everything on the jeep down... just jack the back end up... USE JACKSTANDS!... put it in drive and get under there so u can pinpoint exactly what it is. i had the same problem and 4 or 5 shots of the miracle they call WD40 solved it. it was a squeaky centering ball in my rear CV
 
vanillagorilla94 said:
dude. instead of tearing everything on the jeep down... just jack the back end up... USE JACKSTANDS!... put it in drive and get under there so u can pinpoint exactly what it is. i had the same problem and 4 or 5 shots of the miracle they call WD40 solved it. it was a squeaky centering ball in my rear CV
Click to expand...


hopefully after 4 years, i hope he figured out the problem.

wd-40 was a perminent fix to a squeaky centering ball???
 
89xj said:
wd-40 was a perminent fix to a squeaky centering ball???
Click to expand...
Doubt it - I'd recommend using a lubricant, not a water displacement formula.

Jim
 
I'm having the same type of high-pitched, and periodic, squeal from the frontend. I removed the front drive-shaft but the squeal is still there ... always above 50MPH. It doesn't go away when I hit the brake, turn the wheel, accelerate or decelerate, so I'm assuming it's either a front axle u-joint or a unit bearing. I jacked the frontend up and spun each wheel but I couldn't re-produce the noise. Each wheel seems tight with no play so I'm hoping I can rule out the front hubs. I have 139,000 miles on the original hub and front u-joints.

Also, after running through the rain yesterday, the noise went away. Once it returns, I'll put it on jackstands again and try and pinpoint the problem.

It's definitely a high-pitch squeal coming from the front-end. When it first started, I thought is was wind noise generating around the mirrors, but when it got louder, I realized it was drive-line noise.

I'd be curious to hear how others isolate and solved this problem. I like the old WD40 trick, but I'd really like to pinpoint the root cause beforehand.
 
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