Life Span Of A U Joint

MrShoeBoy · Dec 14, 2004

Whats the life span of a U joint in a rear CV driveshaft?

Now thats saying the driveshaft is set up properly with the correct opperating angles and gets greased on a regular basis.

A clunk has devoluped in my driveline and I have identified the problem as eather the rear driveshaft u joints or the CV its self. I didnt have any vibes for the last year since installing the shaft and setting up the pinion angle to run a CV shaft. The u joints have always gotten grease every 3k-4k miles when I change oil. There is about 10k to 15k miles on the rear driveshaft and its only seen 2 big offroad trips in its life. Is 15k miles what I should be expecting out of U joints? The stock driveshaft went over 75k miles before I had problems with it.

Thanks,

AARON

crazyoffroader · Dec 14, 2004

With U joints being so cheap and relatively easy to replace, I would say to replace them and see if the noise is still there. Worse case scenario you have brand new u joints, but still need a driveline.
It's a whole lot cheaper to replace these now( I think the ones I just got cost $5 apice), rather than have to drag your car off the road or trail when/if they fail

MrShoeBoy · Dec 14, 2004

They will be replaced regardless because they are loose but I still want to know why the died so soon. Then if they wear out quickly again, I want to know why instead of replacing them all the time. Small stuff over time adds up quickly.

AARON

Goatman · Dec 14, 2004

MrShoeBoy said:
They will be replaced regardless because they are loose but I still want to know why the died so soon. Then if they wear out quickly again, I want to know why instead of replacing them all the time. Small stuff over time adds up quickly.

AARON

With good maintenance, no vibrations, and no binding, they should last indefintely. Something shortened their life, but you might have done the damage early on and already resolved the problem.

Loose_Nuts_Enterprises · Dec 14, 2004

Sometimes the ball center and stud in the middle of the CV wears out. The last one I had rebuilt while on a trip to CO, the shop milled a small flat spot on the center piece, drilled, tapped and put a needle zerk fitting and rebalanced. Now I can service every component of the drive line.

Dan

XJCasper · Dec 15, 2004

I continue to hear how easy the U-Joints are to replace. Anybody have a write up for them for a novice back yard mechanic?

Thanks
Jason

Dr. Dyno · Dec 15, 2004

Goatman said:
With good maintenance, no vibrations, and no binding, they should last indefintely.

I wouldn't bet on it. The new versions of u-joints don't have grease zerks so you can't grease them. Once they dry out and start to wear, basically you're screwed. My first pair of rear driveshaft u-joints lasted 150k miles, but my second pair lasted only 23k miles without changing my driving style or adding bigger tires/lift.
My latest u-joints are the same as the previous pair that wore out prematurely so I don't expect them to last more than two years, especially now that I have all that extra torque from my 4.6 stroker going through them.

XJCasper · Dec 15, 2004

Maybe it is actually worth getting the factory part in this case?

Mike1331 · Dec 15, 2004

179,000 on my stock ujoints w/ constant wheelen. Just reaplaced em 3,000 miles ago.

crazyoffroader · Dec 15, 2004

JMotorsprt said:
I continue to hear how easy the U-Joints are to replace. Anybody have a write up for them for a novice back yard mechanic?

Thanks
Jason

I don't know of any write-ups, but I did my rear 2 in 5 minutes, all you need is some sort of a press to do the job. Without a press (I have a 5 ton pres in the garage) I dont know how you would do it, but I'm sure it can be done.

Loose_Nuts_Enterprises · Dec 15, 2004

Changing u-joints in the CV head is not the easiest thing to accomplish. I usually let someone else do it.

XJCasper · Dec 15, 2004

I found a couple write ups on how to do it in the garage. Now to find out how to un-install the CV.

dbxj · Dec 15, 2004

JMotorsprt said:
I found a couple write ups on how to do it in the garage. Now to find out how to un-install the CV.

http://www.stu-offroad.com/driveshaft/driveshaft-1.htm

XJCasper · Dec 15, 2004

Thank you

Life Span Of A U Joint

MrShoeBoy

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crazyoffroader

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MrShoeBoy

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Goatman

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Loose_Nuts_Enterprises

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XJCasper

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Dr. Dyno

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XJCasper

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Mike1331

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crazyoffroader

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Loose_Nuts_Enterprises

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XJCasper

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dbxj

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XJCasper

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