how freeley should a ujoint move (dana 30)

Hello all

I have a 93 xj, 4wd...

mechanics told me i have bad ujoints on the front axle shafts....

So i take her home, pull the shafts, and my drivers side does nto seeme to have any play (not wiggling around) the passenger side moves very freely,

for example with hubs removed, if you have the drivers side shaft in the axle, the end of the shaft will sit straight out, or up or down, depending on how you position it

the passenger side, will flop down, no matter how you position it.....

my question is


should a new ujoint act more like the drivers side and move, but not be "loose"

or like the passenger side and be able to move completley freely.....

The joints should move freeley, with no noticeable play. If the shaft stays were you put it without flopping down, the joint is bad. :repair:

in the past with one peice axles (TJ) i found easiest way to check ujoint for excessive wear was to have the Jeep on the ground, TC in N and go under the jeep and while laying near the front driveshaft, grab the shaft with one hand and a finger from the other hand between the ears on a front axle and spin the drive shaft as hard as you can and bang it back and forth as hard a you can. IF you feel ANY clicking at all,in the axle ears/ujoint caps replace the ujoint! if no clicking they ae still usable.

In 7yrs of hard abusive D30 on 35" agressive tires and alot of rock crawling I have never broken a ujoint! I do this check per side after every trip and before every trip. A dana ujoint is only 17$ avg. and cheap insurance to a fun trip...

well what is happening is i am getting a klunking sound when turning left only.... i have also noticed that the p/s shaft may not be in the tube all the way.... as the white plastic collar around the shaft does nto sit in the groove in the (forgive me) peice of metal that has the ball joints attached to it...

http://home.comcast.net/~photosbyjen/images/Img_0464.jpg

No problem not being in the groove - this isn't a surface that would get any wear - the plastic wouldn't hold up well if it contacted the surface.

Plastic is just intended to keep foreign matter out of axle tubes.

Replace both sides (u-joints) while you're at it. Differential axle seals are probably due.

Make sure you use anti-seize when putting the hub back in - especially if you decide not to do the seals!

great, since i have had them out once this week, should be easy to do..... prolly thurs or friday... wish me luck....