Couple of things--D30

I'm changing my front-axle u. joints and I've got just about everything done as far as putting the new joints into the axles. But, everytime I do u. joints, I get one side that won't seem to go in far enough to get the clip in. I've tried whacking the yoke with a hammer to release tension on the ears, vice with and without sockets, and my H.F. ball joint/u. joint press. I don't know what else to try. Gently heat the ears and then smack 'em?

The other item is while the Jeep's on 'stands, the pass. side of the axle is dripping oil. The axle is leaning toward that side a bit, so maybe that's all it is or do I have to replace a seal?

Either you have the wrong u-joint or there is a roller pin
layed over inside the u-joint cup. That would be enough
to prevent c-clip from going on.

Also if your axle seal didn't leak before you started - could be
just the angle of the axle causing the leakage. New seal probably
isn't needed. They are a pain to replace.

Eddie

I don't think it's a needle. We're talking half a mm. before I can get the clip in, but thanks for the response.

Both issues happened to me a couple of months ago while I replaced my hubs.

The axle is not horizontal and will drip towards the lower side. Your differential fluid is probably topped off and since there is no axle there to block the flow...it flows!

I have no idea why I had the same u-joint problem with not being able to push the cap that last mm. As a teenager I remember u-joints were a piece of cake...now thirty years later this first one became a nightmare. I'm not sure what I did, but after one hour trying to get the last mm it finally went. I was ready for a drink or three.

I think I might have started over. My guess is there was some kind of binding happening. The ears on the shafts do bend and hitting them to open them up sometimes doesn't work. The second u-joint went quickly and no problems...it was a piece of cake!

I was wrong--it was a needle. The axle seems not to leak anymore from the long side, so I won't worry about it until I notice a reason to. Now I just need to fix my 8.25 pinion seal leak and get an adjustable track bar.