'92 front drive shaft u-joints snap rings?

I am setting to replace the front drive shaft u-joint, driver's side, on my '92 XJ. I have it out and cleaned up and what I don't see are any snap rings holding the caps in. Am I missing something here?

If you mean the axle shafts, the snap rings are on the inside of the yokes. they're semicircular, rather than the doubled-over spring clips you're used to on driveshafts. If your u-joints are rusty it may even be a little difficult to see them. It's a PITA sometimes to get these things out, even when they're not rusty. You need to prove until you find one of the ends, and then try to sort of rotate/flick/pry/wish/cuss/levitate it out of its groove. At least they're easy to get back in.

Look at the new U-joint. If you have the right one, you'll see that the inner end of the cups is grooved, and there should be a bunch of the rings there to study.

Thanks. I picked up the new one this morning. Looks simple enough (BWAHAHA)

a nice sturdy pair of pliers and safety glasses those old buggers with FLY when they come out. Pinch/pull/turn/grunt/pinch/turn/out

Thanks, all. Came out easy enough. Used a screwdriver to punch 'em out. Had to beat on one of the caps quite a bit to spread the yoke enough to get the second clip in. :scared: All back together now.

You shouldn't have to beat all that hard on the end caps to get the other cap to seat enough to get the second clip in. And you should NOT have to spread the ears on the shaft to get the clips in, at all...!!

You might have had a roller bearing fall down while installing the second cap. Take a look at a roller bearing from the old one. notice the diameter and compare that to how far you had to "Beat it down".

I think you may want to uninstall that ujoint and take a look. Spreading the ears is not good.

Man, I miss a couple days and I'm buried on page 7. Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep an eye on it. I didn't like all the beating on it, although it "looks fine".