replacing front driveshaft and ujoints?????

i just bought a front driveshaft from a junkyard and am not sure if one of the ujoints is ok...ive looked at it and it looks fine but lots and lots of grease came out of it?

is that normal when taking off the driveshaft for grease to come out?

should i just replace all 3 ujoints??

also what is the best way to remove ujoints if i dont have a vice grip?

thanks

just replace the ujoints...it's far too easy not to

all you should need is a pair of needle nosed pliers, a wooden dowel, and a hammer...well and an old screwdriver in case the old ones get tricky

although the joints might be just fine, it'll just make you feel better that you have new ones

good luck

:cheers:

or place a slightly larger socket under one cap on a work bench and then use another socket on the top cap(the same diameter as the cap)then tap the top socket with a hammer untill the bottom cap falls into the bottom socket...make sense?

a word of caution,DON'T USE THE CHEAP OFFBRAND UJOINTS!!!
They are junk....mine only lasted 6months!!!!

http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/ujoint2/ujoint-1.htm

http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/driveshaft/driveshaft-5.htm

i really wanted to do a bit of wheeling last night before it got too dark so i ended up installing it with the old ujoints...i was hopiing to try out my 4x4 but i went up a mountain and didnt need it at all and i forgot to get gas so i didnt want to waste any in 4wheeldrive. i ended up going through some mud it 4low and it seemed to work fine..i figure i will just use the old ones till one goes then replace them

thanks

Don't wait "til one goes". If one goes, it could very well take a yoke with it. And it could go at a very inopportune time or place. It's called preventive maintenance.

I just did the same mod... but took the 30 minutes to replace the u-joints. not sure if it made any dif as I didn't try it with the old ones, but for the small amount of time and money, why not... worst case keep the old ones if they are still ok as spares.
when installing, ensure you point the grease nipple (on front 2 joints) away from the CV joint, so the rear nipple towards the rear, front towards the front. that took most of my time, realizing I put one in wrong and correcting it.

since you're thinking about replacing u-joints, consider replacing the ball joint centering kit for the double-cardan joint as well. Check out this link, it'll tell you what you need to know, again a cheap form of preventative maintenance.

http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/driveshaft/driveshaft-5.htm

blazinjames said:

i just bought a front driveshaft from a junkyard and am not sure if one of the ujoints is ok...ive looked at it and it looks fine but lots and lots of grease came out of it?

is that normal when taking off the driveshaft for grease to come out?

should i just replace all 3 ujoints??

also what is the best way to remove ujoints if i dont have a vice grip?

thanks

Click to expand...

I think what happened is the slip yoke compressed and squirted out all the grease in it. You need to grease up the slip yoke on it real good until clean grease comes out. And, I'd go ahead and replace the u-joints, cheap insurance compared to having them break on you.

I am rebuilding my front drive shaft, the one with the double cardan joint, from '87, 4X4 XJ, Wagoneer Ltd. I have the u-joints (from O'Reillys, but made in the USA, not China, AutoDrive brand part #369/AD), but I am concerned about what and where to buy the ball, or ball kit for the inner parts of the Cardan joint. O'Reillys wants $61 for one by Precision, and I have heard warnings not to use Precision, and they have to order it from their warehouse. NAPA when I gave them the Spicer number 211355X could not find, and then finally told me the part number changed, and that it was no longer available. They even checked by the year and model.... and no joy.

Are there any other alternatives? I already tried rockford and could only find the 404 ball replacement as a cross over from Spicer. Normally I would just go to Autozone here, but what I have read here has me aprehensive about using them for this part. At this point I am not entirely sure what part or kit I need, in other words what all should I replace between the U-joints, just the ball, and spring or the entire assy? I have read somewhere that I should be able order just the Rockford ball / kit for $12.45 online, but it did not say where?

So far this all I have been able to find online:

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList.aspx?PartType=979&PTSet=A