u-joints

Ok I'm pretty new to U-joint tech but I think mine are going, they're popping and stuff on sharp turns, most often when I'm coming out of my apartments. I took a closer look today to see if maybe I could tell if they were worn and one looked like a rubber spacer type thing on it had separated or something, here are some pics. They're shitty quality but they're the best I got, do I need to upgrade to new ones? What ones are good aftermarket replacements?

what year XJ and do you have ABS?

EDIT: sorry, were you looking for size, or just brand recommendations?

If you are experiencing popping noises, and judging from those pics, I would definitely replace them. See if you can feel some play in them while wiggling them.
I would replace them with Spicer u-joints. If you are running big tires and are worrying about breaking them, then there are a variety out there, and they get expensive.

theres no play in the actual u-joint, but if i engage the 4x4 and try to rotate them i can rotate the axle shaft assembly a few inches in either direction, but i think thats normal. I plan on running 35s locked, im getting the feeling this is gonna get pricey

If you're planning on locking the front and running 35's on the D30 then you'd probably want to get a set of chromo axles and get rid of the stock ones as they'd be prone to breaking on you. The rubber piece you see damaged is just the rubber boot like on tie rods but on u joints they keep the needle bearings in place so it'd be best to replace them.

emr1101 said:

theres no play in the actual u-joint, but if i engage the 4x4 and try to rotate them i can rotate the axle shaft assembly a few inches in either direction, but i think thats normal. I plan on running 35s locked, im getting the feeling this is gonna get pricey

Click to expand...

how far can you rotate them in degrees? (approximately) hard to measure rotation in inches :gee:

My joints started popping on the street, and had no play. After I "popped" one off road in 4wd, there was finally some actual visible play and I changed them out. The "good" joint was in as bad condition as the "bad" one, but still had no play before disassembly.

U-Joints are cheap. Axles, drive shafts, and ball joints cost more. Off road recovery/towing is just flat-out expensive. If the joints start making ANY noise on the street, change them.

I like Spicers myself.

PS: The seals on the U-joints are pretty hard to damage. If they are torn up, it's probably because of movement in the joint under load(in other words because the joint is bad) 'Anyone ever seen a torn seal on a properly installed U-joint where subsequent disassembly didn't show a worn out joint?