truly how hard is this?

OK in the pat few days I have been asking a lot about u joints. I've decided to learn how to do them myself. On a 99 with not too bad of rust how long and PITA shoudl this job be? I'm doing the socket method with a big C clamp. Also I am opting to not deal with the big axle nut that is torqued down so much so the hub is coming with the shafts. Any useful tips? I got the 40 pages of intructions from stu-offroad.com. Thanks for your help guys.

Only thing I can really mention is to mind the needle bearings.

how long time range wise do you think it should take. I've been doing lots of research on it.

It depends on the condition of the shaft and joints. Me and a friend did his front driveshaft a few weekends ago, the rear joint popped out pretty easy and only took about 10 minutes to replace, but the front one was really seized good and it took an hour of banging and pulling to get it out.

I'm doing the axleshafts the driveshaft ones are good.

Most of the time involved could be taken up just getting the shafts out. It really depends on the condition of the axle. Clean ones come apart more easily than rusted-together mud-encrusted ones.

Once the shaft is out, it can be ten to fifteen minutes per side, depending how efficiently you work. Take your time with it though, and make sure you get it done right instead of rushing into it.

Jim www.yuccaman.com

Plan on 3 or 4 hours. It shouldn't take you that long, but you don't want to get halfway through it and run out of time.

thank you for your help everyone it is appriciated I'm going on a wheeling trip sunday so ther is no sleep if I run into problems saturday. Any other tips to save tim are appriciated.

ONe problem I've had on very rusty ones is getting a purchase on the circlips that hold the cups in. If you can get them out easily, the rest is usually not so bad. You may find that a c-clamp is not strong enough to pop them apart, but you can also use a hammer and a socket, at least to get them started. The C-clamp should be fine for getting them back together.

As others have noted, make sure that you don't accidentally dislodge a needle in the cup, which will prevent it from going on all the way. If you can't get the cups together enough to replace the circlips, take it apart and look for a loose needle at the bottom of a cup.

When the whole thing is back together, if you find you've put one of the cups in a little too deep and it binds, take a steel hammer and rap the side of the yoke, where the cup goes through (not the end or the cup itself), and it will help it settle back where it belongs.

You might want to o spray some penetrating oil on them right now. Let em soak and loosen up a bit.

Matthew Currie said:

When the whole thing is back together, if you find you've put one of the cups in a little too deep and it binds, take a steel hammer and rap the side of the yoke, where the cup goes through (not the end or the cup itself), and it will help it settle back where it belongs.

Click to expand...

That is one very important step. Always smack each side of the yoke or axle to free up the new joint, it should flop around free. Also clean the cup area with scotch pad and solvent before re-installing the new joint.

Yes, hammer and socket, or C-clamp will work. You can borrow the tool from from Checker/Autozone/Advanced. Or go to Harbor Freight and buy it for $30. Sure makes it easy, and the HF tool will also do Ball Joints and wheel studs from the look of it.

If you don't have the proper tool to swap the joints, a bench vise is preferred over a C-clamp. It won't move about as much, and you can bring more force to bear.

Once the old joint is out, I'll go over the inside of the ears (where the cap is pressed on) with a wire brush or crocus cloth to clean it up, and then rinse with carburettor cleaner (get the grit out.) Before you reassemble, paint liberally with never-seez - it makes the new joint go in easier, and come out easier later. Use the abrasive dry - it's more effective that way. You can also use Scotch-Brite, but it's a bit more work.

Also, you'll have to remove at least two caps to get the joint in place - once you pull the cap off, make sure all of the needle bearings are in place (there should be no gaps whatever!) and then "stick" them in place using chassis grease- the same stuff you'll be lubing your joints with afterwards. Believe me, it's a help...

The most difficult joints to service (to me) are in the double Cardan at the transfer case end of the front driveshaft - the other five are simple, and take about five minutes each (once the shaft is on the bench.)

Have replacement straps for the axle yokes to hand. I do find it easier to use socket head capscrews tho - 1/4"-28x1" will be the size you'll want. Always use new screws, and you should use new straps as well (you can get away with using old straps, but always use new screws! They're cheap enough anyhow...)

The HF tool will work for U-joints, but I'd originally gotten one to do ball joints. In less time than I wasted bending the HF tool, I managed to change all four ball joints with an OTC. You do get what you pay for - it will work fine for small stuff, but not for anything big (it should also serve for changing lug studs, since they're pressed in on a splined section with only a few hundred pounds of force. Ball joints are close to a ton.)

When I did my shaft Ujoint, they were factory original and just fused in place lol no rust though. I beat them with a hammer and socket, I used a C clamp, I bought the HBF tool and nothing worked.

I gave up and took the shaft to a lube shop to have them press it out, they bent the ears... What I thought was going to be an easy afternoon(both sides) fix turned into a mess for me lol. Getting the shafts out wasnt too bad, the giant axle nut wasnt a problem. The ujoint defeated me though.

iwannadie said:

When I did my shaft Ujoint, they were factory original and just fused in place lol no rust though. I beat them with a hammer and socket, I used a C clamp, I bought the HBF tool and nothing worked.

I gave up and took the shaft to a lube shop to have them press it out, they bent the ears... What I thought was going to be an easy afternoon(both sides) fix turned into a mess for me lol. Getting the shafts out wasnt too bad, the giant axle nut wasnt a problem. The ujoint defeated me though.

Click to expand...

You don't really even need to take the giant nut and the unit bearing off - if you're crafty. I've done front U-joints with the hub bearing in place before, and it was only a shade more difficult...

my first time was terrible it took about 4 hours to figure out how to get the shafts out and i did it but the rest took forever it was a total of 7 or 8 hours

One other tip is to put grease on the outside of the replacement u-joints before you install. It will settle into the micro grooves and keep out corrosion, making it much much easier the next time.

5-90 said:

You don't really even need to take the giant nut and the unit bearing off - if you're crafty. I've done front U-joints with the hub bearing in place before, and it was only a shade more difficult...

Click to expand...

Being my first time I figured might as well take it off just for the experience of it. It also looked like it would be easier to handle the shaft to get the joint off without the hub in the way(its bulky and heavy). Plus I decided while it was apart to go ahead and replace the bearings lol.

I have a good torque wrench so I mean it took maybe an extra minute of time. If I was doing it again in my garage, Id still remove the hub just because its big and bulky to work around. On the trail Id leave them connected ha.

what year was your xj that they were so frozen in?

in the past i have also changed the u joint in the front axle shaft while they were on the jeep, it takes some finesse and patience but it can be done, if u can remove the axle without a lot of trouble it will be easier on a bench, if the old joint is seized really bad, u can cut them apart with a torch, if u do this make sure u only cut the joint and keep the heat off of the ears, when u cut the joint apart it will pop and spew grease so be careful, as mentioned before, apply antiseize when installing the new joints it will make it easier to get together and apart in the future good luck