How to check if U joints are bad...


nadsab

15+ Year Member

Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Messages
94
Points
3,101
City
SE Michigan
Vehicle Year
1997
Transmission
Automatic
Hi,

What are the symptoms of a bad U joint for a 97 ford ranger 2.3 liter step side short bed. And what should I check for?

Are u joints difficult to install? Any special tools required?

Thanks for any info, insights.
 
grab the drive shaft and try to wiggle it, see if it got any play in it, make sure no caps are missing, others here will be able to give more info

you can buy the special tool for it, my pop had one, but i never used it. its pretty simple
 
well symptoms of bad u-joints are squeaks, and vibrations you have from speed x- speed y, yes there are some tools you will need.
 
im not arguing with breakdown, but ive changed ujoints a hell load of times (damn d28s) and not once did i use a special tool, just a big socket and hammer on the shaft around the joint usually
 
OK thanks,

Here are the symptoms I am experiencing. For months now, almost all the time when we place the truck in reverse, there is a knocking sound, as if someone was hitting a pipe with a mallet, we can feel it coming through the wheel or through our seats sometime.

Also, just a couple of days ago, we have been experiencing a vibration or chassis shimmy throughout the chassis, it is a pretty high frequency vibration especially when we accelerate. I have had bad tie rods before and I guess it could be that but it does not feel like a front end problem, our steering seems fine and the truck does not pull to the left or the right.

OK this is an update, the front u joint is definitely gone, one of the pins has popped out of the u or c shaped part.

I assume this is what has been causing the vibration or shimmy the past few days...
 
Before you go and tear everything apart, mark the position of the drive shaft to the transmission and differential yokes. Clean them off first and mark with a paint pen or something similar.

You also didn't mention if you had an extended cab or not. If so be careful when you drop the shaft. If it is a 2 piece shaft you'll have another set of U joints to contend with, and the shaft could become separated. It is splined, and the forward yoke slides about 6'-8" into the drive shaft. So also mark the two piece shaft so you can put it back together exactly as it came apart.

The reason for all this marking is that the driveshaft is balanced as a unit. If you change the position of the yokes (or especially the 2 piece shaft) you stand a chance of vibration from an unbalanced drive shaft.

At any rate, replace all the u-joints at this time, because if one went south, the rest are sure to be close behind. And if you do have a two piece shaft you might want to replace the center support bearing as well.

Hope this helps.
 
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