Mine is a 2 piece ds with a carrier bearing. All the u joints are in good condition. Im going to assume that my rear axle has some slop in it. It is almost 20 years old. Ill wait for it to go and then put an explorer 8.8 in.
I like the attitude
Rats carrier bearing rubber part is compressed and the shaft is bouncing around a little. I re-packed the bearing and it is fine, I'm seriously considering taking up slack with some thing rubber like. But , I'm an old fart and have a light touch with the right foot. I shift slow and gentle because the shifter bits are worn. I had it out and greased up the slide with what ever is in the gun. My first rear u-joint R+R spit the caps out a 150 miles short of home on a 1300 mile road trip. I took the back 1/2 off and drove home on the front end. I bought a greasable Spicer,1330 and spent an afternoon making everything just so. I cleaned the lock ring grooves until they shone. I tapped around each cap until the bearings turned easily. When I greased it, the caps pushed snugly against the keepers. The other U -joints are OK for now. I am gentle with the front end. So far, so good with expensive stuff being OK . I drove the Rat only a 100 feet for a road test before I decided I liked the old wreck.
If I had burned the 600 bucks instead of buying the Rat, I would have been better off. I fixed all sorts of stuff that should have doomed it to the crusher. Lotsa parts and labor . Because the body doesnt have a good panel on it, and it is frayed around the edges. I could drop another thousand or so into it and it would still be a 1 K$ truck.
I do not care, It is a fun little truck to drive. It reminds me of the old trucks I had as a kid. And, it has a decent 4 WD too.