4x4 U-Joints and Axles : Wear Inspection and Replacement

[eightynine4x4]

1989 Ranger 4x4 Manual Locking Hubs

So after a scary incident where my drivers wheel flew off, I’ve gotten motivated and have opened up my wheels and spindles and removed the drivers and passengers axles, leaving just the yoke / small-axle / diff in place still. I’m going to replace what is needed.

The pic below is my drivers axle. Although the recent incident WAS this side, I doubt the condition of the axle end was caused by it. My lugs flew off while I was cruising at like 25-30 mph and my truck dropped a foot onto the rotor and I coasted on the rotor for 20-30 feet. I don’t see why this would put unusual pressure on the axle shaft inside the spindle. Both hubs were unlocked and the manual transfer case was not in 4x4. The rotor got chiseled and the hub fell off and was crushed by a passing car but that’s it.

Or maybe the angle somehow did this?

Anyways, I’m in the process of putting new U-Joints on the front, which is when I finally noticed this..
First two are drivers side, third is passenger.

What is this wear and tear from, if not this incident? Just extreme positioning while off-road 4 wheeling, causing this axle shaft to lean into the spindle a ton?

And do I need to replace it? I was about to order one but then realized the spindle covers the exact section that is damaged so that area of splines isn’t needed anyways. Obviously the small edge of the spindle lines up perfectly where the splines first disappear.

 

[eightynine4x4]

I’ve tried wiggling all of the U Joints in the truck and here are the only two results I’m a bit confused about…

This U joint seems fine, but I’m probably going to drop it all and change it anyways. It’s at the front diff, between the yoke and the short axle segment. But I’m concerned about the way the two piece assembly can be moved in and out of the diff like this. Is this normal? I know there’s a clip inside the diff that retains the shaft end. But should there be some play like this? The U joint itself isn’t budging, it’s just the shaft entering the diff in and out a little.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

This one below is just in front of the transfer case. It’s tough to tell which part is moving. When I rotate it 90 degrees, it doesn’t budge. Rotate another 90 and it wiggles. Obviously it’s moving only in one axis. But i can’t tell yet what part is to blame because i can’t really see what connection is back there. Maybe the U Joint closest to the camera? Or is there supposed to be some play like this? I wouldn’t think so. I imagine I’m going to need to drop the whole shaft and redo the U Joint closest to camera. I’m probably already disconnecting the front of this shaft to disconnect from front diff. So I’ll be half way ready to pull the whole thing out anyways.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[eightynine4x4]

Continuing this thread since I’m looping back to finishing the project after a bunch of hurdles.
I also want to thank @Shran for kindly selling and shipping me his extra OEM axle shaft, so that i could replace the one shown above !! This is a great community !!

So I have all of my front 4x4 axles and diff out. I have installed new seals in both sides of the front diff, and new bearings in the passenger side.
I also have my front driveshaft out.

All u joints are removed from axle shafts and the driveshaft, and everything is marked for alignment where needed.

The double Cardan in my front shaft is disassembled and i have a replacement NOS Spicer centering yoke ball unit that i was able to find dirt cheap on the bay. In the end, I believe my ball yoke centering piece was actually the biggest cause of clattering in my 4x4. It was a pretty high rate of clatter Vs the rate of the wheels spinning. I hadn’t even known this part existed when I was already taking this all apart.

All i have left to do is install all new U joints in the front axles as well as the front driveshaft, and then I’m ready to put the 4x4 system back together on the truck.

So i started installing one u joint and immediately hit an obstacle.… In order to get the clips in (the versions that go “inside” the yoke ears not outside) i had to press the u joint in so far that the U joint barely wanted to rotate by hand. I got them successfully in, and I could move the joint by hand just barely, and it was quite difficult. It wasn’t like this when I got it mostly in but not “fully” in. The u joint was fine and free spinning in that mostly-in state. But to fit the clips, i had to force them in a bit more. And it wasn’t easy either. And it blinded up the motion almost completely.

So i did some searching and found this thread https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/111536-what-causes-new-u-joints-to-be-so-tight.html
Post #14 and #15 are interesting.
#15 mentions that some clips are thicker than others, and can cause this issue.

So i took a photo of the old clips and the new clips. And sure enough, there is a major difference in thickness. The new ones appear to be around 50% thicker than the old ones. That’s a pretty big deal. I would measure them accurately but my calipers finally just died yesterday.

Are these clips sold on their own? And to certain predetermined spec? And does anyone here know of any brand/model of them that is thinner than others?

I may need to go in person to an auto parts store and put some (new) calipers up to whatever ones they have, if they even have them for sale separately.

I would just reuse the old ones but some of them were brittle and broke to pieces, naturally!

@rusty ol ranger
@ericbphoto
@4x4junkie
@sgtsandman
@Jazzer
@19Walt93
@alwaysFlOoReD
@bobbywalter
@Shran

 

[Curious Hound]

Interesting. I have a procedure to recommend. Just trying to figure out how to type it here in an intelligible way. Basically, using force to remove any excess tightness once the clips are installed. Maybe I have a training aid and can do a quick video.

be patient. I made a video. But it’s taking a while to upload over mobile hotspot with another phone because my internet is out due to hurricane damage.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Continuing this thread since I’m looping back to finishing the project after a bunch of hurdles.
I also want to thank @Shran for kindly selling and shipping me his extra OEM axle shaft, so that i could replace the one shown above !! This is a great community !!

So I have all of my front 4x4 axles and diff out. I have installed new seals in both sides of the front diff, and new bearings in the passenger side.
I also have my front driveshaft out.

All u joints are removed from axle shafts and the driveshaft, and everything is marked for alignment where needed.

The double Cardan in my front shaft is disassembled and i have a replacement NOS Spicer centering yoke ball unit that i was able to find dirt cheap on the bay. In the end, I believe my ball yoke centering piece was actually the biggest cause of clattering in my 4x4. It was a pretty high rate of clatter Vs the rate of the wheels spinning. I hadn’t even known this part existed when I was already taking this all apart.

All i have left to do is install all new U joints in the front axles as well as the front driveshaft, and then I’m ready to put the 4x4 system back together on the truck.

So i started installing one u joint and immediately hit an obstacle.… In order to get the clips in (the versions that go “inside” the yoke ears not outside) i had to press the u joint in so far that the U joint barely wanted to rotate by hand. I got them successfully in, and I could move the joint by hand just barely, and it was quite difficult. It wasn’t like this when I got it mostly in but not “fully” in. The u joint was fine and free spinning in that mostly-in state. But to fit the clips, i had to force them in a bit more. And it wasn’t easy either. And it blinded up the motion almost completely.

So i did some searching and found this thread https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/111536-what-causes-new-u-joints-to-be-so-tight.html
Post #14 and #15 are interesting.
#15 mentions that some clips are thicker than others, and can cause this issue.

So i took a photo of the old clips and the new clips. And sure enough, there is a major difference in thickness. The new ones appear to be around 50% thicker than the old ones. That’s a pretty big deal. I would measure them accurately but my calipers finally just died yesterday.

Are these clips sold on their own? And to certain predetermined spec? And does anyone here know of any brand/model of them that is thinner than others?

I may need to go in person to an auto parts store and put some (new) calipers up to whatever ones they have, if they even have them for sale separately.

I would just reuse the old ones but some of them were brittle and broke to pieces, naturally!

View attachment 118268

View attachment 118269

@rusty ol ranger
@ericbphoto
@4x4junkie
@sgtsandman
@Jazzer
@19Walt93
@alwaysFlOoReD
@bobbywalter
@Shran

Get the clips in and then smack the yoke ears with a hammer to release the tension. Before you pick on the clips for width the groove in the cap may be different to accommodate them.

 

[Curious Hound]

Get the clips in and then smack the yoke ears with a hammer to release the tension. Before you pick on the clips for width the groove in the cap may be different to accommodate them.

That’s basically what my video shows. I smack the whole thing on the vice jaws. Easier to show than to describe accurately.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Sadly, I am really thinking that they couldn’t be budged back out at all, or shocked out by hammer tapping as mentioned. The snap rings just barely were able to squeeze in. I had to really work the second one in with a screwdriver and hammer tapping. So there was absolutely no leeway at all for either side of the joint to be backed out. Like the clips aren’t going to go “in” to the steel of the shaft ears, so i think the caps are as far out as they’ll ever go.

I am suspecting that the yoke ears in 1988/1989 were designed with current clip thicknesses in mind and somehow those thicknesses are no longer standard. Maybe some clips are even over engineered these days.

I may have to create some kind of jig and completely remove some of the surface of….. 24 clips. Ugh.

Or maybe these MOOG clips are just stupid thick?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Give them a couple whacks, it's normal.

 

[Curious Hound]

 

[eightynine4x4]

Amazing, this is great. I’ll implement this for sure. This is my first time installing u joints and this seems like a much better method than just cracking at the yoke with a hammer.
I’m going to try installing this one again. I have a feeling I’ll end up at a dead stop again, and banging at the yoke won’t help. I think the clips just have nowhere left to move outward, and the joints can’t be compressed inward any further either. But hey I’m totally new to his, who know’s what’ll happen! But maybe I’ll need to grind off some material of my clips.
Thanks so much for making this video!

 

[19Walt93]

I watched the video and didn't like it, there are rollers getting slammed when he does that and they could get flat spotted. I would close the vice jaws a little and set the shaft in the gap, then use a punch to tap the lower yoke ear to drive it very slightly wider. Then rotate 1/2 turn and tap the other side. Twist the shaft 1/4 turn and repeat the steps. He might not damage the rollers, my method will not damage them.

 

[eightynine4x4]

I watched the video and didn't like it, there are rollers getting slammed when he does that and they could get flat spotted. I would close the vice jaws a little and set the shaft in the gap, then use a punch to tap the lower yoke ear to drive it very slightly wider. Then rotate 1/2 turn and tap the other side. Twist the shaft 1/4 turn and repeat the steps. He might not damage the rollers, my method will not damage them.

You‘re talking about driving the actual yoke ear to slightly widen the span of the two ears? I wasn’t thinking it would be that easy to move those things.
Or do you mean use the punch to tap the cup so that the cup drives slightly back ”out” a bit?

 

[Curious Hound]

I watched the video and didn't like it, there are rollers getting slammed when he does that and they could get flat spotted. I would close the vice jaws a little and set the shaft in the gap, then use a punch to tap the lower yoke ear to drive it very slightly wider. Then rotate 1/2 turn and tap the other side. Twist the shaft 1/4 turn and repeat the steps. He might not damage the rollers, my method will not damage them.

I won't argue about your method being safer. But, it really shouldn't take a very hard hit to seat the caps and get the job done. I would never shock a high speed or high load bearing like that. In reality, though, these needles barely rotate, even in a high angle driveline. That is part of the reason they fail. The grease doesn't get redistributed around the needles and cups throughout the life of the u-joint because no part of the assembly gets more than a few degrees of rotation.

 

[Curious Hound]

You‘re talking about driving the actual yoke ear to slightly widen the span of the two ears? I wasn’t thinking it would be that easy to move those things.
Or do you mean use the punch to tap the cup so that the cup drives slightly back ”out” a bit?

Don't try to tap the edge of the cup. There's a little rubber seal around it that you will surely damage.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I won't argue about your method being safer. But, it really shouldn't take a very hard hit to seat the caps and get the job done. I would never shock a high speed or high load bearing like that. In reality, though, these needles barely rotate, even in a high angle driveline. That is part of the reason they fail. The grease doesn't get redistributed around the needles and cups throughout the life of the u-joint because no part of the assembly gets more than a few degrees of rotation.

Hence all the aftermarket high-strength joints that use bushings instead of needle bearings…

Not entirely sure why those are so expensive and why most U-joints haven’t gone to bushings…