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

[eightynine4x4]

I hadn’t heard of u joints with bushings.
Currently these are all for my 4x4 stuff. Maybe when i do my rear driveshaft I’ll get some fancy u joints instead of needle ones, since the rear shaft is what i use 95% of the time.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I hadn’t heard of u joints with bushings.
Currently these are all for my 4x4 stuff. Maybe when i do my rear driveshaft I’ll get some fancy u joints instead of needle ones, since the rear shaft is what i use 95% of the time.

They are out there, but be prepared with a thick wallet, the cheapest I’ve see are over $100 per joint… the better ones are a couple hundred each…

I thought about some RCV axle shafts for the D-44 TTB in my F-150 until I saw a pricetag of around $1,000. Unfortunately, I just don’t have that level of cash to throw at things right now…

 

[19Walt93]

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?

I meant to tap on the ears to spread the yoke a little, it won't take much so go easy.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Well, instead of attempting to bend things that may not need to be bent, i did another test.
I installed the same new u joint on another yoke, and used the larger C clips.
I had precisely the same outcome. I didn’t measure anything, but I remember the amount of extra force required the get it in, and then also the amount of tightness which was virtually frozen.

I then uninstalled and reinstalled with two old thinner clips and it turns out perfectly. Everything is snug, and it spins very smoothly and freely.
The next test will be to install a second identical model U joint on that previous yoke that also had this issue yesterday.

I think that if i again have the exact same results, then all evidence points to the fact that these clips are just too thick to work with these axle shafts from 1989, for whatever reason.

I would further consider the idea that the yokes need to be bent apart a bit if it was just one of them and if they varied a bit. But so far they have the exact same amount of tightness and visually they appear to have the same clip thickness needed.

As for the idea of the banging the installed yoke/joint so that it settles into place.. I honestly don’t see how that could work since the THICKER problematic clips are just sitting fully flush on the inside of each yoke ear. They have absolutely nowhere to move inward or outward to allow the u joint or the caps to settle anyway different.

I did bang with a rubber mallet the finished joint/yoke that i just did with the smaller clips, and it did seem to make a little bit of difference in joint mobility. Seemed like it was already pretty good but then it got even smoother. I DO think that’s what y’all are referring to here in this process, haha. I DON’T think you’re referring to a u joint that is so siezed that you almost need a hammer to move it at all, and then this u joint being free’d up just by tapping on the yoke a bunch. I’m pretty convinced that i need the thinner clips. I only have three old thin ones that are salvageable, so i have to put a pause in this process and either go buy a bunch of thinner clips or go right ahead and start grinding down the new ones.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

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…

Probably not as durable long term.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Ok so here’s a new u joint, different than the first.
And here’s now a third yoke I’m testing. This one is the slip yoke by front diff.
Again the same exact result.. I can just barely get the thicker clips in, and when I do, the u joint is nearly seized and almost requires a tool to rotate.
Also i took some pics of what the outside of caps look like. Note how much the caps need to be pressed in to make the thicker clips work.
They‘re not even, but I’m guessing the total extra distance is about equal to the thickness difference of the clips. It’s pretty significant, probably about 1/16” in total.

 

[Jazzer]

I got some unjoints once with the same clip problem-too thick. I ground them down on a belt sander.
You are correct that binding the ujoints to use the thicker clips is a bad idea.
Maybe NAPA has the correct clips?

 

[eightynine4x4]

I got some unjoints once with the same clip problem-too thick. I ground them down on a belt sander.
You are correct that binding the ujoints to use the thicker clips is a bad idea.
Maybe NAPA has the correct clips?

Good to know, thanks. It’s been a weird detour that’s been challenging my learning haha.
I finally put calipers up to the old and new clips..
Old OEM: 1.5mm
New w/Moog u-joints: 2mm

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I got some unjoints once with the same clip problem-too thick. I ground them down on a belt sander.
You are correct that binding the ujoints to use the thicker clips is a bad idea.
Maybe NAPA has the correct clips?

For the front axle it isn't Spicer it is an off brand IMO. There is nothing in between.

 

[bobbywalter]

could be wrong clips. this assumes you cleaned the seats.

they should have came with more then one set of clips. certain toyotas take really thick clips with that size joint in the rear driveshaft application...some even have a flat zerk in each cap.


bushings wont last on a daily. i run them on the stub axle sometimes but are too soft for ujoints on the hiway. not sure what is out there now, some dont use any bushings and the cap is the wear part. just re cap when they get slop.

and rcv for ttb are much more then 1k now. ....hell its 1400 for eb axles.

even those tulip seal cups are not daily friendly....so the rcv require you to pay attention to them for tlc. learned this with plow trucks. supposed to be better now.

pretty simple. measure what they are. then you will know what you need.

 

[bobbywalter]

i have to buy two joints for certain spots on my rig to make what it needs. but thats how it was built with the parts i had at the time.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Well, i suppose each joint may end up a case by case scenario and I’ll have to decide this for each.

I did figure out that Dana Spicer 2-7-29 (outer style) and Dana Spicer 2-7-99 (inner style) are the “thinner” dimension, about .060” / 1.5mm. So i think there’s something to be said for that.

What sucks is that i went and dug up some more of the OEM rings that had flown off onto the floor in garage, and found that some of them were thick like the new ones. And i didn’t keep track, not having a clue that they were of much importance to measure. Half of them busted apart too.

So I’ve got to just take this one joint at a time, and have enough on hand of both sizes.

Apparently it’ll be pretty obvious when the clips are too thick… the joint won’t move. But what if i mistakingly use a too thin clip? The joint will work smoothly, but there might be too much invisible play in there. The rubber will pretty much hold it in the right place, but the play will still be significant and could cause very bad things to happen.

Anyone have any tips on making sure I don’t install a too-small set of clips on one joint?

I guess the fail proof method is to install the thick ones first, and if they cause the joint to seize, install thin ones.

 

[Curious Hound]

Having them too small won't hurt anything. They're just a little bit weaker.

Honestly, I still think the thick ones should work. But, after getting them installed, either thick or thin, you need to make sure the caps are properly seated against the clips. When I replaced my front axle shaft u-joints a few weeks ago, I had binding because I accidentally pushed the caps too far in so I could get the clips on. Just had to push them back out against the clips.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Having them too small won't hurt anything. They're just a little bit weaker.

Honestly, I still think the thick ones should work. But, after getting them installed, either thick or thin, you need to make sure the caps are properly seated against the clips. When I replaced my front axle shaft u-joints a few weeks ago, I had binding because I accidentally pushed the caps too far in so I could get the clips on. Just had to push them back out against the clips.

Curious Hound !! Great new name !!
Ok I understand about possibly having pushed them in too far to get the clips in, but backing things out seems to be pretty tricky. One problem is that you really don’t know anything is too stiff until both sides are installed. And once both sides are installed, neither side is easy to back out some.

So you’d be sitting there with a flat head and a hammer tapping around the perimeter of the cap in hopes that it is pushing it back in some, while not damaging the rubber ring. And then flipping it over and doing the other side, then testing to see if it’s loosened at all?

 

[Curious Hound]

Curious Hound !! Great new name !!
Ok I understand about possibly having pushed them in too far to get the clips in, but backing things out seems to be pretty tricky. One problem is that you really don’t know anything is too stiff until both sides are installed. And once both sides are installed, neither side is easy to back out some.

So you’d be sitting there with a flat head and a hammer tapping around the perimeter of the cap in hopes that it is pushing it back in some, while not damaging the rubber ring. And then flipping it over and doing the other side, then testing to see if it’s loosened at all?

No I do it like in the video I posted earlier.