'85 BII U Joint Replacement

[Shran]

That's bizarre. I agree that it may be custom built... why a driveshaft shop would go through the trouble of putting two in there is beyond me. One is plenty to correct angles in a stock height B2............

 

[ford4wd08]

Check the transfer case seal. Looks to me that's where the leak "grease" is coming from.
But if the joint is gone that would cause seal problems too.
That driveshaft is the first I've seen or heard of with 2 double cardan joints.

Is having 2 double cardan joints desirable? I assume it relieves the angles in the drive line by splitting it over 4 joints?

Good point on the grease. I'll check it tonight. Another thing to consider is my ATF covered hands put a lot of that back together when I had it down for the front transmission seal replacement.

I didn't notice the seal leaking when I pulled trans and transfer case, but I didn't look or inspect it either. I was more worried about the transmission front seal that was leaking like a sieve.

 

[ford4wd08]

That's bizarre. I agree that it may be custom built... why a driveshaft shop would go through the trouble of putting two in there is beyond me. One is plenty to correct angles in a stock height B2............

Would there be any markings from Ford if it was a stock piece? I assume it is stock, but who knows at this point.

Guess I'll have to pull it to measure the u joints so I can order the correct ones. This would make more sense as to why I am getting confused by Rock Auto's listings.

 

[ford4wd08]

@ alwaysFlOoReD

I just looked at my photos again, if you look at post 5, the picture of the back of the transfer case does not appear to be leaking.

You can see the seal in the picture.

 

[bobbywalter]

there were double dc joints. i have only seen two. they had a different slip and rectangle weights. i thought they were only on diesel b2's. was that b2 originally titled in canada?

 

[bobbywalter]

Is having 2 double cardan joints desirable? I assume it relieves the angles in the drive line by splitting it over 4 joints?

in theory sure.


i went to single joints with a slip with one i had back in the 90's my wife was driving....the overpriced tulip crap was pathetic...over time it worked good from stock to 3 inches of lift. single joint was best results by far.

 

[ford4wd08]

there were double dc joints. i have only seen two. they had a different slip and rectangle weights. i thought they were only on diesel b2's. was that b2 originally titled in canada?

B2 was built in September of '84 as a 1985 model then purchased new from Parkway Ford in Madisonville, KY. It live it's whole life in Christian County Ky until I went and picked it up in June and hauled it to my house in East TN.

 

[ford4wd08]

in theory sure.


i went to single joints with a slip with one i had back in the 90's my wife was driving....the overpriced tulip crap was pathetic...over time it worked good from stock to 3 inches of lift. single joint was best results by far.

My great uncle (grandfather's brother who owned the BII that has passed) is a Bronco II guy too.

I talk to him weekly about my rig and stuff I'm fixing up. After sending him pictures and discussing with him, he said it might be a better idea to replace the whole driveshaft. He has had 2 different BII's that both had the tulip crap. He said he has replaced both with good results and it wouldn't be much different that buying 4 new u joints and the ball and spring kit for the middle of both.

Any thoughts on that?

Another note, I got under the Bronco last night and could not feel any play in the driveshaft at all. I haven't gotten anything for leverage and tried yet, but I'm starting to wonder if that is my problem, or if it is tires that sat for a few year.

I'll have to do more research on it this week. Seems like 4 u joints would just have more potential for vibrations??

 

[Shran]

Sometimes your trans/t-case has to be in neutral to feel the play in the u-joints, if there is any. Sometimes you'll feel it all the time. Just depends on wear location and how the truck is sitting on the ground.

I looked up u-joints on RockAuto. Looks like you can get Spicers for $15 each... rebuilding your driveshaft is probably a LOT cheaper than a new one, they started at around $230. Make sure your slip yoke is in good shape, that would be the determining factor to me. Slop in that would lead me towards a new shaft.

Back in the day when I could find Bronco II's, I was occasionally using 91-94 Explorer front shafts to replace a Bronco II rear. There are some yoke modifications required on that route but it was cheap... a used driveshaft was like $10.

 

[ford4wd08]

Sometimes your trans/t-case has to be in neutral to feel the play in the u-joints, if there is any. Sometimes you'll feel it all the time. Just depends on wear location and how the truck is sitting on the ground.

I looked up u-joints on RockAuto. Looks like you can get Spicers for $15 each... rebuilding your driveshaft is probably a LOT cheaper than a new one, they started at around $230. Make sure your slip yoke is in good shape, that would be the determining factor to me. Slop in that would lead me towards a new shaft.

Back in the day when I could find Bronco II's, I was occasionally using 91-94 Explorer front shafts to replace a Bronco II rear. There are some yoke modifications required on that route but it was cheap... a used driveshaft was like $10.

By slip yoke you mean the middle part of the drive shaft that extends and contracts?

Mine is fixed at the transfer case and the rear end. Most slip yokes come out of the transmission right?

I agree rebuild is cheaper, but I also need to get the ball and spring set up for the middle of each double cardan joint as well right?

I don't care to rebuild it, I just want to ensure it is vibration free! I'm always down for learning or doing something new.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

As mentioned above, the shaft needs to be loose to be able to feel any slack in the joints. Block a wheel front and back and put it in neutral. That should remove any bind. The shaft should now rotate a little, maybe a 1/4". Use your hands on either side of a joint and twist back and forth. Look very closely at the two halves surrounding the joint. There should be absolutely no movement. Last time I checked for the cup and ball it was far cheaper to find a used shaft.

 

[Shran]

By slip yoke you mean the middle part of the drive shaft that extends and contracts?

Mine is fixed at the transfer case and the rear end. Most slip yokes come out of the transmission right?

Yes... the middle part with the rubber bellows over it. Shouldn't have much if any up/down/sideways slop or rotational slop between the two pieces... a little bit as the shaft is extended out is OK. Transmission/t-case slip yokes are the same concept just in a different location.

The ball/spring kit was only around $25 so add two of those and you're still right around $100.

 

[ford4wd08]

Do I need to measure and confirm that the U Joint is a 1210, or is that a safe bet from Rock Auto?

Looks like it will be about ~$120 if I was to replace all of the joints in the drive shaft.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Can someone post a link to the ball/spring kit? When I went to my local driveshaft shop the quoted me about $350 for the center piece. If I can fix it for 25 I would be really happy..

 

[Curious Hound]

Here is the Rock Auto listing for mine.