2000 Z71 1500 U-Joint Questions

A few quick questions: (just got 2000 Z71 Siverado)

I noticed a "clunk" around the front of the transfer case at low speeds... checked the rear u-joint on the front drive shaft & it appears to be out....

1) Should the front drive shaft be turning when the vehicle is not in fwd? The noise seems to accelerate as the vehicle does.... (i have checked the newsgroup and noticed a lot of ppl having trouble with noise in the rear related to the u-joint/yoke - this one is in the front shaft :-)

2) The boot on the rear of the shaft has kind-of thrown me a curve.... does anyone know of a place to find directions for replacement.... how do you remove the rear u-joint on the front shaft?

3) can i remove the front shaft and still drive the vehicle? i'm afraid that the boot is there for a "reason" - i figure it holds the lubricant in the transfer case... or is there a transfer case seal behind it and it just keeps lubricant on the splines that the shaft goes on??

thanks in advance

snipped-for-privacy@ihatespam.neto.com

"tfend" wrote

If you have the automatic t/case (you should see an "auto4HI" button on the dash, along with the usual other ones), then yes, the front driveshaft will turn even when it's in 2wd. The clutch pack in the t/case is designed to maintain a small amount of torque on the front shaft even in 2wd.

You are probably seeing the fact that the boot has two small clamps, very similar clamps to C/V boot clamps. You can do one of two things. Just cut off the rear most clamp and get a new one at the dealer, you need boot clamp pliers to "properly" cinch up the clamp when you re-install it. Or, you can use a small screwdriver and find the section of the clamp that is used to tighten it up when squeezed with boot clamp pliers and just spread it out a bit until it's loose enough to be able to pull the rubber boot off the t/case.

You can, but you shouldn't. The boot is there strictly to keep the splines from getting crap in them. There is still a regular front output shaft seal on that t/case. So in a pinch, yes you can pull the shaft and drive it.

Ian