U joints again.

The caps should fit tight. If they don't, there isn't enough grease in the joint. Grease it up real good through the grease nipple and put the caps on.. You'll have to compress the caps with your hand just to get 'em to fit. If the joint doesn't have a grease fitting, it's probably original so go ahead and replace it anyway. Better to learn in your garage at home then on the side of the road.

Carl

Hey Carl, thanks. My mechanic said there wasn't enough grease in them so he put some in for me. I put it back together and there is a gap. If I loosen the straps, I can move it laterally. I cannot center it. Also mine do not have grease fittings. It will be out one way or the other about 1/16" Should I take it off again, remove the bearing caps and pack it full? I cant get new ones till next week and I need to drive it. After I put it back on the first time, not knowing to center it, I went for a test drive and was still getting some vibration.

Greg

Pack it with enough grease to take out that 1/16" gap and put it back on. The cross piece will center itself within that 1/16" difference so long as the caps are tight against the stops.

Carl

Thank you so much, I'm on it!!

Greg

If the joint is not snug in the yoke, it is likely that the U joint was physically blown out sometime in the past. Not unsual on the short shaft in a CJ/YJ/TJ. And it will cause vibration and premature joint failure. Proper fix is to replace the yoke. $50 plus installation charges. I know other Jeepers who have VERY CAREFULLY tapped the tabs on the yoke in to tighten the joint back up. Not really reccomended but it sometimes works.

Your yoke has the straps to hold the U-jo> Well my u joint in the rear was not bad as I suspected, but what I

Yea I've decided to just have it replaced.

Greg

Greg,

Your best bet is a new joint. If the new one doesn't fit tight, you'll need a new yoke (PITA). The re-packed joint will work fine for a week or so untill you get new ones. Be sure to replace the upper and lower at the same time.

Carl

Excuse my ignorance, but I'm new to all this stuff. Upper and lower? As well how involved is installing a new yoke?

Thanks again,

Greg

Unfortunately the yoke has been damaged by the loose strap. I have never seen a successful fix for that. The slop will always allow vibration which will destroy the pinion seal and bearing as well as the u-joint eventually or just blow the yoke apart...

I have 'heard' a good welder can fill the hole, then regrind a new seat, I have also heard of shims and just plain welding the cap to the yoke.

No matter how you decide to try and use it, you should get new straps. They are very inexpensive.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail > Well my u joint in the rear was not bad as I suspected, but what I

I'm going tomorrow to buy the joint. I pulled the driveshaft again and took a look at the yoke. It looked fine, Took a measurement across the tabs to see if they were bent out. 3.875". Good. Measured across the bearing caps, relaxed, I could squeeze them a little, but a good .125" under. I hope a new one will work. Things did not look that bad under there. Will get new straps. Am going to have a mechanic put it in. And I will reinstall the driveshaft myself. Thanks guys for all the help.

Greg>

Greg

Greg,

If you have the choice between an less expensive unit that you have to grease and an expensive premium "sealed for life" joint with a lifetime guarantee I believe most of the Jeepers here would recommend you get the greasable units.

(and keep them greased)

Two joints are on the shaft, one at each end. The one near the t-case is the 'upper'. The one in question (the one that attatches to the yoke) is the 'lower'. The new yoke requires some serious torque and a specifically torqued nut to hold the yoke on. IIRC, it's got to be exact or no dice.

Just get the joint changed for now and worry about the yoke if the new joint is a problem. I would try to VERY gently tap the cap retainers on the yoke before tacking a yoke replacement.

HTH

Carl

The sealed units are garbage. You want the cheapie greaseable kind.

Carl

I laugh every time I hear this. I have 2 YJ's, a '95 and a '94, both with over 218,000 miles on them. Both with 4 original u-joints. The 4x4 S-10 that I had before got sold with 387,500 miles on it. The

4 factory u-joints in that one outlasted 3 engines and a couple of trannies.

-- Old Crow "Yol Bolsun!" '82 FLTC-P "Miss Pearl" '74 XLH chopper(gone but not forgotten) BS#133, SENS, TOMKAT, MAMBM

I will add to the fact the sealed units are garbage, at least for my Canadian Off Road use.

I have had to replace 'all' the sealed units in my CJ7 within 2 years of it's complete rebuild.

One only lasted 8 months! It (one ear) was contaminated with water when I had to pull it to replace an axle seal so I changed it.

I also stupidly put the things into our Cherokee and had to replace all of them withing 2 or 3 years too.

These had a 'lifetime' warranty on them and I saved all the receipts so got to take them back for 'money' when I showed I replaced them with ones costing 1/4 as much.

I will also add they 'every' time I come back from a bush run and grease my u-joints, I always get water out of them.

These sealed units might be great for desert rats and for those that run strictly 'on' road, but not for mud runners or creek crossers....

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail > >

Same here but as Mike says no mudding for me. Otoh, if you get an aftermarket "lifetime warranty" part is it the same as or better than the OEM part it is replacing? Sometimes not. It's that magic UAW "factory touch" I guess.

Earle