U-joints

[firecadet613]

Well I think my U-joints are gone, been making a clunk every now and then for the past 15-20k miles, but now its happening almost all the time. For the last 7k miles I've had a weird noise/vibration thats resonating, that I though was coming from the tranny. Had the best tranny shop in Denver take a look at it, said the noise is barely noticable(which it isn't, I'm just anal ), probably isn't the tranny, but could be a u-joint or something along those lines. Whats the best brand to buy? Do I want to get one I can lube via a grease zerk or a lubed for life one? How hard are they to replace, and do I need to remove my driveshaft to replace them like my Haynes manual says I do, or can I just do each side one at a time and leave the other side mounted on my truck? How much time should I set aside for this?

 

Joe

[k1500chevy97]

We just buys ours from the local napa store . I would suggest getting one with a zerk on it

[Wingnut]

They aren't all that bad to change, but you do need to pull the driveshaft in order to press them off.

 

Depending on what kind of ujoints are in there, you might need a torch.

 

If they have the snap-rings holding them in, it's pretty easy. But if they don't....There is a plastic ring (on the inside) that you cannot get to, so you have to use a torch and heat them up to the point where they melt, and squirt out the holes on the sides....Kinda fun actually....Lotsa oozing plastic, popping and burning.

 

I have heard of some who didn't heat them up, and still got them pressed off.....But I tried, and couldn't get them to budge. And I have a big a$$ vise.

 

As far as brand, I just went down to Napa, and took whatever brand they gave me.

 

Oh, and I just used a small propane torch from Coleman....You don't need the big expensive setup.