My drivers side front axle u joint went bad. The service tech at my local repair shop said that it was a non serviceable joint and the entire axle shaft has to be replaced. Is ths true. Sounds stupid to me, but i use this shop all the time for all of my repairs. They have never lied to me in the past. Any ideas?


Kyle

 

http://www.napaonline.com/cgi-bin/nc...rpid=105216165

Part number: NUJ2150299

Thats the outer axle U-joint from Napa. $21.99. I didn't shop brands...just picked the first one I saw on their site...but it shows that the joints are available seperately. www.napaonline.com

Jim

 

Your mechanic is taking you down the nowadays common route where an entire rebuilt axle with joint is replaced because of a bad CV joint.
This method is economical for a passenger car but not for a heavy duty truck. Just replace the $25 joint.

 

When my drivers side u-joint went out a couple of years ago, I replaced both sides with just the u-joint. I also had the u-joint drilled and tapped for a zerk fitting. So far, so good.

Jus Plain

 

I just did every joint in my truck , from the info I've had spicer makes the strongest ones, and they come with grease fittings, next is they cost about 50.00 for axial , drive shafts 25.00 and napa can order them but may not stock em , the last thing is if you'er going to do it, take the old ones with you becouse u-joints are the most likey part to get wrong on the entire truck becouse there are so many opptions. Some specal tools are needed [wheel puller and a press is the best way for the joints], if you do'nt want to tackle this job yourself then have it done rite [ spicer & grease fittings] maybe give your shop the benifit of a dought , maybe they were talking about the front axial with 1 joint on the ft. and constant volocity on the rear of the shaft , some shops just figure that replacing with a rebuilt is easyer for them and that could cost 125-175, some times every body is not on the same page when we'er talken and listening, if you've been happy so far then dobble check , its no fun looking for a new place to go. If you do any wrenching on your own then u-joints are one of the things that are a good place to save money , once you've done a couple they are easy, even the ft. axial ones.

 

Thanks guys. I thought so, I'm going to have a little talk with them. maybe a new shop.


Kyle

 

Good to know that I can just buy joints and not whole shaft but how do you get the axel out. I watched a guy that looked like superman beat for two or three hours one day with some huge dead hammers. He destroyed one of the hammers getting the hub housing out. He said that there was a tool that was made for the dana axel that would mount in the four holes where the four bolts are removed and would press it out but he did not have one of those tools. I don't either and I know I do not have the strength to beat it out like he did. Any thoughts on a homeade tool for this job or tips on how to make it come out easier?

 

94Sam:

This is from a post by KD460 in another thread.

http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech/balljoint.php

John (DH)

 

I would suggest that you do not use hammers as you saw done , then it would be cheeper have it done . first if you can'nt get access to a wheel puller , thats attaches by three legs to wheel studs and a large screw in the center that pushes against the axial to pull the hub out, after losing the 4 bolts on the back side , leave them in about four turns then use a large brass punch and hammer push the bolts out evenly when they'er close to buttoming out, finish removing bolts then finish pulling with wheel puller , now just pull the axial out , this is where you use a med. size hammer[3lbs] and a 6in vise , a small ballpean hammer and a small long punch to remove the retaining clips on the inside , then support the yock opposent the one your holding onto and hit the unsupported yoke to knock the cups out , and you can do the reverse to install the new ones except using the cross to keep the bearings from falling out . the size of the axial nut is 1 11/16 and torqu to 180lbs.

 

If the hub doesn't want to slip off the axle easily, most times they are no problem, what you do is leave two of the four bolts, one on each side, that hold the bearing to the knuckle out about 1/4". Leave the large axle end nut on at least hand tight.
Next step is best done with two people, put a 12 point socket on one of the hub bolts with a 2-3" extension on it, you could also use a deep socket. Start the engine and have someone turn the wheel while you aim the end of the socket or extension at the stop on the axle housing. Have the person turn hard when resistance is met.
Built in hydraulic press!
They usually come off with a loud pop.
If it doesn't pop off on the first try switch to the bolt on the other side and do the same thing.
I used to spend hours beating and with pullers until learning this method and it has worked 100% of the time. Big advantage is that by leaving the big nut tight is that it's impossible to bust the expensive sealed bearing apart which can happen with other methods.

 

Thanks to both John and infidel. The steps listed was a good review before I tackle this monster. The problem I saw was that the guy was trying to hammer against the bolts but they just would not budge. So he got bigger hammers and went at it against the rotors. He said he used to work on tanks in the Army. I remember thinking at the time that somehow there should be a way to pry against something with some leverage against those bolts. If the use of the socket with extension in conjunction with the power stearing works then most of my fear of this job is gone. It is great to get confirmation that This is not too far out as a DIY job.

Thanks for the quick response. I may just go ahead today and dive in. Come to think of it I think I will first do a few days of repeated applications of penetrating oils on the axel nut and around that bolt flange first. Many a job has gone much smoother when I did not rush into things.

 

Sorry BBWD. When I responded to John and infidel I didn't notice that you had posted. Visited the site and enjoyed the refresher on u-joints. BTW when I had balljoints replaced at under 60K miles the axle seals leaked like crazy (had to sdd several pints of fluid over time) for several months while I fussed with the shop about their work. They finally agreed to replace the seals at their labor expense. Another month went by before I could set up an appointment. Guess what? The leaks dried up and are still dry at 240K and yes that is with the oil level topped off.

Thanks

 

94Sam:

The "leak" that you had was from the fluid that got in the shaft when the axle was pulled. I'm told that this is common and usually clears up after a month. Also, and I don't want to speak out of turn, but Bill (Infidel) has posted several times quoting the repair manual, that the fluid level in both the front and rear axle should be kept 1/2" below the fill hole. Overfilling to the bottom of the fill hole encourages leaks through the seals. This guy really knows what he is talking about because he works on them all the time. I'm a shade-tree type.

John (DH)

 

I was glad to know not to be so carefull to keep her topped off but my leak after the ball joint job went on for more than 6 months. As a test, I parked the leaky side down hill on a steep slope where I worked and let her sit all day. It just keet on leaking so I went to the shop and complained not necessarily insisting that they fix it. I just wanted the guy to know that one of the outcomes of his job was that I had a leaky seal. I really didn't know at the time whether to blame him or not. But after reporting that the leak was persisting they said bring her in and we will do the labor to fix it. so not being in a hurry, I let about a about a month go by and one day I looked at the axle again and it showed no fresh oil drips. 180K miles later she is still dry.

I have never known a seal to quit leaking once it started so this was a strange one that i thought I would toss out to see if anyone had an explanation. Or should I not tell this one again and lose all credibility

 

I see this all the time when the differential is overfilled, once the proper level is reached leak stops.
3/4" below the bottom of the fill plug is the correct level.