Rob_OBX

just a few miles from home sunday the drivers side front axle u-joint went out. got the wheel, caliper, rotor and the 4 bolts that hold the bearing assy. on(that's all there is, right?), it will not come off. I have pounded on it with a 3 pound sledge and soaked it with pb blaster, heated it with a very small torch that did nothing. Then I put just the wheel back on and jacked up the truck higher and dropped it about 6 times. It will not budge, the bearing assy., the rotor backing plate and the thing that is held on with ball joints(don't know what it's called...) are at this point one big rusted together piece. 2.5 years ago when this u-joint started squeaking the dealership couldn't get it apart either.

any suggestions? thanks for anything!!!
I don't really want to go buy a bigger torch, I have no other uses for one, but is that the only way?

starkey

i had the exact same problem with my 02. took the help of 3 cans of wd 40, mapp gas, a sledge and some chisles. try putting and old socket on the backing bolts and hammering them from the inside out. takes for ever to get them off when they are rusted on. took me three days! good news is that when you get the old one off, they go back on really easy!

Hvytrkmech

Sorry to say but an oxy/acy torch is what your gonna need, a slide hammer will be a big help also and last but not least a new bearing assembly. Unfortunately it will most likely be destroyed in the removal process, I had to put a large amount of heat to my buddy's 03 2500 to remove both sides, once we got everything out we cleaned the knuckles up real good then neversiezed the new bearing assy. and reinstalled.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

Good luck, Tim

LJRoy

I have no real help to offer on pulling the hub assembly, sorry.

For future reference - it is possible to swap the drivers side u-joint w/o pulling the bearing, hub, or axle shaft. I did mine about 15K miles ago. Jack it up and pull the wheel and brake caliper. At that point you have enough room to use a u-joint press (I used one from tigertool.com) to yank the old joint and put the new one in. It's tight but doable.

Rob_OBX

I was looking at it last night wondering if there was room. is your u-joint press the one from harbor freight? I was thinking it would be too bulky to get in there.
Thanks for the ideas all!

ClackClack

Deja vu.... I think I just replied to this in the HELP! forum...

Rob_OBX

yeah, needed some quick thoughts, so I posted both places. thanks!

gm1276

I just did u joints and ball joints on my truck ... what we did was use bolts that went on from the inside, and hammered the hell out of them over and over again until we could slide the whole assembly off. took about 3 hours on each side and a few cans of mopar rust penetrant. good luck.

whitebuffalo

im not sure if im understanding what you're asking, but if you're talking about getting the unitized hub bearing off....try this. loosen all the bolts holding it on. jack up the entire front end of the truck. place a deep socket between the loosened bolt and the knuckle. with the truck running, have a friend turn the wheel, effectively using the power steering as a press.

the 1st timne i removed mine, i was like you, spoent hours hammering etc. once i learned this, i can have mine off in no time flat.....

Rob_OBX

tried that. didn't work. my steering wheel turns until it hits then gets tougher and simply stops. I am pulling on the steering wheel VERY hard, won't go any further...
I squirted some Kroil in there about an hour ago, have already used 2 cans of PB Blaster. sledge and chisel. put a small plumbers torch on there for over half an hour. NOTHING
I would put the tire back on and take it for a drive, but I don't want to destroy the axles themselves.

Rob_OBX

ok, finally got it... put all 4 bolts in and worked each one with the power steering. wow. does the factory not use any anti-seize? Had I known this I would have taken it apart when I bought it and liberally applied the appropriate dressing...

What else should I replace while I have it apart? the truck has 130,000 and everything is original

Hvytrkmech

I have never tried to do it like this, however if it is possible like you say I will be trying it on the next one for sure.

LJRoy

I don't know what HF sells. Mine is made by tigertool. Not cheap but it does the job. It's a little tricky getting the new joint in, kind of one of those 3-d puzzles except in solid steel. The steering needs to be at just the right angle and the axle rotated to the right point. No other special tools used.

Before doing the front I had tried doing my rear driveshaft joints using a vise and a couple sockets to try and press them out. Didn't even begin to budge the caps but bent the heck out of the vise handle.

2500

could you please post a pic of your ujoint press or provide a link?

is this the tool $385? http://www.tigertool.com/index.cfm?f...=1&productid=1

$251 http://www.tigertool.com/index.cfm?f...=1&productid=2

thanks,

LJRoy

"20475 - Medium & Light Duty U-Joint Svc Kit"

http://tigertool.com/index.cfm?fusea...2&productid=39

99% sure I used the larger of the three pullers (10104) for the rear driveshaft joints and the middle (10105) for the front axle.

You can find the kit for well under retail. I bought it through mile-x