2nd gen sterling - long yoke to 1st gen sterling short yoke U-joint help

[FORDF250HDXLT]

so i swapped in a 1989 1st gen sterling into my 93 f250 which had the 2nd gen sterling with long yoke.
i thought wrong when the U-joint fit because it quickly wore out lol oops.
so anyway,yes i converted and got the required straps and tossed my u-bolts.but apparently the u-joint caps for the axle side are a bit too small.
what do i need for a u-joint? auto zone and napa were of no help at all because they're computers couldn't help them out of course lol.

i have a single rear drive shaft with no center bearing on my reg cab f250.im sure this will help.

asking here because im almost certain iv read others do this swap before here.

my drive shaft takes a smaller size cap than the even the 2nd gen sterling did by a very small amount.i know big help right?
so i need whatever size the cap is for the small size to fit the drive shaft and then whatever size the 1st gen sterling takes for the larger caps.

the old U-joint i just took out has the number 203 on it if this helps.

there.i think that's all i know.
edit.,nope i lied.
auto zone once gave me an incorrect U-joint (before i swapped axles.) # 2-0053DL
(i never got around to returning it.)
it's equally sized on all 4 caps unlike what mine needed (and still does) BUT this size cap appears to fit the older sterling yoke good.i see it has a 1.187 size cap.is that correct for the old/short yoke(pre 1993)? if so.im half way there.

what a PITA lol.
i tried so hard to find to find a sterling 10.25 pickup DRW w/ 3.55's 1993-1997 but just came up empty.
i was lucky enough to find the pre-93 in this config (like 99.9999999999% of DRW trucks had 4.10's) ! so i count my blessings.

 

[franklin2]

If you do a web search for spicer u-joints, you should be able to find a chart with the dimensions for the oddball joints they make. My Napa dealer gets the mics out, measures what I have, and then looks it up in a Spicer paper book. They have all kinds of joints to make lots of different pieces work together. My internet connection is not working good, or I would find it for you.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

the guy at napa didn't want any part of me being there asking for such a thing today lol.
he got upset when i didn't know if the truck i got the axle from to replace mine with, had a one section drive shaft or not.
i kinda knew were it was all headed when we went to the book.
once i find this,i'll order 2-3 to have on hand.

 

[itsacrazyasian]

the guy at napa didn't want any part of me being there asking for such a thing today lol.
he got upset when i didn't know if the truck i got the axle from to replace mine with, had a one section drive shaft or not.
i kinda knew were it was all headed when we went to the book.
once i find this,i'll order 2-3 to have on hand.

if you wait till tommorow, i'll grab the reciept that my driveshaft guy printed up for me with the ujoint part numbers since i have a rear end from a 1990 and my truck is a 94

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

nice! thank you.im not working tomorrow anyway,cus this thing was shot! i probably shouldn't even took her out today.but i wasn't hauling heavy,so i went easy.
my 93 is a reg cab with just front and rear u-joints.no center one.not sure if your crew cab with 3 joint probably? would take the same siz cap on the end though?

 

[itsacrazyasian]

The truck my front and rear axles came from was a standard cab long bed. i took the stock 2 joint shaft, cut the rear housing and had my driveshaft guy weld it to my stock crew cab shaft.

 

[itsacrazyasian]

look at the 2-4900


ITs got two different sized caps. 1.063 and 1.15

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

i have a very good feeling your part # will be just the ticket!
oh wait,no i misread.maybe not then if your using the crew cab's shaft end to hook up the rear.
that shaft might use a different size joint that what mine does.

 

[franklin2]

All you have to do is go to Harbor freight and get a cheap pair of calipers. Then measure what you need for the rearend, and for the driveshaft. Here are a couple of links;

http://www.drive-lines.com/ujs/uj_conversion.php

http://www2.dana.com/Expert/wc.dll?hvtss~dedsec~2~13~06~

 

[flareside_thun]

What's wrong with swapping the yokes?

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

i dont think you can swap the long yoke for the short yoke because it's not a matter of just the yokes.
the 2nd gen sterling got a longer pinion along with the yoke.
besides that,that NUT is a PITA to get off and on lol.

so i just went to carquest with both u-joints in hand.he measured them both up for me and handed me carquest part# 2-3050
it fits like a glove!

sometime down the road,i do plan on installing some sort of aftermarket LS device (haven't decided which one yet.) at which time i'll then turn it into a 2nd gen sterling with the updated longer pinion while they're installing the LS for me,along with the longer yoke.but this DRW pickup axle already set me back several hundred.so that's enough for now lol.im pleased to have the actual true dually axle instead of them off brand,non hub centric crap wheel spacers i had.what a mess that was.now iv got the 1/2" wider per side brake shoe too which is nice.
i should be good to go for as long as i want now as is.just traction sucks with duallies so LS would be nice.

fyi;
just in case someone is curious down the road and wants to swap in the older sterling (1992 and back) into their 93 or 94 idi truck.just remember you need a VSS in the axle if you have the E40D trans and,or want a working speedo. the one in the '89 had one.i don't recall the first year they had the ring tone/sensor hole.it was used for ABS but it's the same setup for the 9th gen trucks with VSS too.
the yokes are only slightly different lengths.it's not enough to require a different drive shaft or anything.

 

[itsacrazyasian]

87 up had abs.

They gave you a conversion u joint. 1330 to 1350. Spicer's version is 5648x.

Carquest gave you a repacked neapco. Keep a spare handy. I blew a bunch of them up.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Just in case you need this or anyone else about U-joints

.http://www.driveshaftspecialist.com/HTML Measure/UJ ID Guide.html

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

87 up had abs.

They gave you a conversion u joint. 1330 to 1350. Spicer's version is 5648x.

Carquest gave you a repacked neapco. Keep a spare handy. I blew a bunch of them up.

ah ok thanks.well crap,here i thought i was doing wonderful things by buying made in usa too.well least joints are easy to change.thanks for the other #.i'll try that one next if this doesn't hold up.

 

[chvycmnslvr68]

can I pipe in .. I have a problem with U-Joints since I did my conversion ... I have replaced the one behind the carrier bearing aobut 4 times since 12/08 when I put in the Cummins and the one on the pinion 3 times .... I was using Autozone or O-Rileys parts an dthen I went to NAPA and havent had one fail ... (knock on wood) ... but the Chevy has smaller U-Joints than the dodge did and I think that the cummins just puts out too much torque for the drivelines ... I would definitely carry a spare with you ... I always have a spare in my truck cuz you never know ....