u-joint issue killing me..

[crewchief219]

I had a slight shake above 50 mph so I replaced both u joints with off the shelf ujoints. Got a little better but blew the rear out.. and then again.. learned my lesson and got Spicer ujoints and also had the driveshaft balanced. Now its super smooth. But heres my problem:

I want to make sure ive got a good fix, the only thing holding me up is the fact that when I installed the driveshaft, there was a little play between the caps and the tabs on the rear axle yoke that hold the ujoint centered in place. Its only a small amount, and im sure they're the right ujoints, so when I installed it I made sure the caps were both fully seated on the ujoint and tightened it down. I checked after a couple days of driving and the caps have worked their way out and now I can move the driveshaft again. Still no vibration that I can feel, but is this normal?

Driveshaft was balanced and Spicer ujoints were installed by machine shop. All I did was intall the driveshaft.

 

[hce]

You already answered the question. Still no vibration. Leave it alone.

 

[79jasper]

You would need a new axle flange.
Just leaving it alone will cause premature wear of that u joint.

Sent from my SM-T537R4 using Tapatalk

 

[IDIoit]

this is not normal.
somthing is busted/worn out.
if you indeed have the correct u joint there should be ZERO PLAY
if there is play, then your pinion yoke is dammaged.

you can do as hce said and leave it alone, but it will break again.
prolly when youre trying to get out of a stickey situation.

 

[crewchief219]

Ok, thanks for the quick answers. Looks like ive got more work to do. Thanks fellas.

 

[laserjock]

What year is your truck? There are a free years where they used a goofy joint at the yokes. Two caps are a little bigger than the others. I think it's a special 1330 joint specific to ford but I can't remember for sure. I know they are larger diameter but I they may be longer too. Not sure about that.

 

[crewchief219]

Its a 92. I'll see if I can find anything on that. I was just looking to see what it would take to change the pinion yoke. :/

 

[IDIoit]

to change the pinion yoke you would need a crush sleeve, a tool to hold the yoke to keep from spinning, id use a new nut, and a good torque wrench.
perhaps a good puller to pull the old one off.
its not that hard, but you have to get it just right.

 

[SDEconVan]

Crewchief219-

As mentioned there should be NO play between the tabs.
These two tabs:

You must be registered for see images attach

I just got done getting a custom shaft built and double checked the specs. You probably have
the Spicer 1330 U-joint. INSIDE the caps should be end play washers. One of mine went missing
and I got play between the tabs. Washers are usually plastic and have a hole in the middle of
them.

You must be registered for see images attach

Hard to see, but the Bearing Cap is touching the Tab of the Yoke.

Otherwise I'd suspect damage at the Yoke end, possibly loose bolt (had that happen,) or internal
bearing issue (hope not...)

Best regards,
George

 

[hce]

Ive purchased new spicer yokes with new spicer u-joints. There is play, not much. You can feel it but need a dial indicator to measure it. My guess is the old rusty and dirty yokes fit tighter but do not locate the u-joint as well as a good clean yoke. A little play is good, a couple thousands. A tight binding can be bad, but will normally just were till it is a u-joint with a little play. What needs to be determined is the amount of a little play, otherwise were all just guessing at the problem.

 

[riotwarrior]

K there is likely a worn locating TAB on one or both sides of yoke, essentially from slop and they will just get worse.

Best bet to maintain a solid running setup and not keep taking out U joints is a NEW yoke.

Now not only will you need a new crush sleeve and NUT I'd recommend a new seal as well.

Not only are there different U joint sizes for those yokes between some years, there are two YOKE LENGTHS as well.

Long and short.

So base your yoke choice on your ujoint size and yoke length.

Thats my best suggestion

 

[laserjock]

If you do change yokes, look up the torque spec on the nut. It's not trivial. Probably won't get it with a standard 1/2 drive torque wrench. Also, you should set the preload which to do right requires a dial indicating inch-lb wrench. You'll have to look up what the correct preload is. Strictly speaking, you really should pull the axles, drain the gear lube and check the pinion depth after running the crush sleeve down. The preload I'm guessing won't have a spec for the whole thing with the axles.