Universal joint replacement

I'm tired of hearing this freakin' squeak when I'm going down the road, so I need to change this u-joint that's going bad soon. I have heard that the OEM joints are best (duh) and that some folks suggest replacing all u-joints at the same time. Well, I've found the OEM joints for around $50 each and I can't afford to do them all at the same time. The question is: replace the only 'bad' one now with the OEM part, or replace all u-joints with lower grade parts? Thoughts?

 

you can just replace the bad one

 

Hoss may be right.

Some other things to consider:

Do you expect to keep the truck for a short/long time?
With labor involved/down time, does it make sense to do the others as some preventive maintenance?
I don't know the answer on this, but by fixing just the one, will this adversely affect the other joints/other components?

Lots of good minds here so maybe someone can chime in...

 

Can get none OEM ones for about 1/4 that price. Check out RockAuto

 

Spicer and a vise, you're set.

 

Right, you hit the nail on the head. I have thought about all of those things and boiled it down to my initial question I started the thread with. Yes I do indeed to keep the truck long term, I guess to whenever I can't run it anymore. I will be doing the repair myself, and yes it would make more sense to replace them all at once, I'd rather not do it with crummy u joints and find myself redoing the job in a year or two. Does anyone know about the adverse effects of replacing only the bad one?

Thanks guys! I think the easy answer would be to replace them all at once with the best part, but that can't be done right now. I can't use a 1/3 of my paycheck on my truck right now.

 

Sounds like you've thought it through! And terrific that you are doing the work yourself; saving money and learning about the repair. Looks like others are pointing you at sources where the prices may be better, so hopefully you can get yourself the best deal on parts.

I enjoy tinkering with the cars in my shed. Each is different, but the truck is the easiest to work on. Moreso than the other vehicles, the truck gives you space to turn a wrench. And learning on the truck has helped me with repairs on my other vehicles. It's good to gain the knowledge and have it with you for those events in the future. Best of luck to you on your repair!! Let us know how it worked out for you once you are done.

 

Like VA Girl I am hearing the dreaded cricket that seems to be my u-joints. The front brakes have less than 10K miles and the rear drums look good so I don't think it is them. How would I narrow it down to one u-joint? Or just go ahead and replace them all.

 

usually it's the rear most ujoint on to the axle. You can unbolt the DS and rotate the joint and feel for any flat or rough spots in the rotation. If not completely smooth or if it moves too freely replace.

 

Have you greased the u-joints recently? That could get rid of the squeak

 

Yeah I have and unfortunately it didn't help. I grease my joints every oil change.

 

Don't wait too long or this could be your fate. Nephew's dodge that I told him for 6 months to go buy them and i will change them....

 

I've never replaced a U-Joint that didn't need to be replaced. Although unlikely it's possible to screw up the yokes changing a u-joint,especially if you're a newbie. The factory joints are by far the best out there but they are expensive. If you're going aftermarket (I did on my 96) my advice would be to buy 2 joints. Change the one that's bad and put the other one on the shelf or in the glovebox. With cheap joints you might be doing it again sooner rather than later.

 

I might disagree on OEM being best, but it's just opinion.
I got some "high strength greasable" ones from O'Reily auto last year for $20 each. The rear most OEM joint had seized completely and it took a big hammer to get it out. The handle on the bench vice wasn't strong enough and we didn't have a hydraulic press. But for most people, a vice is enough. Or even just a big C-clamp maybe.

Again, just my opinion, but I think that if a bearing in a group goes bad, the others may not be far behind. And I'm counting on a $20 joint being better than the $10 ones.