Ujoint replacement

Just had my truck in the stealership for battery replacement. It’s a lifetime warranty battery so it goes there for feee replacement. Anyway, they did an inspection on the truck with 106k miles. Came back heeding new front brakes (I have the new rotors and pads in my garage), cabin filter and air filter , diff and transfer case oil, and then they said the 3 ujojnts needed replacing as well as the bearing. I assume they mean the carrier bearing. They quoted me $640 for the ujoint and bearing replacement. Now I know from threads that the ujoints can be obtained from Amazon for around $30 apiece and a google search tells me the bearing goes for $80 to $170 depending on brand. Obviously much less than the $640 they want. Is the job a DIY for a moderately experienced shade tree mechanic and what brand parts should I avoid?

 

There is a U-joint TSB. Look into it.
I did mine before I found the TSB letter.

I personally believe Amazon sells too many counterfeit parts so I got my greaseable Spicer's from Rock Auto.
It wasn't hard to do.
I haven't done the bearing as it is not needed on my truck yet.

 

Jesus the rock auto website looks like you need a PhD in web design to navigate it. Wtf were they thinking?

 

I find Rock Auto one of the absolute easiest sites to narrow down which vehicle you have and which part you want. Refreshing compared to the shit you see nowadays.

U-Joints are easy. Just grab the appropriate Spicer parts. I recommend grabbing a loaner ball joint press from a parts store or buy one yourself. The Harbor Freight one serves me well.

The CB isn't hard. The part numbers are different from 2WD to 4WD, so watch that. Just grab an OEM or the appropriate compatible part. There are some threads here where you can find the replacement washers and nut part numbers. They are easy to find on Ebay or Amazon. You'll need a puller to pull the old bearing off. I had to let mine sit in MMO overnight before it decided to free itself as no amount of heat or other bullshit was getting it off the day prior.

It's a good time to grease the slip joint or drill/tap it for a grease fitting.

 

A driveline shop can do it for less than half that with spicer joints,if you don't want too mess with it.

 

I was going to replace my u-joints and carrier bearing but my driveshaft failed before I had the chance. I still have the parts I bought and plan on posting them in the for sale section soon. Part numbers are listed so you can see if they are compatible.

Edit... I ended up with a one piece drive shaft.

 

I'll trade a couple tips for a question. In the middle of this project right now. I borrowed a press from a parts shop - I recommend doing that, except be careful. I used a impact drill to press the caps out, but over shot and the body of the U-joint pressed into the drive shaft flange. This required some filing to get rid of the burrs, not a big deal but a mistake non-the-less. Also I got my parts (U-joints and carrier bearing) from TacomaPartsDeal (not a deal: 5 joints and a bearing=$550). On top of they verified the part number for me before ordering, but they sent non-greasable U-joints. Seems like that is now the OEM option even though my original joints on the truck are greaseable. Make sure you mark all your surface connections before taking apart the shaft.
That leads into my question. When cleaning parts with brake cleaner it removed the paint mark I had to index the shaft and now I don't know how the yoke was oriented. Can I just put on the flanges at each end, bring it to a shop to have them balance and then I install the shaft or am I missing something? I would like to avoid all the effort and don't want to end up with vibrations.

 

My 2 cents from going through the process.

1. Don't attempt without a press or vise
2. The sequencing is key and marking of the U-joints so that the shaft remains in phase once complete
3. The two piece shaft is a MFer to maneuver and manage in my garage with many carts to balance and hold in place for my vise to work
4. Needle bearings suck, get an extra U-joints in case you lose some needle bearings one gets screwed up
5. There was a little learning curve for me, but definitely doable just take your time. And NO, a hammer and socket will not work to put them back together, but will work to get them apart.

 

They should replace U-Joints under warranty up to 200,000 miles. At least that is what they did on my 2007. They will reimburse you if you've already paid for it if you have receipts.

 

Just did mine this past weekend and used these parts:

$61 Spicer 5002334 Center Bearing

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GAPFESW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

$25 Spicer 5-1330X U-Joint Kit 1330/SPL25 Series (OSR)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DOI9GFK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used the sealed joints because I know me and I'll forget to grease them just like I have been for the past 139K miles. If you want greaseable, that would be these:

$34 Spicer 5-1330-1X U-Joint Kit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DOI8BDS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

The Carrier Bearing says it's for a 2WD/RWD but it works for the 4WD also.

 

They mentioned no tsb or warranty. Of course.

 

take off the drive shaft bring it to a machine shop replace all u joints

 

**** EDIT: Never mind my 0.2 do not apply in this case, you Tacoma is 4WD. Just saw your avatar.

I'm pretty sure that the price they quoted you also includes TWO part NEW DRIVE SHAFT (Spicer) - you were quoted a "shaft assembly". I went through the same, the stealership told me that Toyota recommended to have the whole assembly, from tranny to rear diff (I have a Pre-runner), replaced together...

Just wanted to share that with you.

Cheers!

Rick

 

The carrier bearing is different for 2WD and 4WD. There is a lot of information here:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-replacing-driveshaft-center-bearing.515726/

edit: in my pics you can see that I filled the carrier bearing's rubber surround with clear silicone. No issues with over 10k miles on it, it's still in place. If you want to do this, do it before installing it and let it cure for at least a day. This will add a lot of rigidity, but could possibly increase vibration; I have no issues with it.

 

FYI they will most likely reject any tsb or warranty for these issues if your truck has a lift. My local dealer wouldn't even bother checking those things for warranty since I have a 3in lift.

 

Good advice. Only thing Ill add is to get genuine Dana Spicer parts from somewhere like
https://www.drivetrainamerica.com

Umm lets see, if you do the CB youll have to put the driveshaft back in the truck (can do it backwards so its easier away from the T case) to torque that big ass nut down properly
Also youll want a puller for the yoke (or take your time with a chisel and hammer) if you do the CB. And watch out for the washer that gets stuck to the old center bearing!! Sucks doing the job twice.. ask me how I know

 

I did mine 4 or 5 years ago, all u joints and the carrier. I have a press at work, so it was a "lunch time" repair...

Don't recall any thing out of the weird in doing it, NAPA parts (they bring them to the shop). So if you have a press and vice, it ain't too bad, if not, a driveline shop would be my guess.

 

They are different according to Spicer's (Dana) website, but I bought the one that was supposed to be for 2WD and put it on my 4WD and it works fine. Not much difference between them.

 

Major difference as far as I could tell was dust seals (or lack thereof on 2WD)

 

Sadly my dealership quoted the $650 for a carrier bearing and ujoint kit. So I am going to guess it’s not a new driveshaft too.