93 front Axel U-Joints

[clok1966]

My 4WD motor was out, I replaced it with an new aftermarket one, i now have 4WD. As we had nice weather I never really tried it out, i seen it engaged and worked and forgot about it. Now we have horrible weather (middle of the ICE storm that is hitting the plains right now, as I'm sure many of you are). I clicked my 4WD and took off.... lovely! nice traction on the ice.. how did i get by with just a FWD car instead of a 4WD? Well, when I get to about 20+ mph I have a steady noise. It changes when i turn, step on the brakes and let off and accelerate. There is NO NOISE in 2WD, NO NOISE untill about 20+ that i can notice. Ity sounds very much like its comming from the Front Drivers side. And it does sound very much like a U-Joint (I have heard bad ones before) so I'm almost 100% sure. We had the front hubs apart this summer to grease bearings and such (and didnt overgrease, thanks to this forum). From searches here it sound like i can replace it in the tuck (with some work). Here is my question.. When i do parts look ups it seems there are two sizes. And from looking it also appears there are two differetn front end axles in these trucks (if I'm way off, forgive me, I am fairly mechanical minded (may father was a mechanic, and it rubbed off on me, I worked on my cars all the time right up till the last 10 years with all the electronics))

How do I figure out which i have so i can get the correct Ujoints ahead of time? I dont want to be tearing it apart and find out they dont have the parts. OH, if anybody has any advice on the front u-joints ( pictures or??) please clue me in.


Clok

 

[1IronMike]

I did a search for you. Check this link out. I am not sure but check your door jamb for the axle code. It will tell you the gear size and it might help out the parts guy.


http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/ujoint1/u-joint-1.htm

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

i know that when i went in to get new new joints for my axle-shafts they had 2 different ones listed, so basically i just brought the axle-shafts in and they size them up, i also had them press them in since i didn't have the time or the tools to do it.

so you can either pull the shafts and take them in or measure the cups on the u-joints to help determine what ones you need.

 

[DeRocha]

I would be far easier to replace the stub axle U-joints with the axles removed from the vehicle. Check out the U-joint link in my sig line on how to use the "C" clamp tool to remove and install U-joints. As for which U-joints to get Most Explorers have the larger U-joints. Measure the diameter of a bearing cap which will equate to the ones you need to get... BTW if your Ball joints are old/bad now would be the time to replace them since you'll have removed 90% of the parts already.

tip: I use a slide hammer to remove the spindle..

 

[MrShorty]

As for which u-joint, the difference between the two u-joints offered is the difference between a Dana 28 TTB and a Dana 35 TTB. Explorers only came with the D35 (D28 was used on '80's BII's and Ranger. try explaining that the parts store computer), so you want the larger of the two offered.

As a side note, I went through this same question when I replaced the axleshaft u-joints on my '92. I stopped at Autozone to ask how much, and he asked what size the bearing cap was. I didn't anticipate the question asked in that way, so I didn't know (thought I suspected I knew the answer). I asked if it was related to the D28-D35 question and he didn't know. Left and went to the local Spicer retailer, he didn't ask which u-joint, just brought a couple off the shelf. When I got home, I decided to compare the bearing caps of the D28 and the D35 (since I have both in my garage), and, sure enough, the smaller u-joint was for the D28 and the larger u-joint was for the D35.

FWIW, you'll run into this same question when it comes to other parts for your Explorer's front end. The parts store will ask something that basically boils down to D28 or D35, and the answer in an Explorer is D35.