Front U-Joint driveshafts.

[Wakeboy1337]

The front driveshafts on my XLT are worn out. When I am in 4x4 and turn the wheel too far my front wheels almost completely bind up and the sounds you hear are unbelievable. It sounds like I'm going to rip a joint apart. While looking under the truck at the shafts I can see that the first u-joint to the passenger side of the diff is REALLY sloppy. I also noticed that it appears to be non serviceable. The other u-joints at the wheels are in unknown shape to me. I have not been able to reach up and wiggle them to check them. I was thinking about replacing all of them together or is the one to the passenger side of the pumpkin a known failure point?

I don't have any junkyards around here where I can go pull a part I need. The junkyards here are useless and I would like new shafts if possible. So another question I have is where is a good place to get driveshafts without breaking the bank? One more question. Are there driveshafts that will last longer available for our trucks? The u-joint design most likely cant last for more than 10,000 miles of continus use seeing as they are open to all of the elements. Anyone have AWD aerostar shafts or CVs on their X?

 

[Equnoxe]

cant you just replace the u joint? i don't have a 93 but i couldn't believe that you would have to replace the front shafts to fix the problem.

im sure you know this but, you cannot use 4wheel drive when your driving on pavement, is severely damages the 4wd system.

 

[Wakeboy1337]

I know but when I move up north I'm going to want it for when its really snowy and icy out. That's one time you can't avoid using it on pavement. But even when I'm in soft sand it binds up to be just about unusable.

 

[Maniak]

If your in 2wd then those front shafts should not be spinning. If they are most likely your front hubs are automatic hubs and are stuck "on" which is bad.

As for new shafts, never seen any place sell them. Yards are about the only place you will find them. Worst case, you can buy them from yards that will ship (I know of few in Az that will).

The drivers side (short) shaft will be easy to pull and it is just a normal u-joint. The passenger side shaft is going to be fun to pull. The passenger side is held in by a c-clip (e-clip). To remove it the pumpkin actually has to be removed from the beam. There are few good threads on here about doing a c-clip elimination so next time it won't be so bad.

~Mark

 

[MrShorty]

I was thinking about replacing all of them together or is the one to the passenger side of the pumpkin a known failure point?

It seems to me the opposite is true: the "middle" joint on the passenger shaft actually lasts longer than the wheel joints because it doesn't flex near as much.

The u-joint design most likely cant last for more than 10,000 miles of continus use seeing as they are open to all of the elements.

Mine lasted a long time. They aren't "open" to the elements if you don't damage the seals while installing. The ujoints are fairly inexpensive and aren't overly difficult to change (except for getting the "stub" shaft out of the diff on the passenger side because of the C-clip inside the diff that holds it in place).

 

[TedJ]

The inner one doesn't seem to be such a common failure because it is not exposed to the same salt and road crud that the others are. Really the failures are typically caused by non use, the rubber dries out, the lube never circulates, and the moisture that gets in never gets out. The needle bearings just rust into dust and you have problems.

I like to use the greaseable joints to replace the front ones because they last a lot longer since the lubrication is maintained, especially when they just sit most of the time.

Check my sig for a how-to that should help you...

 

[Tony H]

I agree, That center one on the passenmger side has such little movement and it is not on an angle so it tends to last a very long time.
not sure if thi s is a'C;' clip setup on that one or it slides out of the Pumpkin after you get the outside one out of the way.

The Binding on turns is both bad OUTER 'U' joints and attempting to do it on a hard surface.

 

[Wakeboy1337]

That middle non-serviceable one sure is sloppy as hell though. I think I'm going to leave my driveshafts alone for now and just save 4wd for the ice and sand.

 

[Maniak]

That middle non-serviceable one sure is sloppy as hell though. I think I'm going to leave my driveshafts alone for now and just save 4wd for the ice and sand.

What else were you using the 4x4 for? You can't use it on hardpack which includes wet blacktop.

~Mark

 

[Wakeboy1337]

I just bought the truck a month ago and I'm just going over everything on it and getting the maintenance back up on it. It was in rough shape but I picked it up for $850

 

[safn1949]

I have 139,000 miles on my 94 and have replaced 1 u joint on the left axle so they will last a long time.The joints on my driveshafts are the originals.And I live in Minnesota,and the Ex came from Maryland so it has seen a lot of snow and crap.