did someone take a divot out of my driveshaft? (1 Viewer)

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I know I’m late to this party and things appear to be sorted out.
But, is that dent from the DS coming in contact with the sway bar? Or, vice versa ?



devo

Yeah, I was wondering about that myself. Makes me think the DS had a U-joint or yoke failure while running and things flailed for a few moments, but there's no other carnage apparent.

In any case, I'd replace or have that DS inspected and balanced if there are vibes present.

and after you grease you remove the zirk from the yoke to make sure the grease is not causing binding?

Depends. That's one way to do it if you just pump everything full.

I generally grease the slip joint zerk to the point where the slip joint just starts to move. Always seems to be enough grease in there and this avoids problem of too much grease in the slip joint that requires zerk venting by removal.
 
Yeah, I was wondering about that myself. Makes me think the DS had a U-joint or yoke failure while running and things flailed for a few moments, but there's no other carnage apparent.

In any case, I'd replace or have that DS inspected and balanced if there are vibes present.



Depends. That's one way to do it if you just pump everything full.

I generally grease the slip joint zerk to the point where the slip joint just starts to move. Always seems to be enough grease in there and this avoids problem of too much grease in the slip joint that requires zerk venting by removal.

thanks a LOT.

so i did grease everything. it seems to me (?) that i could just kind of hear and also feel a little bit when the yoke has enough grease. not sure if that is your experience or not.

on the joints i could kind of hear it pass out through to the outside so i could stop. on the yokes it just seemed (?) to make a slightly different sound and the lever got a tad heavier. not sure if others feel that way or not.

no driveline issues that i am aware of. not noise. no vibration. nothing at all as far as i can tell.

thoughts?

i have a 3” lift on it now. but it has all been around town. previously there were massively shafted our shocks and coils. someone suggested might be time to get extensions on that sway bar? but again i am sort of flying blind with all this...
 
Yeah, I was wondering about that myself. Makes me think the DS had a U-joint or yoke failure while running and things flailed for a few moments, but there's no other carnage apparent.

In any case, I'd replace or have that DS inspected and balanced if there are vibes present.



Depends. That's one way to do it if you just pump everything full.

I generally grease the slip joint zerk to the point where the slip joint just starts to move. Always seems to be enough grease in there and this avoids problem of too much grease in the slip joint that requires zerk venting by removal.

hi GT. i’m starting to think i might have done this myself putting in the lift like a numbnut...(?)
 
thanks a LOT.
SNIP

no driveline issues that i am aware of. not noise. no vibration. nothing at all as far as i can tell.

thoughts?
SNIP

Be cautious about greasing by feel. You're basically dealing with hydraulic force when injecting grease, so it's possible to create a lot of force even though you get relatively little feedback through how it feels. Better to go by visual signs, like the DS starting to move in the slip yoke, evidence of old grease being pushed out of the u-joint bearings by the new you're putting in, etc.

As for the dented DS, if there are no issues with vibes, then it's probably OK. My concern was that even if only the shield and not the DS inside it affected, it could still result in enough of a shift in the center of gravity to cause a vibration. If it's not, then just keep it in mind if you run into issues in that area of the truck.
 
Looks to me like someone fully drooped the front axle without the sway bar brackets being spaced down or removing the sway bar and the sway bar dented the shaft.
 
Be cautious about greasing by feel. You're basically dealing with hydraulic force when injecting grease, so it's possible to create a lot of force even though you get relatively little feedback through how it feels. Better to go by visual signs, like the DS starting to move in the slip yoke, evidence of old grease being pushed out of the u-joint bearings by the new you're putting in, etc.

As for the dented DS, if there are no issues with vibes, then it's probably OK. My concern was that even if only the shield and not the DS inside it affected, it could still result in enough of a shift in the center of gravity to cause a vibration. If it's not, then just keep it in mind if you run into issues in that area of the truck.

THANK YOU as always. so just to confirm if i didn’t see the yoke move or old grease come out i am good to go?

by the way - it would come out at the collar on the right or inside the U shape near the joint?

and if i wanted to be extra cautious i could remove the zirk fittings for 100 miles?

also. you can’t feel the extra grease but if you see it thrown up under the truck you might have a problem?

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THANK YOU as always. so just to confirm if i didn’t see the yoke move or old grease come out i am good to go?

by the way - it would come out at the collar on the right or inside the U shape near the joint?

and if i wanted to be extra cautious i could remove the zirk fittings for 100 miles?

also. you can’t feel the extra grease but if you see it thrown up under the truck you might have a problem?

You do want to see the first signs of movement with the slip joint in the middle of the DS. When you pump grease in it, it fills the space that's in it, but then it has difficulty getting out. That's when it starts acting like a hydraulic jack hammer, because it no longer "slips" or takes care of the normal variances in DS length as the truck suspension moves up and down. Quit pumpong at first movement and there's still space inside to let the thing slip properly. It's when you keep pumping you get trouble.

With the U-joints, any excess grease has a way to escape by leaking out as the new grease is pushed in. Usually, just enough grease to see the old start leaking out is about right if you keep up with maintenance. No need to remove a zerk with the U-joint because of the grease has a way out and there is no pressure that can accumulate and cause problems like with the slip joint.

Now with the zerk on the slip joint, the only way for excess pressuere to get out is to remove the zerk, If there is pressure, you will see it, could look likle someone pulling a ":farmer" with a finger in one nostril. Yeeech! However, once the pressure is relieved, go ahead and put the zerk back in as there is nothing further to be gained.

If you get an old truck that hasn't been serviced or one that has been in as l;ot of grungy water, then yiou can pump more new grease in and displace more of the old in the U-joints (NOT the slip joint in the DS.) That's when you'll start seeing flinging grease around, or if you leave the zerk off of the slip joint or forget to wipe up extra grease. Worth investigating.
 
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You do want to see the first signs of movement with the slip joint in the middle of the DS. When you pump grease in it, it fills the space that's in it, but then it has difficulty getting out. That's when it starts acting like a hydraulic jack hammer, because it no longer "slips" or takes care of the normal variances in DS length as the truck suspension moves up and down. Quit pumpong at first movement and there's still space inside to let the thing slip properly. It's when you keep pumping you get trouble.

With the U-joints, any excess grease has a way to escape by leaking out as the new grease is pushed in. Usually, just enough grease to see the old start leaking out is about right if you keep up with maintenance. No need to remove a zerk with the U-joint because of the grease has a way out and there is no pressure that can accumulate and cause problems like with the slip joint.

Now with the zerk on the slip joint, the only way for excess pressuere to get out is to remove the zerk, If there is pressure, you will see it, could look likle someone pulling a ":farmer" with a finger in one nostril. Yeeech! However, once the pressure is relieved, go ahead and put the zerk back in as there is nothing further to be gained.

If you get an old truck that hasn't been serviced or one that has been in as l;ot of grungy water, then yiou can pump more new grease in and displace more of the old in the U-joints (NOT the slip joint in the DS.) That's when you'll start seeing flinging grease around, or if you leave the zerk off of the slip joint or forget to wipe up extra grease. Worth investigating.

THANK YOU. roger that. GOT IT.

quick topic change so i don’t start a new thread on it? i’m doing knuckles next by basically buying a large grease gun and pumping palladium moly in them and then just looking for a thin smear of it on all of the rounded ball (i guess i call it the knuckle)? end of story unless or until i see it leaking?

and then i was going to tackle the diff breathers but i did notice i got some venting when i pulled the fill plug (i think i took it out before i drained it and hear the old whoosh). this is the breather getting clogged or plugged and then the diff heating up and - well the air sucking in and there is no way to replace it? or what was the whoosh out of the diff again?
 
You'll want to fill the birf housing somewhere past half full so that the birf is surrounded but not totally covered by moly. You need to leave air space to account for heating during operation.

You will see the moly wipe or "witness" on the "ball" outside, but it won't be until you've run it a little. It's a good confirmation that things are right inside, but it won't be immediately apparent until after the service because of this.

Yeah, if you get whoosh on pulling the fill plug (ALWAYS a good idea before you pull the drain plug) it's a possible sign your diff breathers might need attention.
 
You'll want to fill the birf housing somewhere past half full so that the birf is surrounded but not totally covered by moly. You need to leave air space to account for heating during operation.

You will see the moly wipe or "witness" on the "ball" outside, but it won't be until you've run it a little. It's a good confirmation that things are right inside, but it won't be immediately apparent until after the service because of this.

Yeah, if you get whoosh on pulling the fill plug (ALWAYS a good idea before you pull the drain plug) it's a possible sign your diff breathers might need attention.


THANK YOU
 

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