U joint replacement tips? (1 Viewer)

[RolandFJ40]

I'd first like to say that I have never done this and like to "learn" my truck, so I try stuff after reading about it here and watching videos etc.. And usually nothing is as easy with this truck as others make it seem lol.

I'm trying to replace my front ds u joints but can't seem to press out the caps easily. The problem is I can get the one side out but then have trouble backing the other out due to the taper on the outside of the yoke. So what ends up happening is the cap goes in crooked. My concern is even after I get the old crap out how to press in the new caps evenly with the yoke being tapered.

Has anyone had this problem or should I be doing something different?

 

[kidglove13]

If the cap goes in crooked you could screw up the yoke and the ujoint

Just take it to a DS shop and have it balanced while it is there should cost $50-80

 

[gravygrabber]

I second the driveline shop. Toyota yokes have that taper and it's a real PITA to remove the ujoints. Last one I tried took me two hours with a Master U joint press kit from Snap-on and a big hammer and vise and all I got for my effort was one cap off one side and the other side jammed up. I took it to the driveline shop and the next day had it back with new spicer u-joints that have zerk fittings you can lube to prevent failure in the first place and it was repainted black and balanced. Installed and was back in business. It was like $90 total.

 

[canman]

I replaced mine a few years back, and I'm sure I ended up bending one of the yokes slightly. Even with a press, I found it very difficult to press in one of the u-joints into the yoke as the yoke itself was slighty tapered. With it being tapered, it was almost impossible to keep it aligned vertically as I was trying to press in the u-joint. Even with some metal shims under the tapered surface of the yoke, it would typically shift as soon as any pressure was applied to the u-joint. This then resulted in either some scoring of the inside surface bore of the yoke, or actual? bending of the yoke. I don't know how the pros do it, but I came to the conclusion that it was pretty much impossible to properly press the u-joint into this particular yoke, unless you had some type of fixture to keep the axis of the yoke bore perfectly vertical as you pressed in the u-joint.

 

[jfz80]

The shop is a worthy consideration. Ive done it myself as well as taken to a shop.
However if you want to "learn" your truck have a read here. From the commonly overlooked FAQ, a sticky at top of page 1.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/72157-how-replace-u-joints-your-80-a.html

 

[scrowley]

Having the press is key in doing the joints. It looks like a c-clamp but one end has a hole for the cap to slide in. Then you use the impact gun. I think you can rent these at auto part stores if you don't want to buy one. I did all the u joints on my 80 without much trouble.

When talking them off if they give you trouble you can heat them up with a torch. If you think you might have trouble getting them installed them put them in the freezer for awhile before you install. The metal will shrink a bit from the cold and slide in easier.

If you want to learn how to do it then go for it. You have to start somewhere. If you mess up you can always buy new parts, lock the cdl, and drive with one d-shaft if its your daily (with 7 pin mod)