After only 91,000 miles I have a dry U joint on the rear drive-shaft that has started clicking after getting out on the highway and it heats up which has made it very hard to find since my truck is a 4X4 and has a total of 6 U Joints.
It sounded like it was on the front so the first thing I did was drop the front drive shaft to check the CV Joint part of the U Joint since I'd never lubed it but the U joints were free and when you looked at the CV joint area you could see a layer of grease on the joint.
That night I drove it to the Job site and as I came to a stop I had the clicking back and when I turned the wheel left and right the clicking never went away or changed pitch so I was pretty sure I had it narrowed down to the back.
Dropped the rear drive-shaft and sure enough I have a stiff joint indicative of a lack of lubrication but no excessive play. If these were greaseable I probably could get another 50,000 miles out of them but since they aren't I have no choice but to replace them. These U Joints are huge so a C clamp and a socket aren't going to work and since the drive shaft is aluminum the old school hammer and socket technique isn't advisable.
Luckily Harbor Freight is selling their 20 ton H frame press for $169 so with the new U joints selling for $15 a piece I'm going to still save a couple of dollars and I have another tool.
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-ton-...ess-32879.html
06-04-2010, 08:19 PM
Ram 3500 Bad rear U Joint
Linear Mode
