changing u joints

[californiajeepin]

1047292

The front u joints on my 95 yj need to be changed. I've been considering doing it myself, or having the jeep dealership do it. If the jeep dealership does it, its a 100 bucks under warranty, or I can do it myself. It looks like a simple enough job but..... Anybody done this before?[addsig]

 

[Quik8slvr]

1047308

its not to hard at all if you know what you're doing, it will definitely save you money over having the dealership do it, but even a local mechanic could do it for less, i had to have mine done back when i first bought my jeep, and i think it ran me like $60 to put new ones in the front and rear, often best to do them both esp if they're still the orig. u joints[addsig]

 

[sandman]

1047311

Not to hard of a job. When I first bought my jeep I had to replace mine in the rear. The joints only cost around $12.00 and it took me about 30 min to do one. (The first one I ever did) I'm no mechanic either. I had no idea what I was doing.

Once you know how to do it its a piece of cake. Get spicer u-joints when you have them put in. Those are the good ones. They might run you $20.00.[addsig]

 

[sandman]

1047312

Not to hard of a job. When I first bought my jeep I had to replace mine in the rear. The joints only cost around $12.00 and it took me about 30 min to do one. (The first one I ever did) I'm no mechanic either. I had no idea what I was doing.

Once you know how to do it its a piece of cake. Get spicer u-joints when you have them put in. Those are the good ones. They might run you $20.00.[addsig]

 

[californiajeepin]

1047317

Cool, I'm glad to hear its not hard to do, I guess when I get back from winter break I will be doing the parking lot mechanic thing. Thanks for all the info

[addsig]

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

1047319

What's up with $100 under warranty

Also, are we talking about the u-joints in the front driveshaft or the u-joints in the front axle?[addsig]

 

[californiajeepin]

1047324

The 100 dollars is the deductable each time I have the jeep into the shop to be serviced. I only bought my yj about 5 months ago. I didn't really look to much into the warranty naively thinking everything would be sweet like candycanes. Basically everytime it goes into the shop, its a hundred dollars, but thats all I have to pay. So if its a simple enough job, I do it myself, if its a big one, say replacing the transmission, I will leave it to the dealership. The u joints are on the front axle, not the front drive shaft, I think the driveshaft ones are okay, though I will probably replace all of them. [addsig]

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

1047385

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>The u joints are on the front axle, not the front drive shaft, I think the driveshaft ones are okay, though I will probably replace all of them. </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>



That's a different story all together, much more involved than replacing the u-joints on the driveshaft. You have to remove the front bearing assemblies from the knuckle, which is very tough. After removing the three 13mm 12point bolts from behind the knuckle, it takes a lot of work to pursuade the bearing assemblies to come loose. Once removed, the axle shaft slides out. Then you can replace the u-joints if you have the proper tools. I'd pay somebody else $100 to do it, even though I've done it before (couldn't find anybody to do it for $100).[addsig]

 

[kosmo]

1047388

what bounty hunter said. I did the ones on my front axles. I dont think they had ever been changed. My jeep is a 79 cj5. It was a bitch. Banging and banging and banging then decided to cut them out then more banging. The one u joint was bigger than the first one so it didnt slide through the knuckle so more banging and banging. PAY SOME ONE OR BY NEW AXLES Thats my opinion if I did it again I would by the little end of the front axle. DO NOT DO ANY BANGING ON THE END OF THE AXLE. I learned the hard way my hub wouldn't go on yadda yadda yadda. I have a little bit of mechanic know how and it was a pain. If you do it use a press for your u joints and start spraying them with wd 40 now Sorry to ramble on BAD experience[addsig]

 

[californiajeepin]

1047409

aah, the story you tell has been haunting my dreams at night. I figured the front axle u joints would be tough, even the Haynes Manual says have a mechanic do it. With this new information I think I'll pay to have it fixed then. I will finally be able to use 4 wheel drive and turn! [addsig]