Hey guys/gals! Great forum you have here. Has helped me a ton so far. Anyways..


Ive already replaced the main driveshaft u joints. The plastic infused ones.

I need to replace the one on the front from the transfer case (AWD). I noticed there isnt any plastic nubs coming off of this one. Is it just pressed in or clipped? Would replacement be essentially the same as the rear ones?

Thanks in advance

 

There were several different types of front shafts used on these things throughout the years. All of which used a joint on the forward end of the front shaft. All of them are pressed in. Most used internal clips to center the joint in the yoke, and some were plastic infused as well as clipped. Some of the shafts used a CV joint at the transfer case end, others used a universal joint pressed into a flange or a plain old yoke. So, you'll need to look it over and see what you have. Whatever type you have, it's nothing special to replace it. The most time consuming part of the job is R&I the shaft

 

I changed the CV joint (next to the transfer case) on my front propshaft a while back, took just over an hour. As Captain Hook says the hardest part is getting the shaft out, I jacked up the rear of the transfer case a little which made removing it a lot easier. There are a couple helpful videos on Youtube which cover this job.
Be particularly careful when removing the front joint from the differential, I accidentally knocked one of the bearing cups off of mine & spent some time finding lots of needle bearings that had fallen onto the floor. I will know next time to wrap some tape or a rubber band around the cups to stop them dropping off.


I got my new joint from RockAuto, it is a Dorman one & there was a choice of 2 depending on whether your vehicle has full time or selectable 4wd.

 

Thanks for the replies.

One more question. Just got back from the parts store and picked up 2L of Autotrak 2 to swap TC fluid and got the U-joint.

U-joint has only 3 clips and 3 grooves in the cups for said clips. Does it matter which part (strap side or yoke side,I mean) gets the clips? Prop shaft looks like a mini drive shaft with yoke and u-straps on one end with the joint.

Thanks again.

 

Well just got it done.

I was mistaken in my last post. Moog included 3 clips rather than 2 so I must have gotten confused. Got it figured out. Anyways, WOW what a difference.

I already changed shocks on all four corners with Sensatracs but it still felt like the truck was gonna come apart at the slightest crack or pothole. This now seems to be fixed with the u-joint replacement. Is this possible or placebo? I swear it rides much smoother now.