[SDSUmudman]

i got off my last day of work as sears tonight and hit the road to go back to LA to see the parents. About 20 miles down the freeway i started to hear a rattle. About 5 seconds after i figured out it was my transfer case shifter making the rattling sound i hear a big BOOM. I look in my rearview mirror and see sparks flying across the freeway and my blazer starts making horrible noises. I pull over as quickly as possible and crawl under my truck so see that half my driveshaft is missing, and the other half is hanging off the rear differential about 3 inches from the ground. Im guessing that my u-joint siezed up and since my driveshaft was moving so fast it just sheared off. I had to take the half of driveshaft i had left off on the side of the freeway at 1030 at night and put it in 4lo and drive 30mph till the next exit where i could make a call to have my roomate pick me up. Do you guys think that i did any major damage, and is this something that is easy to fix. All help is appreciated.

 

[SDSUmudman]

i called a driveline shop here in san diego and they told me some surprising news. The u-joints that they used in the blazers were the same u-joints used in ford pintos. I guess that explains why it siezed up on me.

 

[kevindepot]

Looks like the yoke is fucked (shitty pic).

 

[jebx]

A tip for close up photos like that, puch the flower button, that puts the camera in macro mode. You'll get a much better close ups.

 

[willyswanter]

Where did the other u-bolt on the yoke go? If the nuts loosened up and the u-bolt came off then that would explain what happened.

 

[SDSUmudman]

Where did the other u-bolt on the yoke go? If the nuts loosened up and the u-bolt came off then that would explain what happened.

I dunno where they are, probably on the 805 freeway somewhere in la jolla. The part where the u-bolt connects to the yoke is completely sheared off, so i think the u-joint siezed up and it just ripped the driveshaft off the yoke

 

[Kal]

That sucks a big one. :insane:
What's up with the AA batteries in your pic?

 

[Phil]

wow that really sucks man

What's up with the AA batteries in your pic?

his camera probably needed new batteries

 

[SDSUmudman]

wow that really sucks man



his camera probably needed new batteries

yup my camera needed new batteries

 

[jimh874]

i had a 96 full size 2 wd that the U joints went bad on. i had a drive line clunk when putting it in to gear and could not figure it out. thought it was the tranny or the rearend. when i took it in for warenty work to my suprise it was the rear U joint that had dryed out. it split the caseing and was spitting all the needle bearings out one side. im sure it would would have done some major damage if it gone all the way out.

stupid garbage, they dont put grease fitting on them.

does any one make them with fittings so they can be greased? tap the caps and put some fittings in them my self?

jim

 

[Dark Eternal]

Your yolk needs replacing on the case there for sure.

 

[willyswanter]

stupid garbage, they dont put grease fitting on them.

does any one make them with fittings so they can be greased? tap the caps and put some fittings in them my self?

jim

Almost any u-joint you buy at an autoparts store will have a grease fitting, I avoid them like the plague though. For one they are not sealed which means any water/mud can get in them rather easily. Two, they have a big hole in them! Makes them weaker. I only run the Spicer life series non-greasables.

 

[willyswanter]

Your yolk needs replacing on the case there for sure.

And it looks like you need to take your shaft in and have the mail end of the slip yolk recoated in that blue anti-friction/noise stuff, with it all worn off it's probably really sloppy.

 

[Dark Eternal]

And it looks like you need to take your shaft in and have the mail end of the slip yolk recoated in that blue anti-friction/noise stuff, with it all worn off it's probably really sloppy.

the mail end? hehe is that the oposit of femail, or did you mean male :crazy:

 

[jimh874]

Almost any u-joint you buy at an autoparts store will have a grease fitting, I avoid them like the plague though. For one they are not sealed which means any water/mud can get in them rather easily. Two, they have a big hole in them! Makes them weaker. I only run the Spicer life series non-greasables.

thanks for the input, im putting new ones in a week or so, i'll give the ones you mention a shot.

jim

 

[onyx]

yup my camera needed new batteries

i was gonna say... looks like you have excessive battery wear... :crazy:

 

[kevindepot]

the mail end? hehe is that the oposit of femail, or did you mean male

Where do I send it? :read:

 

[SDSUmudman]

Your yolk needs replacing on the case there for sure.

Yup i ended up needing to replace the yolk at the transfer case, and at the rear differential, he also said that my driveshaft was out of round so he fixed that for me. He hooked me up with some heavier duty u-joints that have zert fittings on them. Im gonna make sure they are nice and lubed every time i do an oil change. Taking everything apart and puting it back together was pretty easy once i got a socket that fit inside the yolk (a 1 5/16 thin walled socket is very hard to find) The only thing im worried about is the preload setting at the rear differential, Is there a torque spec on that, or an easy way to tell if its not too tight or too loose?

 

[Dark Eternal]

Yup i ended up needing to replace the yolk at the transfer case, and at the rear differential, he also said that my driveshaft was out of round so he fixed that for me. He hooked me up with some heavier duty u-joints that have zert fittings on them. Im gonna make sure they are nice and lubed every time i do an oil change. Taking everything apart and puting it back together was pretty easy once i got a socket that fit inside the yolk (a 1 5/16 thin walled socket is very hard to find) The only thing im worried about is the preload setting at the rear differential, Is there a torque spec on that, or an easy way to tell if its not too tight or too loose?

You dont need a thin wall, my 3/4" drive 1 5/16 fits in fine.

As far as preload I just cant remember the # right off hand. Its a 10 bolt right? I think its like 20-25 ft lbs. Problem is you really should get a new crush sleeve.....

 

[SDSUmudman]

the rear differential was a 1 1/8 and fit fine, the problem was at the transfer case. Once i got the nut off (took 3 hours with vice grips) i brought the yolk and nut into sears (i work there and get a discount) and they didn't have any sockets that fit. They were all about 1/16 of an inch to big to fit in the spot, and the metric jumped from 32 to 36 and i needed a 34.
The guy that fixed my driveshaft told me that the best way to check the preload at the differential is that you should be able to move the yolk back and forth with one hand, and if you have to use 2 hands then its too tight