Hello and thanks in advance to any and all replies. As the title say's I need some help any at all will be appreciated, With a how to , step by step if possible , of how to replace the front UJoint on my truck. It is the front joint on the main shaft that I've noticed the play. But because of the squeeking getting worse I just assumed that its the UJoint. Could it possible be a bearing where the shaft goes in to the tranny? And how could I tell before buying the UJoint?

If anyone could even just let me know how to take the drive shaft off I would appreciate that even, but would still appreciate a walkthrough of the whole process if anyone has the time and the want.

Anybody? Dealer closes in a couple more hours and would like to buy the joint before they close so I can go to the lake this weekends with no worries on my mind.

I have replaced my joints about three times for the same concern. It squeaks while moving correct? Best thing to do is mark the shaft and the pinion yoke so that when you reinstall it goes back into the exact location. When you remove the shaft wrap tape around the cups of the u-joints so you dont lose a cap and the needle bearings inside. After you have the shaft removed rotate the slip yoke with your hand and you should feel a lot of roughness and or a squeak as you move it (If the joint is bad). Hopefully you have a sturdy vise in your garage to press out the old joint.

I removed the driveshaft and took it to a driveline shop and had them install the new joints. They didn't charge much to install them.
I got the Spicer 1410 series non-greasable joints, new bolts and straps.

If one joint is old or worn, I wouldn't think of not replacing both joints.
Worn joints are blamed on causing transmission tailshaft housing to crack, which cost $500-$600 in parts, and the transmission is recommended to be removed for this repair.

Here's a link how to remove driveshaft. You might as well lube the splines before installation, to prevent slip-yoke from binding.
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51652&highlight=yoke

If you want to take the U-Joint out of the yoke yourself you have to heat the endcap with a torch to melt the plastic retainer that is internal. It will come worming it's way out a small hole that you can find by looking at the yoke where it holds the endcap in place. The new U-Joint will have retainer clips to hold it in place.

Thank you for the link aswell as the info helped wonders now I can probably do most of it if not all myself. Just one more question though what part is the slipyoke? is it the Tor cross thing there?

All I have on hand right now is Golden Lithium Grease. Will this be sufficient?

Thank you for the link aswell as the info helped wonders now I can probably do most of it if not all myself. Just one more question though what part is the slipyoke? is it the Tor cross thing there?

The slipyoke, (if you have 4WD), is connected to front U-Joint, and slides on T-Case output shaft. As the rear axle wraps up under load, the yoke slides in and out as needed.
I may have heard the 2WD doesn't have a slip yoke, but not sure.



All I have on hand right now is Golden Lithium Grease. Will this be sufficient?

GM has a special grease to lube slip yoke, but it cost $30ish for a small tube.
You can search this question. Many recommend using a moly fortified grease, which I use. I don't know enough to be able to recommend what grease to use.

Thanks once again for the info. But damn should done this ealier. I already went ahead and used the stuff I had. It is good stuff though, and there was no grease left in there at all so better something than nothing, for now anyway. But when I had it off I couldnt really notice any play in the t or cross connecting the driveshaft to the slipyoke. And even after greasing it I now hear just the Ticking or clicking noise and not the light squeek. Anyone have any ideas of what this might be? Could it be the bearing in there and not the U-Joint? and if so is it easy to change or am I calling the shop? or is it covered under the powertrain warranty?

Thanks once again for the info. But damn should done this ealier. I already went ahead and used the stuff I had. It is good stuff though, and there was no grease left in there at all so better something than nothing, for now anyway. But when I had it off I couldnt really notice any play in the t or cross connecting the driveshaft to the slipyoke. And even after greasing it I now hear just the Ticking or clicking noise and not the light squeek. Anyone have any ideas of what this might be? Could it be the bearing in there and not the U-Joint? and if so is it easy to change or am I calling the shop? or is it covered under the powertrain warranty?


There is really "supposed to be" any grease in that slip yoke, the small amount of tranny fluid that circulates through there is supposed to be sufficient. The reason guys grease them is to alleviate the clunk created by a poor fit/tolerance. There is not a bearing in the transfer case (or tranny) where the slip yoke rides, rather a steel backed bronze bushing. The U-joint may not necessarily need to be loose to squeak or tick, usually a tight or dry u-joint will do the same.

When I had the driveshaft off I was looking inside there and saw a bearing inside. So there must be a bearing in there or I was really really high. I dunno didnt drink anymore than usual but I suppose maybe theres a chance that I was just seeing things. It was starting to get dark.

And if there is not suppose to be any grease in there why did the squeek just start now?(not being ignorant its a real question) and when i had the shaft off I didnt notice any play at all in the cups connected to the driveshaft. They seemed solid to me anyway. So what else could be the problem? Once I greased the connection the squeeking went away but there is still this clicking noise present when I Accel./Decel. WTF is that?(was always present just not as loud as the squeek