gintaras

A bit of a long post, so I bolded the actual questions, the rest is primer information.

OK, I am an idiot, I used a press to remove the original u-joints from my 1997 117k mile Cherokee Country.. And of course, if I were have read about this procedure before I started it, I would have seen that most people say do not use a press.. Well now I know why.. the rust around the top of the caps seizes the cap, and when you use a press, you bend the ear.. It is not bent enough to really see, but it is bent enough that it was difficult to install the C-clip into the groove, and bent enough so that now the axle joint is not as loose as I'd like.. I am pretty sure that if I drive on these axles, the U-joints won't last more than a few thousand miles, if that..


Which brings me to my question..
There are 2 U-joint outside diameter listings in the parts catalog..
1.036 and 1.118

I searched for the procedure for this before I bought them and the replies to other people were that you need the smaller ones.

Well, not for me.. mine use the larger diameter 1.118, so what does this mean? Does the Country have a little more heavy duty components over the regular Cherokee and Sport? If I go to a junkyard, is it going to be difficult to find the axle shafts with the larger diameter U-joints? Would a driveshaft shop be able to refurbish my existing shafts (bend them back into spec)?

huntingman2706217

honestly i think youll be fine... alot of the time they are alittle stiff at first but drive for a bit and they "unpinch" themselves once wore in... if you were able to get the C-clips in then there not really bent that much if at all... remember the old ones probly flopped around because they were wore out... newer parts sit stiffer...

as for diameters i dunno... if you do end up buying new axles shafts just get the inner and outter so that way you can use the same u joint size thatll be with the new axles... also i think ive read the differences are in you having ABS or not... so grab them from another ABS cherokee

posjeepxj

97+ have the larger joints

and any year with the abs has the larger joints

gintaras

Thanks for the reply hm.. I have already installed them but I haven't run them yet because I need to get a seal puller for my pinion seal. I had to force the caps in, which is why I am a bit worried, I'm just worried that the needle bearings will just get crushed right away, but maybe when I pushed (forced) the caps on, maybe that was enough to straighten the ears just enough.. and I did have a hard time getting the c-clips back in, they did not slide in like the were supposed to, I had to get one end in and then work it in, with a screwdriver and hammer..

Well, I'll just drive it and see how it goes, I just hope I don't mess up my diff shaft seals if the shaft end up oscillating.

dukie564

the difference in ujoint diameter is not due to the model model you have (although it may be a byproduct). The difference is ABS vs non-ABS. The ABS equipped models used the larger 1 3/16" ujoint caps. The non-ABS uses the 1 1/16" ujoint caps

huntingman2706217

sometimes the caps dont like to go on because one of the needle bearings fell into the middle and once forced on break to pieces which sucks... when this happens i always end up robbing one from the old u joint... ive always used a large wrench for the center hole on the boxed end... a socket slightly smaller then the cap diameter and a big hammer... lol... hammer the socket to push the u joint through the wrench on the bottom side... vise comes in handy as well... id bet money now that you say that that the ears are not bent but instead a needle bearing fell into the middle when slipping it on...

gintaras

Nah, they were bent, I had trouble getting the capless ujoints out, and the new ones in.. I did a lot of post-research and it happens.. someone even devised a tool, a bolt with a sleeve, to spread them back apart.

gintaras

Well, it's confirmed.. I need new axle shafts Put it back together and drove down the street, it makes a sound like a tire is rubbing on a fender, but it is the axle shafts out of sync with eachother.. damn.. anyone upgrade thir D30 want to sell me the shafts, in the Chicagoish area?

gintaras

False alarm.. I didn't have the yoke torqued enough (I changed the front diff seal too), I used my impact on it, but it got nowhere near the specified 210 ft/lb.. I probably need a new bearing now, but at least it was nothing major.. lesson learned..

CJ7365

no where in the post did you say anything about you taking your yoke apart. And then you said you used your impact on, but got no where the near specified torque

You'll be posting in a couple of days why you got a weird noise coming from your front diff.

If it says its supposed to be torque, then use a torque wrench

gintaras

Well, as a VW owner, I generally do torque everything exactly to spec.. but in a thread that I found here, it was mentioned that it wasn't critical, just get it "good and tight"

Life's too short to be an .