foxrider4lyfe

okayy, so ive had this problem with my past 2 jeeps now...
my rear u joint goes bad breaks off one of the side grooves on the yoke and now my u joint will not stay aligned or tight...
does anyone else have this problem?
i just installed the drive shaft 2 days ago and its already sliding all around?

mike37

get a new yoke

winston427

What type of lift do you have in the rear. New leaf packs, add a leaf, or blocks? If you have blocks then we know what the problem is. The increased axle wrap caused by the lift blocks puts the u-joint in a bind and will cause it to break.

foxrider4lyfe

my old xj has blocks, the new one has 4.5 RC AAL

winston427

How steep is the pinion angle? When I installed the lift on my 91 I was told I needed 6 degree shims to correct the pinion angle and that was some BS. It put the pinion to high and caused bad axle wrap and bound up the u-joint. Sitting still with one foot on the brake and one on the gas, the pinion was lifting almost 4 inches. The rear u-joint snapped under heavy acceleration and in the middle of some steep flexing. Snapped off all 4 bolt heads to the u-straps and destroyed the yoke. I replaced the yoke and removed the shims and the axle wrap is not near as severe. Now the pinion only moves up about an inch under acceleration.

foxrider4lyfe

its not too steep at all but my stock u joint had 150,000 miles on it so when it went is when it knocked one of the little beads that keeps the DS aligned off, i dont mind changing u joints if they bind up im just trying to find someway to keep the u joint in place from sliding around...i drive the interstate alot and i would hate for the DS to fall off and hit a car

mike albo

x2 you need a new yoke

foxrider4lyfe

how hard is it to do?just unbolt the old and put in the new....i had a friend make his to tight and messed up his rear end and i dont want that to happen..

ktmracer419

he probably had a crush sleeve axle. in that case torque specs are your friend

knowing my preload is set via shims i just tighten mine with an impact gun.

winston427

If your talking about mine being changed, I have the 8.25 axle and it has a does have the crush sleeve. Unfortunately the only option I had of changing it in the field was with a cordless impact. So the torque specs were out the window at the time. I am almost positive I damaged the crush sleeve and will need to have it repaired properly very soon. Luckily I have a D44 from a MJ that needs to be swapped in as soon as I get the new srping perches on it. Then the 8.25 can be rebuilt and upgraded for the next project.


So if you have the yoke replaced, make sure it is done properly or you will have a prematurely worn axle. Spend a little extra now for the repair, or a mountain of cash later to replace it.