Yeep13

I have a 94 cherokee with 375k on the dial. I inherited this jeep from a friends dad he put a 3 inch lift on it and some bigger tires on it. I worked on the jeep for awhile did all the things i was comfortable with but i thought i would take it to my high school to get the shop teacher to take a look at the steering. It is really sloppy and their is a clicking sound when going around turns. I have replaced the shocks to improve the steering. I took it to a mechanic when i first got it and he said the front passenger u joint was loose and rusted, and should be replaced. The shop teacher was trying to tell me it was going to cost $300 because you cant just replace the joint but rather the whole axle to the differential. Is he correct?

joshpallotta

he is way off. you can change the axle u joint without replacing the entire axle and diff. look in the write up section, i think there is one for u joints

nw-xj-scott

just did mine last week

mike37

post a pic of the joint
if the yokes are damaged he may be right
but if not hes should not be teaching auto shop

you probably need new ball joints and tie rod ends
you can adjust the steering box also if it has a little slop in it

mike37

http://www.jeepin.com/features/ujoint/index.asp

Yeep13

I will get you a picture tomorrow, he mentioned that their was a special tool needed to do the job?

joshpallotta

hammer, vice, socket, needle nose pliers...nothing special there

okcjeeper

Axle shaft ujoints have osme PB Blaster on hand and a heat torch..Trust me if they haven't been off in some time it's going to be fun...

stumper

they are straight forward to change, i did both of mine at the same time. check the other side as well, since one is cooked, the other is not far behind. if you do it yourself, remember to be safe. USE protection eye wear, pieces fly apart real quick when you hit them. be safe. there was a section in here and one of us posted pictures of a full removal, do a search for it.

Yeep13

So i guess i should be asking the shop teacher if he thinks that i should be replacing the axles because he believes the yokes are bent or warped in some way?? that would be the only thing that makes sense to replace the whole axle, otherwise he has no idea what hes talking about correct?


I looked at the Pictoral how to on jeepin.com and it looks like something i could do, i also looked it up in my haynes manual and it says theirs two types a double offset and a double cardan which does my 4x4 94 cherokee se have? and is their anything different about changing them depending on which one i have.

Thanks for the help.
Dan

mike37

you don't have ether on the axle
they are describing the drive shaft joints

you have ether a CV or a ujoint the ujoint is a single cardan

some jeeps had a CV axle but I'm pretty sure you don't but if for some od reason you do have a CV joint you my need to replace the axle

Yeep13

i went to see him again today and he showed me that when the tires were off it was extremely loose and he keeps reiterating that it will cost 300 to fix the problem. He also mentioned theirs a special puller needed to get it out of the differential, what is he saying and is he correct?

mike37

no he is not correct

nw-xj-scott

where the hell did this guy learn his info?

Jack up the front wheels, pull the tires
two studs hold the calipers, take them off
pull the rotor
yank the cotter pin out, 36mm to the main shaft bolt, break it loose
pull the bearing hub by pulling the 4 12pt bolts (i think they are 14mm?)
take the main 36mm all the way off, lightly tap the shaft out of the hub, pull the shaft out.

Hammer the old Joints out, use a press to put new ones in, put it all back together in the order you took it apart in..

No "Special tool" to take the shafts out, little finesse to get the U-joints in and your done.

Yeep13

I think he meant that the special tool was the ball joint puller and do the ball joints have anything to do with replacing a u joint or is he blowing hot air once again?