After years of driving my '87, I had thought some slop in the u-joints was acceptable. When I put my winter tires on this year, I noticed the wheel hub was noisy on the passenger side when I turned the wheel. The u-joint on that side had some play too.

Ordered hub and u-joints from Rock Auto. Took the wheels off and the passenger hub was indeed rough when turning. The u-joints were the real surprise. The grease fitting was gone on one and when I took them apart, they were in bad shape. One had almost no needle bearings left.

Just a note that this was not a hard project at all (hubs came of with only a little pounding, u joints came off with similar amount of pounding. I really had more trouble getting the brake pad anti-rattle clips on properly. The only special tool I needed was the 36mm hub nut socket but I got that through a loan-a-tool place. Once the u-joints were on, there was absolutely no play, just the normal motion (no clicking etc).

Just wanted to encourage people to do their own as it's really not hard if you have the time and not too expensive either. Need to do in a garage if possible though as it took me quite a few hours to do both sides. Normally I do most work in my driveway but it's too cold up here now.

 

i'm getting ready to do the same on mine. my mechanic recently closed shop so since i don't trust many people to work on my jeep i need to start doing this.

i'm guessing you used a hammer and socket to replace the u joints?

 

I use the ol hammer and socket method on a vice to change ujoints. Tried using a balljoint tool thingy and it sucked for me. But honestly, the job is insanely easy. Sometimes the ujoints can give you a headache but getting to them is nothing. I can have the hubs/knuckles/shafts off and out in a matter of 15-20 minutes tops. It's all about knowing what tools you need and the order to do everything. I also use an electric impact for removing the axle nuts though

 

[QUOTE=67 GMC;3339825]After years of driving my '87, I had thought some slop in the u-joints was acceptable. When I put my winter tires on this year, I noticed the wheel hub was noisy on the passenger side when I turned the wheel. The u-joint on that side had some play too.

Ordered hub and u-joints from Rock Auto. Took the wheels off and the passenger hub was indeed rough when turning. The u-joints were the real surprise. The grease fitting was gone on one and when I took them apart, they were in bad shape. One had almost no needle bearings left.

Just a note that this was not a hard project at all (hubs came of with only a little pounding, u joints came off with similar amount of pounding. I really had more trouble getting the brake pad anti-rattle clips on properly. The only special tool I needed was the 36mm hub nut socket but I got that through a loan-a-tool place. Once the u-joints were on, there was absolutely no play, just the normal motion (no clicking etc).

Just wanted to encourage people to do their own as it's really not hard if you have the time and not too expensive either. Need to do in a garage if possible though as it took me quite a few hours to do both sides. Normally I do most work in my driveway but it's too cold up here now.[/QUOTE)

i came here new to jeeps and the front end steering is hard to understand. its totally new. maybe some pic or explanation?

 

Here we go class, sit down and learn ya something. This is how you remove the wheel bearing (unit bearing) and axle shaft. You can also remove the knuckle from here to service the ball joints.





Here we have an exploded view of the front knuckle assembly. If you have access to a pneumatic or electric impact, go ahead and remove the brake rotor and caliper. If you are going to use a breaker bar, leave them on for now.

BNow that that's out of the way, remove the cotter pin holding the retainer. I use a pair of side cutters, aka dikes, and walk it out using leverage. Once that is out, you need a 36mm socket. Remove the nut with your impact tool. If you're using a break bar, have someone hold the brakes to stop the hub from turning. If you don't have anyone available to lend a hand you can wedge a pry bar in between the wheel studs to hold the hub in place while you loosen the nut. It's definitely easier with an impact or someone holding the brakes though.

Once that nut is off, I like to make sure that the axle shaft moves in and out freely and isn't seized to the hub. I will gently tap on the end of the shaft with a soft faced hammer to free it up. You can remove the washer that's in there at this time or leave it but remember to take it out once you get the hub off, it will be reused. At this time, remove the 19mm nut holding the tie rod onto the knuckle and drop the tie rod. This will make the rest of the installation much easier.

This next step requires the use of a 13mm 12pt socket. There are 3 bolts on the backside of the knuckle (inboard) holding the hub assembly to the knuckle. Loosen these bolts until they are about 3/4 of the way out but don't fully remove them. From here you have some options but I'm going to tell you how I do it. I take an old deep well 14 or 15 mm socket and put it over the head of these bolts. I'll hit it with a hammer and work the hub out of the knuckle. This is by far the easiest method to remove a stubborn hub. You can also smash the crap out of the hub itself with a hammer but I've had much better luck doing it this way.

Once the hub comes free you can push the axle stub shaft through it using your thumbs as you pull the hub off. The dust shield will come with it. Most are rotted, discard it if it is. Feel free to reuse it if yours is in good shape. It's not mandatory nor will it negatively affect anything if you choose not to use it.

Now that the hub is off, grab hold of your axle shaft and pull that sucker out of there. That's it. If you need to get to the balljoints you'll need a 19mm wrench or socket for the top ball joint nut and a 24mm socket or wrench for the bottom balljoint nut. Remember to pull the cotter pins first. Leave a few threads on the nuts so when separating the ball joints, the knuckle doesn't come crashing off and destroy your hand or foot or whatever may be under there. Remove the top ball joint first then the bottom. Install bottom ball joint first then the top.

Reinstall everything else in reverse order. Use anti seize on the knuckle and hub mating surfaces. Use antiseize on the axle splines as well but not on the threads for the nut. You'll use blue locktight there as well as on the hub bolts. This will make removal and installation for the next time much easier.

13mm 12-point Hub Bolts - Torque to 75 lb-ft

36mm Axle Nut - Torque to 175 lb-ft

The 13mm caliper bolts are something like 10-12 lb-ft (DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN THESE) It's also a good idea to check if the slides are moving properly. Grease em up

Here's a good link for other tips for removal.

http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/ball...alljoint-1.htm

Here's a good vid on how to use a hammer to remove and replace ujoints.

 

cheers! i thought of going to the junkyard and getting a spare set of shafts, rebuild them now and once i need to change the u joints on my jeep, i just quickly swap the old ones with the new, and repeat the process.

[QUOTE=nujeepguy;3339851]here's what it looks like in 2 pieces, but basically the u-joint he replaced joins the two together and allows your wheel to rotate and steer at the same time

 

I used two sockets and a hammer too. I tried using the ball joint press but I couldn't make it work. Really, for the cost of parts, it's definitely worth doing yourself.

 

All good stuff here. I took the calipers and pads off and then put the rotor back on. You can put a long screw driver into one of the slots on the rotor and against the part that holds the pads on to hold the rotor steady while you take off the hub nut. I had to double check the torque on the hub nut-175Ft-Lbs seemed high but that's what is in the service manual. The video does not show him using a torque wrench but I think you really should be using that for the hub nut at least.

 

Yep-Hammer and socket. Canadian Tire will loan the 36 mm socket for the hub removal so you don't need to buy one (they're $20). I think they loan the ball joint press but you don't need it really.

 

[QUOTE=Cane;3339865]cheers! i thought of going to the junkyard and getting a spare set of shafts, rebuild them now and once i need to change the u joints on my jeep, i just quickly swap the old ones with the new, and repeat the process.

the long shaft just pulls out of the diff? if so,the front half keeps it in place? and,how long do they last? grease fitting?
im at 168000 miles.

 

[QUOTE=Cane;3339865]cheers! i thought of going to the junkyard and getting a spare set of shafts, rebuild them now and once i need to change the u joints on my jeep, i just quickly swap the old ones with the new, and repeat the process.

the long shaft just pulls out of the diff? if so,the front half keeps it in place?
cant delete dup

 

great stuff, good video on u joints,iv done that!

 

I have to do u joints soon. Do you have to drain the fluid from the diff before pulling the shafts? Is the fluid level above the shaft seals? Would prefer to avoid draining the diff if possible, I just filled it last month.

 

yes the hub bolted to the knuckle is what keeps it in. so once you remove the hub (hub bearing, etc, whatever you wanna call it) it slides right out. in the rear it's different, c-clips are in the diff housing and you have to open it.

you can drain only a little, enough so it's under the level of the axle tubes. you'll have to top it off after though

 

No, you don't need to drain any fluid.