Jooman07

Replaced my drivers front u-joint with a grease-able Moog u-joint the other day and now when I make a turn I can hear a faint squeak that sounds like Styrofoam being rubbed together. Only issue I ran into installing the u-joint was one side was a little tough to get in all the way to get the C clip on it. After that it was kinda tight, but still could be moved by hand. Not nearly as easy as the other axis though. All the needle bearings went on fine, one fell on the first attempt on that cap but it was put back in place. It's really not loud at all but I know it's not supposed to make that sound. I haven't noticed any drivability issues yet either. Could the sound I'm hearing be it just breaking in? I packed it with grease before I put it back in the diff also so I know it's not dry in there.

Stabsthedrama

You probably should have whacked the axle shaft with a hammer a few times (not real hard but you can whack it nice and solid, you won't damage it). Doing that will free those suckers up right away. Mine all went in and were like scary tight. Looked on here, saw to whack them - gave them a few whacks as I turned the shaft, and they freed up 100%.

That's the only thing I can think is maybe they're not freed up enough. It's probably possible for you to whack the shaft with a hammer even while they're in now, and maybe even drive it about a foot forward to spin the axle and repeat (to get a better whacking angle on it from underneath on the ground), and it MIGHT free them up a bit. I used Moog non-greasables on every single U joint on my XJ and they seem to be great, the greasables should be no different. Are you sure your brake calipers or dust shield isn't rubbing at all? Wheel bearings good, etc?

Dumajones

I would check that one that had the funny clip.. a pin might of fallen over not allowing the cap to seat down properly.
The one that is hard to move or is kinda stiff, I would check to see if it is easier now and is not binding up.
If its still stiff try to work on it and freeing it up a little by hitting the yoke around with a dead blow hammer, one cap might be down to tight.

Jooman07

I checked and double checked to make sure a pin hadn't fallen over cause it was still giving me trouble going it. I used a bench vise to press them on. Then after that whacked it with a mallet the rest of the way down. Once it started showing resistance I pulled it back off to make sure a pin didn't fall over. I didn't see one. I did this about 4 times on the same cap.

For each axis I put the caps on and slid the joint in evenly so no pins would fall over and pressed both sides at once with the bench vise. The first axis never gave me trouble and I never had to use a hammer. The 2nd axis just had one cap give me trouble. I even took that one off with the other side on that same axis and installed the one that gave me trouble first. That only caused the other side to do the same thing. So I don't think it was that one cap in particular cause it did it on either side, just depended on what cap was installed first.

Dumajones

hmmm then I don't know, maybe one of the yoke ears got bent some how?

Jooman07

That's a possibility. The one I took out was completely shot on the one axis. no bearings at all left cause they had all fallen out. Maybe it's just really tight on that one yoke. Hopefully it will all loosen up soon. Don't wanna use that limited lifetime replacement already

Jooman07

I actually hadn't thought of the dust shield really. The hub was rusted stuck to the vehicle so I had to use an air chisel to get it off. The dust shield kinda got marred up in the process. The wheel bearings themselves are good. I checked them before I put everything back together. They spin freely and smoothly. I may have to look into the dust shield and see if that may be the culprit. It only happens when I make a turn so that makes sense.

Dumajones

Yeah give it some time see what happens..but in the mean time here is a tune to listen to..lol

s346k

mine squeaked a bit too after I swapped them. after a couple hundred miles they stopped.

Jooman07

Yeah I think it just needs to be broken in.