Just bought a 94 XJ with 4" lift that has a vibration. Rear drive shaft u joint at rear end: One side the joint cap is tight under clamp, other side it is not tight so I can slide drive shaft back and forth. Bolts on clamps are tight, part of the ear that holds the clamp on the tight side is broken off, maybe a 1/4 of it. 1995 Cherokee is written on drive shaft so it must be from a junk yard.

Is the drive shaft the same on 94 and 95? Am I wasting my time putting a new u joint in with the ear broken off?

 

The drive shafts should be the same unless it had a different Tcase/rear under it. There is really no way of knowing that tho but the only difference if there is one should be length. Most likely the same. Depends on how much the ear is broken. If the cap can slip out of the broken side I would not use it If you think the ear will keep the cap run it. Ujoint will cost around $20 with a lifetime warranty so not really wasting ur money. others may feel different than I. Vibes could be the DS or you could need a SYE.

 

If you can move the drive shaft AT ALL you are running the risk of throwing the DS out of the yoke and losing it completely while driving!!! This could cause a serious CRASH!!
Get rid of the broken strap and get another one on there NOW!!
Do not drive the car!
If you absolutely must drive it, then remove the front DS and use one of those straps on the rear until you can find a replacement. Keep the T Case in 2 Hi and it will run just fine on the rear only.

 

Strap was not broken. Got the u joint out and looks like one side was missing some needle bearings.

Went to O'Reilly and ran into a road block with idiots. They show a joint with length of 3.220 and one with length of 3.218 but no one there knew which one I needed and they show joints at both ends of DS are the same joint. When I look on their website they show different ones for each end of DS. I was going to get both so what do I need?

When I put the old joint in the yoke it seemed like there was alot of room from the ends of the caps and the tabs but I don't know if it's suppose to be like that since this is my first rodeo.

 

Whole thing sounds dangerously cobbled together, you may want to post some pictures with accurate dimensions or have it towed to a reputable shop. It must look wacked with a 4" lift & 16" tires.

 

It's the Jeep in my avatar and I just looked up the joints on Napa and they show 3.220 only plus both ends being the same so off to Napa.

 

New u joint fits like a glove and vibration gone.

Cobbled together, and whacked with 4" lift and 16 " tires, really?

 

Considering your signature says 16" TIRES and not WHEELS.....I was wondering about that myself until you posted the picture. You have 16" wheels, probably 31 or 33" tires

 

Representative picture of a 4" lift with 16" tires.



It's cool man, whatever floats your boat.