Im going to put in some new u joints tomorrow after work (front axle). Can i pull the 3 bolts that hold the hub and bearings on w/o pulling the hub nut (or whatever the big 36mm one is called)? Would the hub just be on the end of the axle when i pull it out to press out the u joints? Thanks


i think im just worried about corrosion on the 36mm nut, but i have another axle im building up so i dont want to break anything on this in the meantime.

 

Yes, the axle/hub will come out in one piece. If you have never taken them out then you might have to use the bolt/socket trick. Basically you keep one of the bolts on a little and put the spacer on the head then turn the steering wheel to pop it out.

 

Yeah that will work, good luck getting the old U joint out with that hub in the way, though.

 

That's how I did mine a few weekends ago, used a balljoint press, popped them right out. It's a little more awkward with the hubs attached but not bad. Probably would make a bigger difference if you were going to use a floor press or couple sockets and a BFH.

 

yah i didnt think it would be too big a deal with a press.

 

So i bent the yoke on my passenger side axle shaft

Luckily i had a spare dana 30 to pull parts from
Its off an earlier model xj, early to mid 90's...and I put the new axle shaft and hub on my 00 xj dana 30. I noticed the U joint yoke is noticeably bigger than my stock 00 yoke.

The 2 axles had the same gear ratio's, non disco, and no abs.
I have no weird noises and 4x4 still works fine, better than with the shot u joint prior.

I'm just curious about the new shaft and hub i put in i guess is all. Any information appreciated, especially if it is a different size u joint all together!

 

Heh been there. How badly is it bent? Mine was off by a couple of MM, I managed to straighten it out. I think.

The earlier drive shafts are compatible with the new axles, but indeed the U joints are a different size. You'll need either to bend the yoke back or buy the smaller U joints

 

way more than a few mm...it just crumbled in the press. I have the older D30 axle shaft and u joint and hub assembly in. So the U joints are bigger or smaller in the old D30 axle's (Larger yoke, i'd assume larger U joint?)

also, the axle I stole parts from (old D30) was in better in shape than mine, so I just kept that u joint in there when I swapped the assembly.

 

Found this pic comparing u joints from axles...

Notice the U-joint cap size between the stock 260X (top) and new 297X (bottom) U-joints... was the caption under it

did I upgrade from the 260x to the 297x?

 

260x is the older style, the top one