Installing U-Joints

JK's JK

JK's JK

Banned
Yesterday I was going to swap out my front axle shafts. I put the U-joints together and then snap, the cover cracked. I moved the cap far enough over to place the first full c-clip in and then shifted over the joint to place the next clip in. I felt it was getting really hard to move it over further but there was 1/32-1/64 left to get the next clip in. I'll have to contact Alloy USA and see if I can have two new caps.

What are the dues and don'ts on installing U-joints? When I was putting them together I made sure that the U-joint was moving back and forth between the two caps. I did some how manage to get it off center and moved the press off center to straighten up the cap. Would that mess up the needle barrings?

Here are some pictures of what I did.

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creative way to press them in but I wonder if the crack was caused by the rotational push not a faulty cap.

They need to be pressed straight in without any rotation since is it such a tight fit - maybe a light grease coating in the axle hole would help them go in without binding?
 
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jeeeep said:
creative way to press them in but I wonder if the crack was caused by the rotational push not a faulty cap.

They need to be pressed straight in without any rotation since is it such a tight fit - maybe a light grease coating in the axle hole would help them go in without binding?
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Not sure. Over all I'm scared to do it now and I'll let someone else put them together for me. I did put the other U-joint together but I'm not going to try and finish it. It's going to be fun pushing the bad caps out.
 
JK's JK said:
Not sure. Over all I'm scared to do it now and I'll let someone else put them together for me. I did put the other U-joint together but I'm not going to try and finish it. It's going to be fun pushing the bad caps out.
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it shouldn't be too bad. I do wish when they send the axle shafts they were already assembled lol
 
I have personally replace about 100 u-joints in my life and possible seen hundreds more done. I have never seen a cap crack like this from an instal. My thoughts are not to be afraid to try it again.try to grease the caps on the way in. you could also do one cap at a time; this may alleviate the need to center two at a time.
 
ridg3runner said:
Never heard of that before. Is there a reason you can't add a spot of extra grease to them?

We Are Jeep..Resistance Is Futile..
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There are times you should not mix grease. Some have additives that don't play nice together. But not to pregrease or add a bit. I never heard that either

Sent from my XT907 using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
Army_Vet said:
I have personally replace about 100 u-joints in my life and possible seen hundreds more done. I have never seen a cap crack like this from an instal. My thoughts are not to be afraid to try it again.try to grease the caps on the way in. you could also do one cap at a time; this may alleviate the need to center two at a time.
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Oh I'm scared to do it myself now. However Alloy USA is going to send me another U-joint and I'll watch someone else that's done it before.

CrazyLarry said:
I hope your caps didn't come pregreased. Your really not supposed to mess with the grease that come in the caps
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The grease that comes in the caps is a red grease. I just squeezed a little bit into the cap. There was already grease in the U-joint its self and didnt think it need to much.

ridg3runner said:
Never heard of that before. Is there a reason you can't add a spot of extra grease to them?

We Are Jeep..Resistance Is Futile..
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I'd say to much grease yeah but a dab of extra in each cap???

Army_Vet said:
There are times you should not mix grease. Some have additives that don't play nice together. But not to pregrease or add a bit. I never heard that either

Sent from my XT907 using WAYALIFE mobile app
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Hope the red grease that I added is the same type. Both are red grease.
 
ridg3runner said:
Never heard of that before. Is there a reason you can't add a spot of extra grease to them?

We Are Jeep..Resistance Is Futile..
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when i installed my ten factory axles it came with spicer ujoints. inside the ujoint box there was a piece of paper saying not to mix up the caps on different trunon ends and do not add grease because they come pregreased and any excess grease can cause premature failure. not sure why but i just did what it said :idontknow:
 
CrazyLarry said:
when i installed my ten factory axles it came with spicer ujoints. inside the ujoint box there was a piece of paper saying not to mix up the caps on different trunon ends and do not add grease because they come pregreased and any excess grease can cause premature failure. not sure why but i just did what it said :idontknow:
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I wont add a spec of grease in any of the U-joints that I put together then. I'll make sure to ask them about this and see about a full install sheet.
 
JK's JK said:
I wont add a spec of grease in any of the U-joints that I put together then. I'll make sure to ask them about this and see about a full install sheet.
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Do they have install sheets? Never realized it was that difficult.

We Are Jeep..Resistance Is Futile..
 
ridg3runner said:
Do they have install sheets? Never realized it was that difficult.

We Are Jeep..Resistance Is Futile..
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They did not come with a installation sheet. I wouldnt have thought it was this difficult either!!! :naw: Just press them together and call it good.
 
Yes, but the trick is to not overpress. It's going to be a tight fit, there's no doubt. You just have to be a little patient and not run it in there like Roger Ramjet.

We Are Jeep..Resistance Is Futile..
 
ridg3runner said:
Yes, but the trick is to not overpress. It's going to be a tight fit, there's no doubt. You just have to be a little patient and not run it in there like Roger Ramjet.

We Are Jeep..Resistance Is Futile..
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I messaged the tech support for a installation guide. I'll post it once I get the information.

I tell you want. That thing was dead center and I tried to get the clip on. Of course I didnt want to damage the integrity of the clip either!!! I'll just have someone else do it for me.
 
JK's JK said:
I messaged the tech support for a installation guide. I'll post it once I get the information.

I tell you want. That thing was dead center and I tried to get the clip on. Of course I didnt want to damage the integrity of the clip either!!! I'll just have someone else do it for me.
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I dunno, maybe just like coilovers, U-Joints aren't for you either. Glad you can afford a mechanic for a U-Joint install, don't know what you're going to do if you ever break one on a trail though.

We Are Jeep..Resistance Is Futile..
 
ridg3runner said:
I dunno, maybe just like coilovers, U-Joints aren't for you either. Glad you can afford a mechanic for a U-Joint install, don't know what you're going to do if you ever break one on a trail though.

We Are Jeep..Resistance Is Futile..
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Your wanting me to go to the ragged edge aren't you!! :icon_crazy: Maybe you have a point. I have no technical skills and I cant do anything by myself so my knowledge is crap. I'm like the blind leading the blind.

BONDSY said he would put them together for me.
 
JK's JK said:
Your wanting me to go to the ragged edge aren't you!! :icon_crazy: Maybe you have a point. I have no technical skills and I cant do anything by myself so my knowledge is crap. I'm like the blind leading the blind.

BONDSY said he would put them together for me.
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And there's no shame in any of this! I would say to find a friendly and mechanically inclined friend to help you who doesn't ming teaching as you go along. You'll never learn by paying a pro to do it for you. If you don't care to learn it, that's fine too.

BUT I will say that your knowledge level is what you make of it. I taught myself everything I know from those early 90's old s10 and YJ service manuals we all had to use before the WWW. Pain in the ass compared to all the video and color manuals available on the internet now! Apply yourself and in 3,4,5 years from now you'll laugh at how little you once knew and proud of how far you've come :yup:
 
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