Nasty Axel U Joint

[Maximus Gladius]

(21 JTR, 47k kms- 29k miles) Was experiencing a bit of a shimmy in 4H about a month or so ago which I felt in the steering wheel. Wasn’t bad enough to take it in and be told they can’t replicate but was enough to obsess what’s wrong now.

Following that, popping noises in the back on the right side started (no leaky axel seal). Shortly after the right side popping, the left side rear joined in. Following that was the front driver popping noise.

I checked all the torque specs in the back and the lower shock nut was maybe 5lbs loose to spec but everything else was tight. I jacked up each tire off the ground and with a 2x4 placed it under the tire and pried up and down to see if there was any play or clunking in the bearings. Nothing.

(The popping noise up front on the drivers side sounded just like the loose lower ball joints i torqued back in the summer. They were both at 7lbs. )

My next investigation was to check the brake callipers and that was when I spotted the broken seal on the axel U Joint. Truck goes in Monday morning!

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[Lunentucker]

What's your mileage now?

 

[Maximus Gladius]

What's your mileage now?

47k kms (29k miles)

 

[Andy29847]

You have a shimmy and popping noises in the front and the back and you think the bad seal on your axle u-joint is going to fix all that?

 

[Maximus Gladius]

You have a shimmy and popping noises in the front and the back and you think the bad seal on your axle u-joint is going to fix all that?

No. It’s only what I could see at the moment thats broken. I have a maintenance schedule at 48k kms to do and they know about the U Joint and they can hunt down the rest.

I’ll have them do a brake service and go over all the nuts and bolts under there and check the torque values. There’s stuff I’ll have them do I know I’d have to pay for but I need this truck to be sound. When it’s all tight and working, the truck is awesome.

 

[GoatPowder]

Is there play in the ujoint?

Some grease escaping is normal, those seals aren't truly "sealed" but more of a rubber flap that keeps dirt and water out and will allow some grease to escape if they get hot.

Not saying your ujoint isn't borked, it could very well cause your 'popping' but the actual test is for play in the caps.

Edit:
If you flex your truck regularly, how did the swaybar links feel? A 4 corner popping noise, I'd start there. They can be super noisy without effecting handling to a noticeable extent.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Is there play in the ujoint?

Some grease escaping is normal, those seals aren't truly "sealed" but more of a rubber flap that keeps dirt and water out and will allow some grease to escape if they get hot.

Not saying your ujoint isn't borked, it could very well cause your 'popping' but the actual test is for play in the caps.

Edit:
If you flex your truck regularly, how did the swaybar links feel? A 4 corner popping noise, I'd start there. They can be super noisy without effecting handling to a noticeable extent.

Flexing on this truck is super rare and quite elementary as there’s been nothing to extreme flex on. Here’s my last one I did.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Sorry , wrong flex

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Here’s the first flex I did in 2021. So, really, I’ve only flexed twice and like I said, not extreme at all.

 

[WK2JT]

Flexing on this truck is super rare and quite elementary as there’s been nothing to extreme flex on. Here’s my last one I did.

This first flex pic is some impressive articulation. Lol. Love it when they get comfy like that.

 

[Renegade]

Post some more pics of that u-joint from other angles. On one of my JKs, the axle factory had installed the retaining clip under one of the seals instead of in the groove on the cap. That allowed some play in the u-joint, and was a failure waiting to happen.

 

[Uparms]

Get dry ground on a dry day and get the right tools and go over the 32 control arm bolts, 8 shock bolts and all 4 sway bar disconnects. You can do it yourself and don't have to wait or pay. I do mine 2V a year.

Check you sway bar D/Cs. horrible Allen key set up.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Post some more pics of that u-joint from other angles. On one of my JKs, the axle factory had installed the retaining clip under one of the seals instead of in the groove on the cap. That allowed some play in the u-joint, and was a failure waiting to happen.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Get dry ground on a dry day and get the right tools and go over the 32 control arm bolts, 8 shock bolts and all 4 sway bar disconnects. You can do it yourself and don't have to wait or pay. I do mine 2V a year.

Check you sway bar D/Cs. horrible Allen key set up.

Was wondering if the sway bar disconnect gizmo is oil/grease lubricated. I’ve got 13k left to go before I would consider taking that apart to clean out and re lubricate. If that’s even a thing.

 

[Rusty PW]

A little grease around the u-joint seals is normal. Now if you see a reddish dust around the seal. The u-joint is toast.

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