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Are my u-joints bad?

Chevy305

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So uh I guess ever since i took the truck to the 100mph mark, I have been hearing more pings and clacks than normal. They sound kinda like something metal hitting againt the drive shaft making that unique ping kind of noise. Also I have been getting some vibrations, pretty bad at times. Mostly accelerating in 3rd gear and some while cruising in 4th. I greased up both u-joints but it didn't make any improvements.

Am I right to think this is u-joints? I have an extra u-joint (Brute Force). Should I just put it in and see how that works out?
 
Chevy305 said:
So uh I guess ever since i took the truck to the 100mph mark, I have been hearing more pings and clacks than normal. They sound kinda like something metal hitting againt the drive shaft making that unique ping kind of noise. Also I have been getting some vibrations, pretty bad at times. Mostly accelerating in 3rd gear and some while cruising in 4th. I greased up both u-joints but it didn't make any improvements.

Am I right to think this is u-joints? I have an extra u-joint (Brute Force). Should I just put it in and see how that works out?
wouldnt hurt to change them
 
only one way to tell...

I've changed U-joints that made NO noise whatsoever,and all one cup had in it was rusty DUST!...others I've had fail usually made a Errrrr--EEEEE--Errrrrr--EEEE-- squeak that gets faster as the truck gains speed,then makes it vibrate at highway speed...

Your 100 mph ride likely didn't do them any good!--if your truck is lifted at all,U-joints only last a few thousand miles if you drive on the highway a lot..I only got 5-10 thousand miles out of the ones on my lifted K5 I had years ago,and the angles were not that excessive..I used cheap U-joints,because I soon learned even the most expensive ones didn't last much longer..hope thats all thats wrong in your case!..:crazy:
 
Maybe I should pull the diff cover too and see if I have any floating gear teeth...
 
Going 100 in a lifted truck huh? can you imagine what would happen if that front U joint failed at that speed. Wow. I agree with diesel4me. the ujoints might make a squeeky sound, and if they vibrate, you might try to move the driveshaft back and forth at the joint to see if they're bad.
 
The ping is an indicator . I had that , Marv said joint , and it was joint . Whatcha going 100 for in a brick anyway :thumb:
 
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