Keeps eatin Ujoints...Pinion bearing?

[Lotsa_Faith]

I've been going through at least one back ujoint every two weeks. About 5 months ago I put in a new pinion yoke since the old one got tore up when a driveshaft broke, and about 3 months ago it started doing this. The angle isn't the best with the 4" lift, but I had it like that for a year before it started eating joints every 100 miles. How do I go about replacing the bearing?

 

[xtrmjoe]

When you replaced the yoke did you replace the crush sleve on the pinion shaft? Did you check the in/lb resistance on the pinion durring install? there are 2 bearings on the pinion if you have a 10/12 bolt, one just under the pinion seal and another that needs to be pressed on and off at the base of the pinion.
Good luck!

 

[rcurrier44]

Why do you want to replace the pinion bearings? Do you think something hurt them? Pinion bearings won't cause your u-joints to go bad...

I guess I realy don't understand what replacing them has to do with your drive shaft issues.

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

I would bet your driveshaft is out of balance from hitting the ground and that's why it's eating joints.

If the joints don't fit tight in the driveshaft, they'll also wear out quickly.

You are fully greasing the joints upon install and smacking the yoke with a hammer to make sure they move freely, correct?

 

[88sub4x4]

Check to make sure you didn't bend the driveshaft as well when you broke the yoke. A bent driveshaft will eat u-joints like you are doing. Also, I don't know how likely this is, but make sure that the pinion is not bent, and that the yoke you put on is not warped or crooked.

 

[dyeager535]

When I bought my truck I was throwing u-joints about every two weeks. I noticed after the 3rd one that the straps on the yoke were screwed up...the previous owner had put the straps over the c-clips on the yoke caps, which warped the straps, and allowed the yoke to move a bit under load.

Of course, that "walking" ruined the yoke, which I also didn't notice until the next u-joint went.

 

[Lotsa_Faith]

Whats the deal with hitting the yoke with a hammer, i've never heard of doing that before and I haven't ever done it. I thought maybe by changing out the yoke, I didn't torque it correctly so there could be some play in it (even though it doesnt seem to have any when I check it) thats why I thought the bearing might be bad and allowing the yoke to wiggle. It sounds like my driveshaft might be out of balance from smacking on the ground. I'm at school though right now so I'm just gonna have my dad take it to a driveshaft shop and take a look at it when I get the tranny back in.

 

[Lotsa_Faith]

Anyone got any input?

 

[CyberSniper]

Do the trunnions of the joint move freely in the caps of the joint? There should be no resistance to the movement of the joint.

If they're greasable, you are greasing them before you drive on them, right? The grease they come with are pretty crappy grease. Ignore this if you use solid joints.

You also need to make sure that the caps are held tightly by the straps. Don't forget to put the clips on the caps or else the joint will wander.

I eat joints every 3-4 months but it's due to my bad driveline angles.