Okiespaniel
Senior Member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2011
- Posts
- 1,645
- Reaction score
- 897
- Location
- Work, Shop, Computer
- Ram Year
- 2000
- Engine
- magnum, 5.9
Hey folks...
Yeah it's the old spaniel here. Thought I'd document the process of rebuilding the front CV shaft on my truck. Yes it's not the rear shaft, but if you've never done u-joints in your life and only have a 2wd its the same process.
As most 4x4 owners know, there's a constant velocity bearing assembly in the center of the rear joint assembly.
Also known as a double cardigan u-joint, this assembly utilizes a ball socket with needle bearings in it on which the front pin shaft shaft resides. It is packed with grease and non greasble and sealled with a grease covered by a rubber boot. A spring provided some overload protection.
What usually happens is when the lubricant is expended the needle bearings gall causing wear on the shaft and then vibration. Or the non greaseable joints dry out causing same. My shaft and all the joints were original.
This tech will be in three sections Removal/disassembly, Reinstalling the joints using a screw press, then installation.
So enough typing...lets get started!
Ok not enough typing. Safety first! Set parking brake! Chock rear wheels if you're on an incline.
When you've secured your Ram, remove the 4 5/16 hex head bolts from the front u-joint. This is easier to do if you place the truck in 4 hi to lock the T-case. A trusted helper in the drivers seat moving the t case between 4h and 2h is very time saving.
Once youve got the front shaft loose from the diff saddle, rotate the shaft in 2 wd until you can get a 5/8 socket on a shaft/tcase bolt. You'll probably need a 6 inch extension and either an air wrench or long ratchet.
When you can get the socket on securely, lock the t case in 4 high and remove the bolt. Repeat the process for the next 3 bolts. What out for the falling shaft!
Next part is removing the double cardian joints. My press hadn't gotten here so I used a bench vise, some old sockets and lots of p/b blaster. Remove the snap rings and discard.
Make sure you use a punch or a light drill mark to make slight alignment marks in the 3 pieces. You'll want to reassemble the shaft in the same manner you took it apart for balancing purposes.
You should be able to see the marks I made in the first pic.. I made them deep because I thought I'd powder coat everything. Decided that was too much trouble and would affect balance.
I removed the cv clamps, boot and front joint. The bearing caps were dry but salvagable so I'll repack it for a spare. The boot shows some slight dry rot so I'll replace it, with the clamps.
Here's a better shot of the marks I made.
Here's the front shaft with the trunuion the needle bearings in the ball socket ride on. You can see the ribber seal/boot that protects it is toast! I knocked the seal off with a flat chisel. Will have the trunion shaft mic'd to see if it's with in specs. Should be .500.
Here's the old ball socket, sans needle bearings and spring. I have to have a special puller and hydraulic press to remove and install so I'll take this to a local shop.
I took the front shaft in and had the trunion mic'd at .49995. Close enough!
The same shop also sold spicer u-joints and what I needed in stock.
I went with a greasable in the front diff and non greasables in the cv shaft.
The shop also pulled the ball socket and pressed in a new one with a new grease seal. Total cost for parts labor and the 3 new u-jonts was about 90 bucks.
The tape in the pic holds the new preload springs and the cardboard protector for the needle bearings in place.
This concludes the first section. Time for
Yeah it's the old spaniel here. Thought I'd document the process of rebuilding the front CV shaft on my truck. Yes it's not the rear shaft, but if you've never done u-joints in your life and only have a 2wd its the same process.
As most 4x4 owners know, there's a constant velocity bearing assembly in the center of the rear joint assembly.
Also known as a double cardigan u-joint, this assembly utilizes a ball socket with needle bearings in it on which the front pin shaft shaft resides. It is packed with grease and non greasble and sealled with a grease covered by a rubber boot. A spring provided some overload protection.
What usually happens is when the lubricant is expended the needle bearings gall causing wear on the shaft and then vibration. Or the non greaseable joints dry out causing same. My shaft and all the joints were original.
This tech will be in three sections Removal/disassembly, Reinstalling the joints using a screw press, then installation.
So enough typing...lets get started!
Ok not enough typing. Safety first! Set parking brake! Chock rear wheels if you're on an incline.
When you've secured your Ram, remove the 4 5/16 hex head bolts from the front u-joint. This is easier to do if you place the truck in 4 hi to lock the T-case. A trusted helper in the drivers seat moving the t case between 4h and 2h is very time saving.
Once youve got the front shaft loose from the diff saddle, rotate the shaft in 2 wd until you can get a 5/8 socket on a shaft/tcase bolt. You'll probably need a 6 inch extension and either an air wrench or long ratchet.
When you can get the socket on securely, lock the t case in 4 high and remove the bolt. Repeat the process for the next 3 bolts. What out for the falling shaft!
Next part is removing the double cardian joints. My press hadn't gotten here so I used a bench vise, some old sockets and lots of p/b blaster. Remove the snap rings and discard.
Make sure you use a punch or a light drill mark to make slight alignment marks in the 3 pieces. You'll want to reassemble the shaft in the same manner you took it apart for balancing purposes.
You should be able to see the marks I made in the first pic.. I made them deep because I thought I'd powder coat everything. Decided that was too much trouble and would affect balance.
I removed the cv clamps, boot and front joint. The bearing caps were dry but salvagable so I'll repack it for a spare. The boot shows some slight dry rot so I'll replace it, with the clamps.
Here's a better shot of the marks I made.
Here's the front shaft with the trunuion the needle bearings in the ball socket ride on. You can see the ribber seal/boot that protects it is toast! I knocked the seal off with a flat chisel. Will have the trunion shaft mic'd to see if it's with in specs. Should be .500.
Here's the old ball socket, sans needle bearings and spring. I have to have a special puller and hydraulic press to remove and install so I'll take this to a local shop.
I took the front shaft in and had the trunion mic'd at .49995. Close enough!
The same shop also sold spicer u-joints and what I needed in stock.
I went with a greasable in the front diff and non greasables in the cv shaft.
The shop also pulled the ball socket and pressed in a new one with a new grease seal. Total cost for parts labor and the 3 new u-jonts was about 90 bucks.
The tape in the pic holds the new preload springs and the cardboard protector for the needle bearings in place.
This concludes the first section. Time for
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