Replacing your Front
Axle
U-joints
I decided when i replaced my front
axle u-joints again that I would take pictures and
explain how it is done because a lot of people do not
know how to replace them and it is very a important thing
to know how to do on the trail. I could of used my press
and other fancy tools to get this done, but i did it how
you would do it on the trail, with a hammer a screwdriver
and a block of wood (not counting the other tools you
need to remove your axles, that was done before and is
very easy so i did not take any pictures)
We volunteered Dave's Axles to do this because they were
already out and about 30 years old so they need replacing
First
Scrape off the grease/rust crap or what ever and
locate the small c-clips on the inside of the
axle
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Tap the End of the clip with
your screwdriver and hammer so it just sticks out
enough so you can pry it out, you have 4 of them
on each U-joint, and you must remove them all |
| Lay
the Axle on your block of wood with one of the
yokes flat with the wood and the other hanging
off the wood as the picture shows. Here you will
hit the yoke with the hammer, this in my opinion
is the best way to remove u-joints, you need to
hit it right behind the cap, and sometimes you
need to hit it hard |
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After
hitting the yoke, the Cap will start to pop out
the axle, When it is out of the axle enough, grab
it with some channellock pliers and pull it the
rest of the way out, Flip it over it and continue
to the other side |
| After
Both caps are out on the Short side shaft,
separate the shafts and place the joint on the
block of wood as shown in the picture and hit the
axle again to get the u-joint cap to pop out |
 
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Remove the U-joint
caps from the new joint and place the U-joint inside the
axles first, then place the caps in the yokes from the
outside and tap them down with a hammer softly until you
can get to the groove where the clips go in, and then tap
the clips in
| The #1 reason for
u-joint failure (besides age) is the U-joint caps
walking themselves out of the yoke. This can be
cured by machining the axles to use a full circle
snap ring, buying after market shafts like
Moser's and Warns's, or by tack welding the caps
of the u-joints to the axle. Now none of these
are a "have to do" thing but if you
want to get the most time out of your U-joints it
is recommend. Tack welding them is what i choose
because we are still using our 30 year old axle
shafts and it does not seem worth the effort to
machine a new snap ring groove in and new axles
were out of the question because we did not have
the money |
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| I
followed my "on the trail" repair and
used my Ready Welder to tack the caps on there.
When welding the caps, you need to have the heat
down low and make small tacks then allow plenty
of time for the joint to cool so you do not burn
the grease out. Slap them back in your truck and
your are ready to hit the trails again -Mark Harris
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