Front Driveshaft question

[bigjim350]

All right I got a question for anybody smarter than me. I just replaced the worn front U-joint on my front driveshaft. After putting it back together I think I noticed a little more vibration. My question is, could it cause a vibration if when I bolted up the cv end of the driveshaft it was 180* off from where it was when I took it off? If thats not it I may have bent it a little or something putting in the U-joint.

[XJ4IV]

They say that your supposed to mark the mating surfaces so you install it the same but for so many years of removing and replacing shafts... I NEVER once had to do that the ONLY thing that can cause that is yes a bent shaft, something in the ujoint seating causing an unlevel surface or your OTHER joint could be going bad... the cardan and THOSE SUCK to fix, best just get a JY replacement... take the DS off and verify that it IS indeed your front! thats about all I can think of or the unoint is the wrong size... MANY parts stores get em mixed up for some dumb reason

[Firemanray]

Jim, I had a bad vibe after I installed my new "woody" in the front. When I went to Galveston I took the shaft out before driving home. When I re-installed it the vibe is pretty much gone. You may be on to something. I would take it out, rotate to the next position and try again.

[XJ4IV]

yeah give it a shot to move it to the next position maybe I honestly got lucky with reinstalling em

[Mudderoy]

I guess it's possible the joint was installed slightly off to one side. But I bet it's the rotate 180 degree thing. Remember to mark it next time.

[Outlaw]

Check the balancing weight on the DS as well. If the weight was nicked or moved slightly this can cause a vibration as well. Sounds silly but they are balanced down to the grams, and very sensitive to any change in balance.

[Thomass]

Check the balancing weight on the DS as well.

With DS you mean Drive Shaft,??

and the weight is that the bend piece of metal point welded to the axle??

I'm not good in abriviations..:stars:

[4.3LXJ]

That is correct. Hey guys, remember we have members on here who do not have English as their first language. Cheers Thomas

[cantab27]

All right I got a question for anybody smarter than me. I just replaced the worn front U-joint on my front driveshaft. After putting it back together I think I noticed a little more vibration. My question is, could it cause a vibration if when I bolted up the cv end of the driveshaft it was 180* off from where it was when I took it off? If thats not it I may have bent it a little or something putting in the U-joint.

use the search button ... :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :smiley-scared002:


any update jim .... results ..ya fix it ?????

[PolarXJ]

I've must have had good luck as well. I've never marked at put back in the same orientation that it was in before. How was the play in the ujoint before you put it back it. I've noticed that have you place the second cap, the ujoint is moved to one side and can be stiff. A few taps in all the direction to recenter the joint and checking the ensure proper smooth movement has been my success.

[bigjim350]

Well I took the shaft out to make sure everything was still okay. It looked good. Well then I rotated it 180* and put it back in. Well I stripped the head on all 4 bolts where it bolts to the T-case. Went to the dealer and the bolts were on national back order. So I got the size from em (5/16x24-1 1/2") and bought some at napa. Seems like the vibes are better. Think most my vibes now are from a worn rear drive shaft u-joint and worn hub bearings.

[xj4life2]

Sounds like you may be out of phase , check the ears on the yoke and be sure they are lined up with the ears on the cv head if not this will cause vibration

[XJ4IV]

hey I think I have a lifetime warranty on my wheel bearing hubs... I gotta check it out and if I do ... you can pull em and give em to me and Ill swap em for free for ya... thats nearly 200 bucks!